John's Photo 52 - Week 27 Added (10th July) - Highlight

Phew, what a lot of work went into that and it certainly paid off :clap: I really like the subdued effect you have achieved from the light available to you and I like the slightly soft focus on your face as it gives a more dreamy quality to the picture. You can still see your concentration but the emphasis is on the violin and the music. Well done mate, keep it up :clap::clap:
 
Thanks very much Jill. Honesty compels me to admit, that some of those effects are pure luck... I doubt very much I'd have managed to achieve some of them if I'd actually thought about them (yet, maybe in a years time :D). I was concentrating on capturing as cleanly as possible with all the elements in as I wanted, with the composition I wanted, that was taxing me to the limits... :D Having said that, they are all good points to keep in mind for future themes, and possibly planning them in.
 
Well composed shot and nicely exposed too. Good colour and detail. You realy look like you know what you're doing. Nice interpretation, I really like it. Thanks for talking us through your learning process:clap:
 
Thanks very much Maureen :thumbs:
 
Your best shot so far imho, as Simon says you look a little soft, I did not even register what made me slightly uncomfortable about the shot but thats it.

Other than that a fine shot.

I'm expecting your improvement to continue, looking forward to what you have in store for us next week.

Always wanted to have a go at the violin by the way.
 
Thanks Hyster. The softness is what I wasn't really happy with. I'm looking forward to finding out what I have in store you us next week, it's gonna be a Surprise to me too.. :D

One of these days I'll find the time :), go for it
 
Only just caught up with this 52, I've been missing out. Some really good images so far. Keep up the Violin practice.:thumbs:
 
Well...your the brave one...taking on a self protrait:clap:

If you had known how hard it was going to be would you still have tried?

I think you would...that's why we are all trying out something we wouldn't normally...and learning a lot from it...there's that word again..learning...so yours works on all levels for me...:thumbs:
 
Thanks very much :thumbs: You know, I think I probably would have done it anyway, even knowing how hard it was going to be. I'm thinking about ways I could do something for Surprise, and it may turn out to be another one...
 
Like the colour, the green of the book, black T-shirt qnd light background work really well. For me it would be good to have the violin a bit lighter to bring out its colour and the texture of the wood but still a very nice image.:clap:
 
Thank you. I think that getting the coloud and texture in the violin would have required a flashgun (or maybe some work with dodge and burn, I haven't worked that lot out yet)... I have one now, so I may reshoot with it and see what I get...
 
Last edited:
A really nice shot and well done for doing a self portrait as I think it must be one of the hardest things to do and still feel happy with the result, I have never managed to be happy when I've tried. Nice to see another violin in the 52.

Oh and as my violin tutor always used to say to me. Watch that left wrist!! Keep practising, the violin is supposed to be one of the hardest instruments to learn and be able to get a nice sound out of it, I should know I'm still getting there, but that's becuase I don't play often enough:lol:
 
Thanks very much. It was your violin shot that inspired this. I did think originally about trying the same sort of thing with my flute, but I can play that reasonably well (just don't get the time to practice), I also wasn't sure how it would work given it being shiny. I've been able to get some reasonable notes from it open string, but need to work out the finger positions and how to get my somewhat chubby fingers (compared to the strings and neck) into those positions. I'd love to be able to play it properly, maybe one day.
 
That's worked really well. Despite your misgivings :D :clap::clap::clap:
 
Thanks very much Kelly :thumbs:
 
I had a great idea for this. I thought I'd use my new Jessops flash, use a slow shutter speed and second curtain flash to show some movement then capture a static image being surprised at being caught raiding the biscuit tin. Well, after spending quite some time faffing around, and trying to rig up a second flash (triggered as a slave) to provide some fill light on the wall, the results were crap...

This is the best of a bad lot...
IMG_1387.jpg


Next attempt, I figured I'd just forget the clever trickery and try and keep it simple... Nope. I ended up trying to use the second flash again, as there wasn't enough light, and too much shadow... another total hash up later and this is the best I got
IMG_1398.jpg


I had another try today, forget the flash, keep it as simple as possible, and this is my week 4 shot.
IMG_1485.jpg


What did I learn.

1) Using effective flash is a lot harder than at first I thought it would be.

2) Using 2 flashes effectively when one is triggered as a slave is even harder

3) Getting the timing right from the master to the slave, when the recharge time on the slave takes about 12 seconds, and the master about 2 is really hard, especically with second curtain flash, as the master fires on the press of the shutter button and at the end, and the slave kept firing only on the first flash.... That took some playing to get them to fire at the same time.

4) It's actually quite a lot of fun shooting self portraits, more than I thought it would be, especially when I first decided I'd never do it.

5) Use the KISS principle until you know what you are actually doing and understand the interaction of all the tools, and even then Keep it simple.

And you know what... I'm really still not happy with the end result I must be :nuts:

Cason and Betty... I'm wearing the TP Polo from the Raffle, thank you.
 
John, you're a very brave man. :D This is the second week you've tried something really technically difficult and ended up with a result. :clap:

In version 2, I expect you realise that taking a step or 2 away from the wall would have softened the shadows - if there was room to do that. Using the 2 flashes is challenging to say the least.

I think it's great to see your early attempts and shows the learning process you went through to get to the final version. You're really pushing your togging skills to a higher level - you must be quietly chuffed. I've never tried a self portrait so I can only stand and admire. :)

Jean
 
love the expression in the first 2, but the lighting is deffanitially better in the last :thumbs:
 
Haha John there you are again :)

2 has the surprise element for me - that expression is priceless - pity about the shadows!

Looks like a great learning experience though! :D
 
Yet again you are brave enough to face the camera :clap:

Not sure how many on the site would be willing...:lol:

I like number 2 best, yes the shadows a bit harsh, but you got the shot and subject spot on the week..good one..:thumbs:
 
That middle one you look genuinely supprised, good show.

It looks like you used direct flash, the walls look light enough to have tried bounce which would have softened the shadows
 
Thanks very much all. I didn't like any of them :D I tried bouncing the flash in all different directions, the portrait shot, made it more tricky, as the flash mounted on the hot shoe meant it was pointing at windows, and I couldn't get it to bounce enough. I tried to use a far more powerful flash (old, blow up the digital variety) as a slave and bounce that to reduce the shadows but it didn't work. I hung white sheets up to try and bounce the hot shoe flash back, all sorts of things, but it wasn't enough (maybe it's the cheapy jessops flash :) and a decent speedlight would have worked better, but cost was a big factor).

Jean, there's a pretty fine line between brave and stoopid, but I'm enjoying the challenge of trying to work some of these things out, even if I end up getting it wrong, it's all part of the learning experience. I didn't even think about stepping away from the wall :bang: although, saying that, I didn't have a lot of room to play with.

Ruth and John, getting that surprised look on the 15th attempt of day 2 was, to say the least, tricky :D

Marc, it's strangely, yet surprisingly (there we go again :)) fun to try something like this.

Slightly worryingly, having spent most of the day (after checking my email this morning on my mobile) thinking about the new weeks challenge... The first thing that came to mind was ... Another self portrait... I think I need my head examined :lol: :nuts:
 
Thanks very much Jill.
 
And guess what... Another I'm not that happy with...

After spending some time thinking hard about this (it ought to have been easy, but my ideas kept coming back to...) and trying to think how I might show light and dark, with a self portrait (not again) I finally twigged onto something else. I tried a number of different things but eventually settled on this:


Light/Heavy - But also got Light/Dark and Hard/Soft

IMG_1594.jpg


This was setup in my Maplin Lightbox/tent thingy... I lined the bottom and back with white A4 paper to get a decent white background and to attempt to reflect the flash back more. I used the Jessops flash angled into the back of the box. I'm none too happy with the reflection from the weight, but try as I might I couldn't manage to do anything about it.


Lessons Learned
1) Using flash is another layer of difficulty
2) Getting a decent white background is hard
3) Using an object with a highly reflective surface is much harder than a matt one

Thanks to John (Darkstar) with a few tips on pp, I've had a quick play and got :

IMG_15941.jpg
 
Last edited:
Good concept and set of opposites John and, unlike me, you are pushing your boundaries and learning stuff :)

The whites are a little grey I think and reflections are always a b****r :)

I use a long piece of white card which gently curves at the back to achieve a smoothish bg to my light tent shots - then I invariably have to tweak the levels to achieve the whiteness I want! So I agree its not easy and congrats for giving it a punt!

Be interesting to collate all the 'opposites' that folk come up with! There are about 7 between us two :)
 
nice simplistic shot :thumbs: Good interpretation of the theme too.
 
Thanks all. John, hmm, interesting idea... I bet there'll be quite a few different variations of opposites...
 
You could also add Hard/Soft to the tally! :)

This one is a really hard shot to nail. Shiny surfaces are difficult and become more so when they're curved as well. So, well done - you are certainly trying something new every week and I feel a total lightweight in comparison!

Well done, John. :clap::clap:

Jean
 
I really like this jgs001. :clap::clap:

I prefer the second shot with the whiter background and the texture of the feather sits well against the smooth surface of the silver paperweight behind it.

I guess that means it also meets another opposite with that as well.

I can quite easily imagine this picture on a fancy card for sale in a card shop.

well done :)
 
Thanks very much Jean. If I'm honest, there's only a few things I have tried, so a lot of what I'm doing for this is new for me. It's fun.

Thanks very much Andrea :thumbs:
 
jeangenie said:
You could also add Hard/Soft to the tally! :)

This one is a really hard shot to nail. Shiny surfaces are difficult and become more so when they're curved as well. So, well done - you are certainly trying something new every week and I feel a total lightweight in comparison!

Well done, John. :clap::clap:

Jean
Click to expand...

I agree with Jean... not that she's a lightweight - that this is a tricky shot to nail! I prefer the second edit and I feel your pain about the reflection - you did pick a horribly difficult curved shiny object so it was always going to be a nightmare but I think you've done well :thumbs:
 
Wow there you go again pushing yourself...:clap:

That's a tough one to take on... but you pulled it off on the second edit much better...:thumbs:

It's so good to see all the different ways people see the same subject.

I'm liking this weeks challenge...
 
Daysleeper40 said:
I agree with Jean... not that she's a lightweight - that this is a tricky shot to nail! I prefer the second edit and I feel your pain about the reflection - you did pick a horribly difficult curved shiny object so it was always going to be a nightmare but I think you've done well :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Thank you, and I agree, Jean is no lightweight :D... (sorry Jean meant to say that earlier :D). Why do something easy when you can take the hard route .. no wait ... I must be :nuts: :cuckoo:

Spartacus said:
Wow there you go again pushing yourself...:clap:

That's a tough one to take on... but you pulled it off on the second edit much better...:thumbs:

It's so good to see all the different ways people see the same subject.

I'm liking this weeks challenge...
Click to expand...

Thanks very much, I'm enjoying trying to think of different ways to get the shot for the 52, that's part of the fun and challenge and I'm really glad I signed up.
 
I really like the second edit of your Opposites John. It's really hard trying something new every week, but, like you, I'm glad I signed up. You entry this week meets the them on a lot of levels textured/shiny, light/heavy, Black/White, light/dark and curved/straight. It's a really arty shot as a result too :clap::clap:
 
Thanks very much Jill... Even more opposites than I'd thought :thumbs:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top