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

Thanks Marcus. I did have some thoughts as to what it would contain :D... it wouldn't have upset anyone...
 
I'd thought, when this theme came around that it would be quite easy, but actually capturing a suitable image proved more challenging. Spending some time no working, and doing different things has changed things around for me as we have been out and about a lot. My first thought was of a wooden statue, I think it's a seed, that appears split in two. I did some extra processing I wouldn't normally to get the image.

But in the end, after a trip to the docks at Chatham, I settled on this shot of a duo of 4600 hp diesel engines from aboard an O class submarine. I've duo toned the image in processing to try and produce a redness to it, that might have been seen under red light conditions at night. This shot was taken with the on board flash and kit lens.

IMG_4716duot.jpg


Lessons learnt
1) The kit lens for the 450d is a pretty good little lens
2) The harsh effect of on board flash can be processed out to some degree
3) It's fun to play around with things in processing at times
 
gooe grief how confusing would that be to try and fix something in that engine :eek:
I like colouring of this :clap: Gives it an old style feel, without doing it too much neither

:thumbs: brillo
 
An interesting choice of subject and I like the processing too.

Good stuff John:thumbs:
 
have been on that sub (its round the corner from my house) and i have to say impressed never would have thought of it tbh. Love the colouring as well :D
 
I agree with others statements in that I would never have thought of this, and that I like the after treatment that gives it that vintage feel. :clap: :clap:
 
That's really a 'out-of-the-box' shot, John. I like the abstract feel of this (not knowing one part of an engine from another :bonk: ) and the perspective and pp treatment really make it into an interesting shot.

Well spotted, well captured, and well processed. :clap::clap::clap:

btw - I agree with your learning point #3 - and this one has worked really well. :)

Jean
 
I like how you have related the theme to not only the image but the processing too.

Being an engineer I like your duo shot, agree with the comments on how it looks aged.

Really like the shot you never used too, that works well.
 
Shorty said:
gooe grief how confusing would that be to try and fix something in that engine
I like colouring of this Gives it an old style feel, without doing it too much neither

brillo
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Wouldn't be fun, but the designers made it as simple as poss to maintain from the central corridor. Thanks.

maddog.mark said:
An interesting choice of subject and I like the processing too.

Good stuff John
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Cheers Mark

Toothie said:
have been on that sub (its round the corner from my house) and i have to say impressed never would have thought of it tbh. Love the colouring as well
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Thanks Ruth, it's a tight squeeze inside it isn't it, especially carrying a loaded camera backpack with lunch stuffed in it too :D.

corky said:
:agree:
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Thanks Corky

adrury said:
I agree with others statements in that I would never have thought of this, and that I like the after treatment that gives it that vintage feel.
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Thanks Angela, glad that's come across.

jeangenie said:
That's really a 'out-of-the-box' shot, John. I like the abstract feel of this (not knowing one part of an engine from another :bonk: ) and the perspective and pp treatment really make it into an interesting shot.

Well spotted, well captured, and well processed.

btw - I agree with your learning point #3 - and this one has worked really well.

Jean
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Thanks very much Jean. I keep reading and hearing about Duotone, and figured that if I was going to try it a theme shot for "Duo" would be the best place for it ;)

Hyster said:
I like how you have related the theme to not only the image but the processing too.

Being an engineer I like your duo shot, agree with the comments on how it looks aged.

Really like the shot you never used too, that works well.
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Thanks very much on both images.
 
Great thinking outside the box this week...:clap:

I think you got the balance spot on with the lighting...it's how I would exspect to see the inside of a sub...:thumbs:

and looks so 1950s....

I like this one Sir...:thumbs:
 
Thank you, glad you like it. :thumbs:
 
Hi John, I'm catching back up again :D

Everything has already been said about the Letter picture but I'll add my twopenneth anyway. Great take on the theme, spot on DoF, and, if I may be allowed to finish it for you 'which silly, :cuckoo:, :gag:, :razz:, person put some of these themes into the hat?'

Duo, this has a great feel to it and the Duotone has really worked. It almost looks hypereal with all the detail. Well done :clap::clap::clap:
 
Nice one John - an impressive bit of hardware well caught and processed by your good self!

Duo has really seen some original thinking! But I guess thats what its about :)

Good shot! :)
 
Bruja said:
Hi John, I'm catching back up again :D

Everything has already been said about the Letter picture but I'll add my twopenneth anyway. Great take on the theme, spot on DoF, and, if I may be allowed to finish it for you 'which silly, :cuckoo:, :gag:, :razz:, person put some of these themes into the hat?'

Duo, this has a great feel to it and the Duotone has really worked. It almost looks hypereal with all the detail. Well done
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Thanks Jill for both of them... as for the letter :lol:

Dark Star said:
Nice one John - an impressive bit of hardware well caught and processed by your good self!

Duo has really seen some original thinking! But I guess thats what its about :)

Good shot! :)
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Thanks John, considering how old the sub is, it's still damned impressive (and very cramped). Those pair of 4600hp diesels, are there to charge the batteries and refresh the air... That's it...
I've posted some more shots from the outing over in Transport.
 
Hi there, just got to here from your shots of the Galaxies engulfing each other, which I must say is fantastic!!

Your 52 is looking really good, keep it up!!


John
 
Thanks very much John. I'm totally stumped on the current theme... :'(
 
Well seen shot! I think the onboard flash has probably helped give more of a vintage feel to this if anything. Obviously, I think it'd be better in just mono... but then doesn't everything!! ;)
 
SimonTALM said:
I like that, the contrast is spot on to my tastes but I think the red needs to be redder if you want to get the red light effect.
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Thanks Simon, I'll have to have a look at the red effect, I'm not clued up on DuoToning images... Hmmm...

dizzy said:
Well seen shot! I think the onboard flash has probably helped give more of a vintage feel to this if anything. Obviously, I think it'd be better in just mono... but then doesn't everything!! ;)
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Thanks David. Just for you :D
IMG_4716.jpg
 
I really really struggled for inspiration with this one. Nothing at all came to mind. I googled, I thought, I googled some more, thought some more...

In the end I took the box and shoved it through the shredder and went for the only thing that came to mind. I know I won't get the chance to get anything else this weekend, so I'm going to post this now.. I'm not that happy with it, but I got something, even if it's something similar to others I've done...


Long - ING
IMG_5040.jpg


Lessons Learned
1) Shooting emotions is too damned hard. I have enough trouble getting decent shots of solid things you can hold in your hand...
2) Lighting, I hate lighting and flash, I just never seem to get it right and it's not getting any easier.
 
jgs001 said:
I really really struggled for inspiration with this one.

I'm not that happy with it, but I got something, even if it's something similar to others I've done... I agree but it still works for me and it fits the theme, the shots in and that's what counts...:clap:
Long - ING


Lessons Learned
1) Shooting emotions is too damned hard. I have enough trouble getting decent shots of solid things you can hold in your hand...true enough for most people...
2) Lighting, I hate lighting and flash, I just never seem to get it right and it's not getting any easier. Now this really is a tricky one because lighting is the bread and butter of photography, so you need to learn to embrace it and it will love you back in bucket loads...
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We all have weeks when inspiration is in short supply - and I've certainly suffered from it this week, too!
:)

I like the 'bottom-up' angle, (nice and 'long'), although I wonder if it could have been slightly turned round to make the eye travel across the frame a little, rather than just up and down. (I hope that makes sense!)

On the topic of lighting - how did you light this? People might be able to give you some ideas is they knew what conditions you were working in. :)

Well done for getting there when you were feeling less than inspired. :thumbs:

Jean
 
Spartacus said:
I agree but it still works for me and it fits the theme, the shots in and that's what counts...

1) Shooting emotions is too damned hard. I have enough trouble getting decent shots of solid things you can hold in your hand...true enough for most people...
2) Lighting, I hate lighting and flash, I just never seem to get it right and it's not getting any easier. Now this really is a tricky one because lighting is the bread and butter of photography, so you need to learn to embrace it and it will love you back in bucket loads...
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Thanks. You're right, and perhaps I should have been more specific. If the light is right from the sun, with that wonderful golden glow etc, I love it. It's when I have to make my own and make it right I struggle :bang::bang:

jeangenie said:
We all have weeks when inspiration is in short supply - and I've certainly suffered from it this week, too!
:)

I like the 'bottom-up' angle, (nice and 'long'), although I wonder if it could have been slightly turned round to make the eye travel across the frame a little, rather than just up and down. (I hope that makes sense!)

On the topic of lighting - how did you light this? People might be able to give you some ideas is they knew what conditions you were working in. :)

Well done for getting there when you were feeling less than inspired. :thumbs:

Jean
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Thanks Jean, I know what you mean, more of a diagonal through the shot. Maybe I can do that for the reshoot this week :D...

This was lit with the Jessops 300AFD. I tried a number of different things, but none of them got what I wanted from it. I don't know if you saw my Indian Stick shot in the Macro section, but I think the flash is too limited as well... it's only got the on/off switch and is fully ettl...
 
Hello, sorry for late reply, I like the thinking behind this shot, and the angle, I wonder if it would have benfitted from being a thicker font, and perhaps one printed out on a computer may have added interest....just a thought.

well done :clap: :clap:
 
adrury said:
Hello, sorry for late reply, I like the thinking behind this shot, and the angle, I wonder if it would have benfitted from being a thicker font, and perhaps one printed out on a computer may have added interest....just a thought.

well done :clap: :clap:
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Love the idea and agree with Adrury - if nothing else you would have had more symmetry and impact. I like it when people shred the box :thumbs:
 
adrury said:
Hello, sorry for late reply, I like the thinking behind this shot, and the angle, I wonder if it would have benfitted from being a thicker font, and perhaps one printed out on a computer may have added interest....just a thought.

well done :clap: :clap:
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Thanks Angela, no worries ;). You could well be right there... Hmmm :thinking:

Toothie said:
lol that has really made me smile :lol: top idea :thumbs:
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Thanks Ruth

Daysleeper40 said:
Love the idea and agree with Adrury - if nothing else you would have had more symmetry and impact. I like it when people shred the box :thumbs:
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Thanks DS, you're right. I shall have a think.
 
Well done for getting one in this week John :thumbs: and I love the thought behind it but agree with the comments about lighting and composition. As for your learning points I am the exact opposite to the first one. I 'see' most things emotionally :(, and as for 2, I haven't even tried to master this yet, if it's not natural light I don't do it.

Bottom line, it depends where your comfort zone is and where your interests lie and this challenge is shoving us forcibly out of both of them but while we might learn from them it doesn't mean we should be too self critical if we don't meet our own high standards every time.

I'm struggling with inspiration this week and I'm wishing we could have a more 'concrete' theme soon as we have had a run of conceptual ones recently.

Have a :hug:
 
Bruja said:
Well done for getting one in this week John :thumbs: and I love the thought behind it but agree with the comments about lighting and composition. As for your learning points I am the exact opposite to the first one. I 'see' most things emotionally :(, and as for 2, I haven't even tried to master this yet, if it's not natural light I don't do it.

Bottom line, it depends where your comfort zone is and where your interests lie and this challenge is shoving us forcibly out of both of them but while we might learn from them it doesn't mean we should be too self critical if we don't meet our own high standards every time.

I'm struggling with inspiration this week and I'm wishing we could have a more 'concrete' theme soon as we have had a run of conceptual ones recently.
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Thanks very much Jill, you're right :thumbs:. As for this week, I've got a couple of shots, they don't really represent the theme so much as contrast it... but otherwise it's gonna be kinda dull :D...

Bruja said:
Have a :hug:
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thanks, that's much better ;)
 
jgs001 said:
Thanks very much Jill, you're right :thumbs:. As for this week, I've got a couple of shots, they don't really represent the theme so much as contrast it... but otherwise it's gonna be kinda dull :D...



thanks, that's much better ;)
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...if it was easy it would nt be as rewarding when we "nail" one...
my "longing" shot was pants...but I hope to bounce back :D

The simple solutions are usually the most elegant and your long ING idea is super....I agree with others that perhaps diagnol might have added more interest to the composition...but then...simplicity..
 
Thank you... I may have another go at this for the reshoot for this week.
 
Ok, First lets do the reshoot (s)...

I reshot my Long ING shot from last week, taking on board the comments, diagonally-ish... aiming for an interesting computer font etc...

IMG_5188.jpg


I also was surprised to find myself with an opportunity to shoot surprise again when this squidger turned up in the bird feeder. I set the shot up form inside, then banged on the window, as he looked up mid chomp... click (2 weren't intended... but this one came up after I'd done the other :D )...

IMG_5197.jpg


I was wondering if I could get away with the two reshoots as I can't get my dark shot to come out how I'd like. I did think of using an astro image, maybe a flare shot with a lovely dark sky background but I do a lot of them, so it's not exactly a long way from my comfort zone...

I decided in the end that I'd try and get a shot of a single small light source in a dark room. The light, in this case, being a star that my youngest wanted and loves (it's on every night at bedtime)... Damnably tricky to shoot, I don't want to make too much noise and wake him up, so I shot this from the hall, I didn't want to cart the tripod up, so it's braced against a door frame, not easy when using a longer length lens...

I'm not 100% happy with how it's come out, it's not how I envisaged it to be, but I think this is one of those subjects that's not going to do what I want it to...

Anyway enough waffle...

A beacon in the night
IMG_5166.jpg


Lessons learnt
1) Trying to be sneaky and quiet with an SLR and telephoto lens is hard
2) At night, when everyone else is alseep and there's no movement, the shutter sounds deafeningly loud
 
longing, much, much better imho

squidger, well caught, very nice

Dark, hasn't quite worked for me, I can see the thinking, but I think you need the tripod.

Mark:thumbs:
 
I think the Long ing shot is much improved, well done!

The surprise shot surprises me!! Why not use this as your dark photo. It was obviously taken in the dark and is absolutely stunning!!

Dark, is a good idea, but hasn't quite worked. The glare from the light source is too overpowering in the shot! (just my opinion sorry)

Overall though two out of three is a good ratio in my books, well done :clap: :clap:
 
Those reshoots are brilliant, especially surprise. Spot on image :thumbs:

Dark is a nice shoot and I can see your thinking - very much like mine for this weeks actually.
 
maddog.mark said:
longing, much, much better imho

squidger, well caught, very nice

Dark, hasn't quite worked for me, I can see the thinking, but I think you need the tripod.

Mark:thumbs:
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Thanks Mark, you may well be right

adrury said:
I think the Long ing shot is much improved, well done!

The surprise shot surprises me!! Why not use this as your dark photo. It was obviously taken in the dark and is absolutely stunning!!

Dark, is a good idea, but hasn't quite worked. The glare from the light source is too overpowering in the shot! (just my opinion sorry)

Overall though two out of three is a good ratio in my books, well done :clap: :clap:
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Thanks Angela. The reason I didn't use that as my dark shot is I'm stoopid :bang: and it didn't occur to me that the squidger was in the dark about me being there till you mentioned it.

Shorty said:
Those reshoots are brilliant, especially surprise. Spot on image :thumbs:

Dark is a nice shoot and I can see your thinking - very much like mine for this weeks actually.
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Thanks Jon, I knew what effect I wanted but getting that captured ...
 
The re-shoots are definately improvements - I particularly like suprise.

I get your thinking with Dark but the image itself isn't working for me I'm afraid. Agree that you need the tripod but it's not always easy to do what you need to is it!
 
What a busy week you've had. Well done - 2 reshoots and this week's theme. :1st:

Longing: I like the lighting and dof on the reshoot. The letters sure are pretty and give a very decorative effect.

Surprise: This was one of the hardest to get 'live' and I think most of us resorted to 'staged' or symbolic, so to get a genuine surprise is excellent. It's also a shot to be proud of. :clap::clap:

Dark: I sympathise on this one. I had vague notions of a dim light casting a subtle glow in part of a room, but gave up when I started to think about how to capture that effect. So, well done for getting loads further than I did - and under very difficults constraints. Agree on the shutter noise - sounds about 95 decibels in a quiet situation. :)

Jean
 
Daysleeper40 said:
The re-shoots are definately improvements - I particularly like suprise.

I get your thinking with Dark but the image itself isn't working for me I'm afraid. Agree that you need the tripod but it's not always easy to do what you need to is it!
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Thanks DS. I know what you mean... I shall save this for another reshoot card. It's sometimes next to impossible to achieve, in reality, what you can imaging...

jeangenie said:
What a busy week you've had. Well done - 2 reshoots and this week's theme. :1st:

Longing: I like the lighting and dof on the reshoot. The letters sure are pretty and give a very decorative effect.

Surprise: This was one of the hardest to get 'live' and I think most of us resorted to 'staged' or symbolic, so to get a genuine surprise is excellent. It's also a shot to be proud of. :clap::clap:

Dark: I sympathise on this one. I had vague notions of a dim light casting a subtle glow in part of a room, but gave up when I started to think about how to capture that effect. So, well done for getting loads further than I did - and under very difficults constraints. Agree on the shutter noise - sounds about 95 decibels in a quiet situation. :)

Jean
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Thanks very much Jean. I really like the squidger shot myself, possibly the best one I've shot (and through double glazing too :D). This type of dark shot is really tricky, I'm thinking it might be easier to shoot this during the day with a strongish ND filter :thinking: making things easier to control.
 
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