John's 2010 52, Week 27 Art (July 10th)

[jgs001]

 

[jgs001]

Close I didn't have too much of an issue with, apart from not having a suitable sized torx bit ... Indulgence on the other hand was giving me a headache with lighting and reflections...

Anyways... I used my flash triggers for off camera flash...

Indulgence, I'm not overly happy with this, I just couldn't get what I wanted... my imagination far outweighs my technical ability with this stuff..

Brandy and Chocolate

Close, I was aiming to get the micro components on the bottom of a hard drive looking like a sunlit city scape of some sort... given I'm crap at landscape and cityscapes...

Lessons...
When using off camera wireless triggered flash, the camera doesn't know the flash is firing and messes up the auto whitebalance... I'm guessing it uses the best guess for the ambient lighting... easy to correct shooting raw, but useful to know ...

Dust sticks to electronics no matter how hard you try and clean it off ...

 

[Harlequin565]

I like these two John.

The first is very well composed, and lit, and is definitely indulgent. The brandy is difficult to spot though. The wooden table and white plate camouflage it very well..

As to the circuitry. I really like the idea, and would have no idea how to go about it. They do look like little houses though, and I really like that DoF.

Nice stuff!

Ian.

 

[The23rdman]

Love your tulip shot. The light works absolutely great.

I'm going to disagree with Ian and say I don't like the composition of the brandy shot - it's too high for me and hard to see the brandy. A full glass would have been proper indulgence! The light is also quite flat and underexposed. I'm sure that plate isn't really grey and there's a loss of detail in the chocs (which look delish) wrappers.

 

[Digitall]

The indulgence shot does not work for me either. Here are mu reasons, the table grain is straight, at an angle it would have been more interesting. The angle of the camera is to high for my liking. The plate looks white under the glass but gray everywhere else. The plate shadow is missing at the bottom. there is to much room on the top left.
These are niggles that with some thought could have been avoided.
The glass of Brandy appeals though

Allan

 

[jgs001]

Thanks for the comments guys...

Dean and Allan, I agree... I did say I wasn't happy with it ... anyway, I've had a play... not the same as a reshoot (which it really needs, I've had a better idea too) so the comp is as was... this any better ?

 

[mich66]

quickly skipped by indulgence as not done that yet..

I love your cat.. its a beautiful colour.. and fits the theme perfectly, doing what every cat does well.. infact I have the same subject for this too

I really like the tulip shot too.. fab composition and the light is wonderful.. superb against the black background

 

[Tracer]

Peace - nothing so peaceful as a sleeping moggy! I'm a sucker for cat shots, and love this one.

Good lighting on the tulip - it sounds rather complicated and I'm happy to leave it all to you!

I haven't done week 18 yet so am not looking yet...

 

[daddy day care]

Think you needed a touch more brandy in the glass John. It would have shown up a bit better in the shot. Good control of reflections in the glass. I'm not sure the white plate was needed either to be honest.

Bang on theme. Chocolates and brandy. SWMBO would indulge in a heartbeat

I can see where you were going with the components. It hasn't quite worked as you imagined it this time but well worth sticking with it and trying again. A lower viewpoint and directional lighting across the board?

Andy

 

[justlooking]

right on theme .. well chocolates are for me. Agree that glass wants more brandy in it. The first image seems a bit dark and the table looks to bright in the second !

 

[SarahLee]

Brandy and Chocolate : Bang on theme. I thought about doing something similar, but I just couldn't get motivated to set all the pieces out . . . and I drank all the wine I was planning on using before I photographed it

I'm not going to say much more on this one. The re-edit is better and all the comments about composition have been made. Definitely got potential if we get another reshoot week.

But I do like your close shot
Before I even read your comments it reminded me of a tilt shift city scape. Something quite fascinating about it that I want to keep looking at.

 

[jgs001]

quickly skipped by indulgence as not done that yet..

I love your cat.. its a beautiful colour.. and fits the theme perfectly, doing what every cat does well.. infact I have the same subject for this too

I really like the tulip shot too.. fab composition and the light is wonderful.. superb against the black background

Thanks very much Michelle

Peace - nothing so peaceful as a sleeping moggy! I'm a sucker for cat shots, and love this one.

Good lighting on the tulip - it sounds rather complicated and I'm happy to leave it all to you!

I haven't done week 18 yet so am not looking yet...

Thank you

Think you needed a touch more brandy in the glass John. It would have shown up a bit better in the shot. Good control of reflections in the glass. I'm not sure the white plate was needed either to be honest.

Bang on theme. Chocolates and brandy. SWMBO would indulge in a heartbeat

I can see where you were going with the components. It hasn't quite worked as you imagined it this time but well worth sticking with it and trying again. A lower viewpoint and directional lighting across the board?

Andy

Cheers Andy.. no argument form me on the indulgence shot... I'm not certain a lower viewpoint would necessarily help with the components.. the problem is the silly lack of DOF... it was a compromise between maintaining some DOF and getting low... the lighting was off camera flash from the right... perhaps that needs to be lower ??

right on theme .. well chocolates are for me. Agree that glass wants more brandy in it. The first image seems a bit dark and the table looks to bright in the second !

Thanks... I agree... the second was my feeble attempt to bring the original back... probably should have burned in the table more...

Brandy and Chocolate : Bang on theme. I thought about doing something similar, but I just couldn't get motivated to set all the pieces out . . . and I drank all the wine I was planning on using before I photographed it

I'm not going to say much more on this one. The re-edit is better and all the comments about composition have been made. Definitely got potential if we get another reshoot week.

But I do like your close shot
Before I even read your comments it reminded me of a tilt shift city scape. Something quite fascinating about it that I want to keep looking at.

I dunno drinking the props ... guess what my reshoot is gonna be ...

Thanks Sarah... I'm trying to find a suitably small torx bit so I can dismantle the drive and get at the internal mechanisms... I reckon there'll be some interesting stuff in there to shoot..

 

[mich66]

mmmm.. those chocolates look delicious!.. prefer the lighting on the second one, nice interpretation of the theme, booze and chocs always a winner

I like the close shot, agree with sarah's comments on this, I thought the same on first look.. like the bokeh on it too

 

[SarahLee]

... guess what my reshoot is gonna be ...

:shake: Tut tut . . . any excuse to buy more chocolate!

 

[jgs001]

Thanks Michelle

Sarah of course ... you need an excuse

 

[davidh6781]

bang on the theme, Brandy and Chocolates, I prefer the edited version, seems to have better colours.

 

[foggy4ever]

I hope that glass wasn't full when you started that shot . I found the grain a little distacting going top to bottom and there needs to be a bit more Brandy in the glass. Other than that that is a nice bit of indulgence.

Love the ideas for the city scape with the circuit board.

I see you still managed a few stars in there John.......

 

[jgs001]

bang on the theme, Brandy and Chocolates, I prefer the edited version, seems to have better colours.

Thanks David, it still needs some work.. I have ideas.. and it's a reshoot week.

I hope that glass wasn't full when you started that shot . I found the grain a little distacting going top to bottom and there needs to be a bit more Brandy in the glass. Other than that that is a nice bit of indulgence.

Love the ideas for the city scape with the circuit board.

I see you still managed a few stars in there John.......

If only it were Scott, then I could blame the brandy for getting it wrong...

As for the stars.. can't get them past you eh must try and sneak them in so you can't see them so easily next time

 

[jgs001]

Here's the reshoot of Indulgence... more brandy, in closer, I think I got the lighting better, again using off camera flash, although I have to say I had something very weird happen. A few shots after this one, the flash starting falling off... almost as if it was losing power... the batteries were fresh and I was triggering at about 1/8 power. I've used them since without problems too. Anyway, I packed away as the flash did that, in case there was a problem. Turns out there wasn't. It's still not as it could be, the shadows are a bit harsh still. Anyway I enjoyed some of the Brandy.. <hic>

and.. just cos Scott said I wasn't allowed to. I got to indulge in my other hobby

M13 in Hercules. This is a globular cluster, a tight ball of stars about 25000 light years away. It's actually a pretty small target, although in actuality is 145 light years across. At 1200mm this target is actually only half this size. One of the options in processing, is a technique called drizzling, this can double or triple the image scale of the target, discarding some of the information around the edge during the enlargement (it's not the same as cropping).

Ingredients too follow, although it may end up being Monday before I get something done... in which case so be it.

 

[Harlequin565]

I much prefer your brandy reshoot. Love the colour saturation. It looks very warm and homely, and very indulgent.

As to the Sky At Night shot (congratulations on your competition win btw!) I think this is wonderful. Just like Jenny's thread, this is a bit of an education as well as a photographic journey. Quite an amazing world we live in.

Ian.

 

[jgs001]

Thanks very much Ian. I'm waiting for Scott's :nono: on the glob. I didn't put much detail in there did I.. hmm... I'll go back and add some now.

 

[Briony]

Love the Reshoot theme all you need is a lovely warm log fire and a hunky person to cuddle up to Heaven and just my type pf indulgence to.

Love the colours but then I am a colours person, can't say the other shot does anything for me personally Sorry :shrug: but I can appreciate how much it means to other people.

Right back to my log fire, chocolates, brandy and Tom Cruise,

Oh forgot its MONDAY MORNING Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh

 

[The23rdman]

Hi John, the reshoot is much better compositionally, but it still looks a touch too warm for me, mate.

 

[Sonial]

Like the reshoot John I'm really hoping we're going to get some less foody subjects now though as I'm spending all my time dreaming of alcohol and chocs

Love the astronomy shot.....just amazing!

 

[Tracer]

I agree the reshoot is better. It is still a bit warm but then that is how you feel after scoffing chocs and brandy.

Another amazing astro shot.

 

[jgs001]

Love the Reshoot theme all you need is a lovely warm log fire and a hunky person to cuddle up to Heaven and just my type pf indulgence to.

Love the colours but then I am a colours person, can't say the other shot does anything for me personally Sorry :shrug: but I can appreciate how much it means to other people.

Right back to my log fire, chocolates, brandy and Tom Cruise,

Oh forgot its MONDAY MORNING Ughhhhhhhhhhhhh

Cheers Nicki... as for the hunk... I'll pass thanks... some lovely soft curves works better for me . As for the Astro shot... no worries... I have fun doing them, and it's an amazing feeling seeing the result pop up on screen when processing it..

Hi John, the reshoot is much better compositionally, but it still looks a touch too warm for me, mate.

Cheers Dean... I

Like the reshoot John I'm really hoping we're going to get some less foody subjects now though as I'm spending all my time dreaming of alcohol and chocs

Love the astronomy shot.....just amazing!

Cheers Sonia. I know what you mean it's not good for us is it

I agree the reshoot is better. It is still a bit warm but then that is how you feel after scoffing chocs and brandy.

Another amazing astro shot.

Thank you...

Is this better ?

I've come down with something and it's left me feeling lousy, so I'm probably not going to be on here much over the next couple of days, so here's an older one...


Ingredients

 

[Sonial]

Oh no....hope you're feeling better soon! Love the ingredients shot old or not....star annise is just about my favourite spice!

 

[The23rdman]

Looks better to me, John, but my monitor and I are having a bit of an argument right now.

 

[justlooking]

like the mix of colours and textures in your Ingredients

 

[blakester]

I like your ingredients image a lot John. Particularly the tone in the colours of it. Point of focus on the star anaise works well too. Hope you're on the mend. Cheers Iain

 

[Tracer]

Indulgence - not sure about the latest version. It is now a bit dark on my monitor. Somewhere between this and the last one, perhaps?

Love your Ingredients shot - great arrangement of shapes, textures and colours. I thought for a moment it was a marine aquarium .

Hope you are feeling better soon.

 

[jgs001]

Oh no....hope you're feeling better soon! Love the ingredients shot old or not....star annise is just about my favourite spice!

Thanks Sonia... Much better now thanks.

Looks better to me, John, but my monitor and I are having a bit of an argument right now.

Cheers Dean... I'm struggling between two monitors, it looks fine on my Mac but on the lappy looks too blue.

like the mix of colours and textures in your Ingredients

Thank you

I like your ingredients image a lot John. Particularly the tone in the colours of it. Point of focus on the star anaise works well too. Hope you're on the mend. Cheers Iain

Cheers Iain, much better now thanks.

Indulgence - not sure about the latest version. It is now a bit dark on my monitor. Somewhere between this and the last one, perhaps?

Love your Ingredients shot - great arrangement of shapes, textures and colours. I thought for a moment it was a marine aquarium .

Hope you are feeling better soon.

Thanks very much.

 

[jgs001]

"I said Stop!!"

It's kinda dull... but it was the best I could come up with, in a week of not being well, and it's taking ages to recover too... anyway...

I decided to have a play with perspective and distortion at the wide angle end of the 18-55. Getting shallow DOF really isn't very easy with this lens at 18mm.

 

[Harlequin565]

I like the composition. Was it a self-portrait?

I like the Dof, and also the focus point. It works well and is nice and simple.

A plain T Shirt might have been less distracting, but that's a very minor niggle.

Ian.

 

[justlooking]

good dof. Fits the theme well. Hope you have recovered.

 

[The23rdman]

Nice, mate. Really jumps out at you.

 

[Wail]

I enjoy following some of these 52 / 365 threads, shows how imaginative an individual can be. Some of the shots can be really amazing in how they do portray the subject.

If you don't mind me saying, I think that "I said Stop!!" would have look more authoritative if the model (you ?) were in a formal attire?

 

[DC2Z]

Fits the theme well. The focus is also spot on.
Hope you feel better

 

[jennyb]

Hi John, hope you are feeling better. I like this one and it fits the theme perfectly. The DOF is great but I agree with Ian about the T-shirt being a bit distracting.

Jenny

 

[jgs001]

I like the composition. Was it a self-portrait?

I like the Dof, and also the focus point. It works well and is nice and simple.

A plain T Shirt might have been less distracting, but that's a very minor niggle.

Ian.

Thanks Ian, yep, an SP indeed. You're right on the clothing, didn't think of that :bang:

good dof. Fits the theme well. Hope you have recovered.

Cheers, yeah much better thanks.

Nice, mate. Really jumps out at you.

Thanks very much Dean

I enjoy following some of these 52 / 365 threads, shows how imaginative an individual can be. Some of the shots can be really amazing in how they do portray the subject.

If you don't mind me saying, I think that "I said Stop!!" would have look more authoritative if the model (you ?) were in a formal attire?

Thanks, yes you're right, I didn't think of more formal attire...

Fits the theme well. The focus is also spot on.
Hope you feel better

Thanks very much Darren, pretty much back to normal (wahtever that is ) now

Hi John, hope you are feeling better. I like this one and it fits the theme perfectly. The DOF is great but I agree with Ian about the T-shirt being a bit distracting.

Jenny

Thanks Jenny, yes. I agree with you on the T-shirt... I may have a look at a spot of cloning, but I'm not sure my feeble cloning skills are up to the folds and curves... Another reshoot perhaps ...