MentalBlock's 2011 52 - Week 52 'Glass' added & 52 FINISHED

Hi Neil

Just having a quick catch up on your thread ! In no particular order :

Great shot for Moderation (& could have been your empty shot as well) :thumbs:

Really love your Empty shots , can't decide which I prefer as think they are all fab for different reasons.... great angle for the 1st one , brill DOF in the 2nd one & great use of motion in the 3rd...really great captures :thumbs:
 
This weeks theme could be too easy if you wanted it to be.
Look at the meaning of 'Object' and you have "a tangible and visible entity; an entity that can cast a shadow", which opens the doors to everything.
Then there is 'Object' "to refuse or attempt to refuse to permit some action, speech". So, I've decided to make my week 14 a good excuse to practice with my light box and some PP skills.

I therefore present a collage of 'Objects'.

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I enjoyed doing this.
I used my home made light-box for all the images and used manual to try and keep the exposure the same.
I soon found out that some of the objects actual increased the exposure levels, so I had to play with the shutter speed to keep levels the same.

Despite this, and despite the fact that the background was white, the backgrounds of my images still came out with a greyish colour, so I had to play with the levels in PS.
This created extra problems of some of the objects having blow highlights. The solution - extract the objects from their backgrounds. I'll be practicing this and trying to find the manual WB setting for my lights and light-box.

Any tips of getting my background white would be appreciated.

Thanks for looking.
 
Hiya Neil,

Ooooh I love images like this because I like to have a bit of a nosey at all the things on display :D Keep my eyes flitting about and maintains the interest.

First thing I noticed was the motion on the metronome, well done there :clap:

You have made good use of the lighting so as not to cast any shadows. However, there seems to be a bit of something odd right of the metronome and bananas, like there is a seam or something.

What I like too is how some of the objects appear to be floating above the others and like how it looks like the Marmite and open Wispa are taking off :D (either that or my eyes are starting to play tricks on me).

As for getting a white background, white, I'd be interested to hear what advice people have for that. I've found that my white backgrounds have a blue tint. I'm not sure if it has to do with the lighting I'm using, perhaps a softer light would help :shrug:

Otherwise I think you have done a great job here and many objects to look at.

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
Hi Neil, that is a cracking shot indeed! I like the way you have some objects "floating" over another as well, you have done a great job with the pp work. In terms of the background being a bit grey, I wonder if you were to add some extra light in to even the light distribution?, it may help, this something I have not done myself, so it may or may not work.
:thumbs:
 
A lot of good images there Neil. Homemade lightboxes are the new black as far as I'm concerned too. The nikon cap doesn't seem quite in focus (apparently the cameras are the same:lol::D:lol::D) And my wife says the bananas are leading her eye back out of the picture. Other than those minor niggles you have controlled the light well with no bad reflections on the shinier objects.
 
Hiya Neil,

I'm here again :D, just to let you know that I was reading the latest copy of Practical Photography last night and noticed there was a 'Learning Drill' on Exposure Control that I thought might interest you (page 43 of the mag) and might be the answer to your request for 'any tips on getting the background white'. It seems a pretty useful little exercise, and one I am going to try myself.

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
Hi Neil, straight to the last page of your thread expecting to just see "empty" and was impressed with how quick you have submitted "object" too. Really nice collage which looks vibrant against the white background, Great pp.
Your "empty" submission is a great idea and very well executed. I cannot pick a favourite from the three and feel they all begin together. In doing so it shows the overall emptiness of the park. Part 3 is very atmospheric, almost chilling. Very Very good work.:clap::clap::)
 
drodd said:
Hiya Neil,

......................................
You have made good use of the lighting so as not to cast any shadows. However, there seems to be a bit of something odd right of the metronome and bananas, like there is a seam or something.
.................great job here and many objects to look at.

Cheers

Dawn :)
Click to expand...

Hi Dawn,

I managed to lose the shadows on most, but the metronome was the tallest and cast a bit of a shadow, which is what you can see at the right. There are a couple more, but some crafty positioning of objects has hidden them or softened them.

Thanks for the comments and I'm glad you like.

ecniv said:
You've got some really good pictures in there. The empty park and the object are done really well.

Congrats and keep shooting
Click to expand...

Hi ecniv,
Thanks for looking.
I'm trying to take different shots rather than the usual angles. I'm pleased with the way these came out, and it's nice to know others like them too.


michael23 said:
Hi Neil, that is a cracking shot indeed! I like the way you have some objects "floating" over another as well, you have done a great job with the pp work. In terms of the background being a bit grey, I wonder if you were to add some extra light in to even the light distribution?, it may help, this something I have not done myself, so it may or may not work.
Click to expand...

Michael,
The idea hit me as soon as I saw the theme.
I'm liking it a lot, but some of the shadows are frustrating - its the OCD part of me. If I find time, I may do it again, but cut out each object and place them on a new white background.

Barrysprout said:
A lot of good images there Neil. Homemade lightboxes are the new black as far as I'm concerned too. The nikon cap doesn't seem quite in focus (apparently the cameras are the same:lol::D). And my wife says the bananas are leading her eye back out of the picture. Other than those minor niggles you have controlled the light well with no bad reflections on the shinier objects.
Click to expand...

Very funny Nikon comment Colin.
I didn't think about the banana leading you out of the image, but I think your wife is right - as they usually are!

drodd said:
Hiya Neil,

I'm here again :D, just to let you know that I was reading the latest copy of Practical Photography last night and noticed there was a 'Learning Drill' on Exposure Control that I thought might interest you (page 43 of the mag) and might be the answer to your request for 'any tips on getting the background white'. It seems a pretty useful little exercise, and one I am going to try myself.

Cheers

Dawn :)
Click to expand...

I don't do the Practical Photography mag, I did have the Practical Motorhome mag, but found it had more pages for adverts than it did for articles - How are you finding the Photography version?
As a result, I may have to find another way of reading the article :thinking:
I subscribe to Digital SLR which is useful. I'll be keeping a look out for your sample pictures

Marts said:
Hi Neil, straight to the last page of your thread expecting to just see "empty" and was impressed with how quick you have submitted "object" too. Really nice collage which looks vibrant against the white background, Great pp.
Your "empty" submission is a great idea and very well executed. I cannot pick a favourite from the three and feel they all begin together. In doing so it shows the overall emptiness of the park. Part 3 is very atmospheric, almost chilling. Very Very good work.:clap::clap::)
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comments Martin.
As noted above, I really liked the idea when I thought about it, and I had fun taking the shots and playing with the angles. Hard to believe you could have fun at 7am as a 37 year old in a children's play ground, when sober!
 
Mentalblock said:
Hi Dawn,

I managed to lose the shadows on most, but the metronome was the tallest and cast a bit of a shadow, which is what you can see at the right. There are a couple more, but some crafty positioning of objects has hidden them or softened them.

Thanks for the comments and I'm glad you like.

I don't do the Practical Photography mag, I did have the Practical Motorhome mag, but found it had more pages for adverts than it did for articles - How are you finding the Photography version?
As a result, I may have to find another way of reading the article :thinking:
I subscribe to Digital SLR which is useful. I'll be keeping a look out for your sample pictures
Click to expand...

Hiya Neil,

In which case, well done on the hiding the shadows.

As for the article, indeed .... will send details via email ;) As for the Photography version, ok ... and hoping to do the DSLR bootcamp this year.

I've never subscribed to Practical Motorhome mag, but after your rave review I don't think I will either, but then my campervan is probably way to old for that sort of literature :lol: BTW have my first outing in the van in 2 weeks from now wooohooo!

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
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Your empty is a nice, eerie photograph. Empty playground...well thought out.

You objects is a literal take, as many are with this theme. I'd like to see the white spaces filled with objects, so it looked like a sea of objects - if you know what I mean??

Cheers.
 
posiview said:
Your empty is a nice, eerie photograph. Empty playground...well thought out.

You objects is a literal take, as many are with this theme. I'd like to see the white spaces filled with objects, so it looked like a sea of objects - if you know what I mean??

Cheers.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean Andy.
I did intend on having more objects, but to my surprise, I struggled to find enough inspiring and suitably sized objects. Although I did find more clutter than I thought I had!
 
Hi Neil. Some great photos on display here. For me the standouts are the photo for knowledge (I really like selective colour shots).
Your second photo for empty. Because I have a thing for end of the world books and films and this just appeals to me for that reason.
And the first photo for hard. Don't know why, It just appealls to me.

Mentalblock said:
Despite this, and despite the fact that the background was white, the backgrounds of my images still came out with a greyish colour, so I had to play with the levels in PS.
This created extra problems of some of the objects having blow highlights. The solution - extract the objects from their backgrounds. I'll be practicing this and trying to find the manual WB setting for my lights and light-box.

Any tips of getting my background white would be appreciated.

Thanks for looking.
Click to expand...

Try upping your exposure composition to +1 or +2. this normally makes whites whiter for me. And also try spot or center metering rather than matrix or evaluative metering. My understanding is that cameras only see in mid-tones. So if it's presented with an almost all-white or almost all-black image while in evaluative metering, It'll assume the photo is going to be over/underexposed and adjust accordingly. If you switch to spot metering it'll only meter the object you're focused on rather than the whole scene.
 
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Great 'object' shot - you have done an amazing job with lighting.
 
I have to say, the Victor Meldrew in me could have had me posting images all night on things that are wrong :shake:
Then there were the good suggestions from the OH, which I may do with the next re-shoot.

However, I resisted my temptations for images on multiple topics and went for this.

5628871260_1df9eddf46_z.jpg


As a dog owner I get real angry when I see this.
What is 'wrong' with people that scoop up their dogs mess in a bag, but then discard the bag in all manner of places :cuckoo:
As plastic doesn't degrade like poop, I'd rather they just kicked the mess where my children and I wont stand in it, than leave a bag of poop in a wall or in a bush for eternity, or until someone else cleans up after them!

I decided to go for a simple poster style image and to show some images from a 2 mile walk in a country park near Buxton that we were at this weekend. I held off taking shots of dog mess not in bags :bang:

Thanks for looking.
 
Hi Neil, as a non dog owner it upsets me too. As you say it makes far more sense to guide your dog into an off path area or move it.
Also amazes me when out walking how many people throw away drinks bottles in the countryside. I find it hard to comprehend how someone can carry a full bottle of water for a few miles but they don't have the energy to carry an empty bottle back:cuckoo:
Anyway, your shots for the theme I think send the message without the text overlayed. Good choice for the theme and well constructed. :thumbs:
 
Hi, Neil, I don't have a dog at the moment but it really annoys me when people take time to pick the dog muck up then just dump the bag.

Good idea to focus one one issue as opposed to different types of rubbish.

I'd like to see one with a border, as I can't make my mind up???

Cheers.
 
Barrysprout said:
.............
Also amazes me when out walking how many people throw away drinks bottles in the countryside. I find it hard to comprehend how someone can carry a full bottle of water for a few miles but they don't have the energy to carry an empty bottle back:cuckoo:........
Click to expand...

This one gets me too Colin.
I actually took pictures of litter too!

There is something about being on the top of Ben Nevis that's magical, but oh how the magic is taken away when you see an empty bottle - like you say, they carried it that far when it was full!

blondie606 said:
Hi Neil


litter bugs indeed are so very WRONG :annoyed:

Great choice for the theme & really like the poster style collage...great work :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Thanks Lynne.
Litter bugs obviously have no love for their city, country or planet and obviously (I hope) are not photographers who love photographing what they see and enjoy.

posiview said:
Hi, Neil, I don't have a dog at the moment but it really annoys me when people take time to pick the dog muck up then just dump the bag.

Good idea to focus one one issue as opposed to different types of rubbish.

I'd like to see one with a border, as I can't make my mind up???

Cheers.
Click to expand...

Hi Andy,
Any style of border?
I did think about a plain white border to match the white divisions in the picture.

No dog at the moment - sounds like you're thinking of getting one.
I hope you don't get one like mine who wants to eat every other dog an nearly knocks your tripod over in the process!

Thanks for the comments everyone.
 
Better late than never!

Paradox really got me, but now I have an idea (probably already been done) I just need time to set up and shoot it. So in the mean time, here is my re-shoot of 'Wrong', which was one of my other ideas for week 15.

I think I prefer the crop, but I'd welcome comment on that.
The lighting isn't great either, mainly because I set everything up (tripod, camera and one home made snoot) in about 5 minutes, tried a few different compositions and lighting angles for another 5 minutes, a few minutes PP (crop and noise removal/ slight sharpen) then uploaded.

5684985026_6a0a4e69dd_z.jpg


5684982416_d326168665_z.jpg


Thanks for looking and feel free to comment.
 
Hiya Neil,

:lol: love the idea for the re-shoot of 'Wrong', I've never seen that done before and think it is clever :D

Considering you did this all very quickly I think you have done well, and I must say I prefer the cropped version too.

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
michael23 said:
Hi Neil I like them both, but I do prefer number 1, the tighter crop makes the subject matter stand out. :thumbs:
Click to expand...

Thanks Michael

drodd said:
Hiya Neil,

:lol: love the idea for the re-shoot of 'Wrong', I've never seen that done before and think it is clever :D

Considering you did this all very quickly I think you have done well, and I must say I prefer the cropped version too.

Cheers

Dawn :)
Click to expand...

5 minutes is a slight exaggeration, but it was a rush job.
I like the idea though and the shot.
If I was brave enough, I would have taken the pepper to a cafe for the shot.
 
An even bigger rush than the re-shoot and I'm even less impressed with it, but here is my Paradox shot.

While I'm not at all happy with it, I'm becoming more unhappy that I'm falling behind and I refuse to play a joker or skip a week, so this will have to do.

5694005658_eb8b48bdf3_z.jpg


Once I decided on (more stumbled on than thought of!) the idea, I planned to photograph a frozen chicken with an egg and arrange them with rotating arrows between them and a big question mark in the middle of the shot - ie, what came first. But my wife couldn't wait and cooked the chicken, so the rush was on to photograph it before we all ate it; the egg ended up in my lunch the following day!

The chicken and egg were very taste but the picture has left a sour taste :(

Hopefully I'll be back on form with my Tropical idea, which I hope to get sorted tomorrow. I have an idea for Power too, but as with my Paradox, I guess my power idea will have been done - I see that many power shots got posted very quickly!

I'm looking forward to getting these missing weeks up loaded than I can go looking at all your recent weeks which I suspect will be better than my last two.

Thanks for looking, and I'm sorry that there isn't much to look at!
 
Nice idea Neil, and although well shot doesn't really grab me. Maybe if the Chicken had been out of the roasting tin and on a platter it may have had more oomph for me.

I really like your WRONG montage though. It really sends a message. All the components of the collection are well shot and it is nicely arranged. Good work
 
Marts said:
Nice idea Neil, and although well shot doesn't really grab me. Maybe if the Chicken had been out of the roasting tin and on a platter it may have had more oomph for me.

I really like your WRONG montage though. It really sends a message. All the components of the collection are well shot and it is nicely arranged. Good work
Click to expand...

Thanks Martin.
We don't do platters in our house so it was roasting dish or served on a plate ready to eat, which is what happened about two minutes after the shot!

My reshoot on wrong was the original plan, but seeing so many poly bags while we were a way was more wrong than the pepper.
 
Hiya Neil,

Now that makes me hungry .... will need to get some food after seeing the delish chicken :D

Presentation is probably not the best, but at least it looks tidy and fits your interpretation of the theme.

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
drodd said:
Hiya Neil,

Now that makes me hungry .... will need to get some food after seeing the delish chicken :D

Presentation is probably not the best, but at least it looks tidy and fits your interpretation of the theme.

Cheers

Dawn :)
Click to expand...

Thanks for looking Dawn,

Rushed is the word.
I'm hoping to feel better about my 52 later this evening when I post my Tropical - off to my neice's house in a minute to get some sand!
 
Hi Neil

great idea for Wrong & well shot , think I prefer the version where you see more of the plate but thats just my preference :thumbs:

Paradox was a difficult one but see where you're coming from....& that chicken really does look sooo tasty :clap:
 
blondie606 said:
Hi Neil

great idea for Wrong & well shot , think I prefer the version where you see more of the plate but thats just my preference :thumbs:

Paradox was a difficult one but see where you're coming from....& that chicken really does look sooo tasty :clap:
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Thanks Lynne

I didn't enjoy Paradox. It came a t a busy time with the family and it really needed some thought. I'm uploading weeks 17 and 18 tonight and cannot wait to go and see what everyone else has done for these weeks.

Thanks for looking
 
Here's week 17 then - Tropical.

Photographing a can of Lilt would have been too easy and would have been done in the light box, which I've used a lot already in the 52.
I did consider a holiday to the tropics, but couldn't get the motorhome there and back in a weekend, so I had to improvise!

5708237730_80c456593c_z.jpg


The background was from a free background website, so hopefully I won't get in trouble for using it! The jelly babes tell me that they had a lot of fun and cannot wait to go back next year. They said they'd pack a cocktail umbrella next time though!

My niece now thinks her uncle is officially mad after borrowing a food bag full of her play sand!
 
And week 18 - Power

I knew I wanted to go to this location almost as soon as I saw the theme.
It's taken at Fiddlers Ferry Boat Haven between Widnes and Warrington.

I thought It would offer some interest in the fore ground, but on my first visit the sky was grey and dull, and on my second visit the sky was much better with the slight sunset, but I got there too late to take a shot with the boats in.

5707870305_579503af54_b.jpg


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I like the way the vegetation fills the foreground of the second image and the sunset not being blocked by a tree. But the first image has more glow off the sun in the steam from the coolers, which I like, and spreads through the image more than the second.

I've purposely increased the colour in #1 to give it a warmer feel, and I think #2 would benefit from the same tweak

As ever, I'm happy for comments.
The other shots are on my flickr.
 
Hi, I saw your others on Flickr but this is the one for me, mainly, but not solely, due the the foreground.

And I'll go for #2, mainly due to the colour of the sunset.

Your tropical made me chuckle and I can see that a lot of thought and preparation went into it.

I can' see any Speedos, though....:)
 
Re shoot Wrong - prefer #2 as I can see what that foreground item is ;)

Paradox - on theme...but...(says she who hasn't posted :$)

Tropical - A cracking composition and I love it...of course now someone has mentioned the absence of speedos and I worry that you may need a NSFW tag on the thread :lol:

Power - Fiddlers Ferry never looks good as I pass it so well done you on getting a couple of good uns in :thumbs: I love the colours in the first but prefer the composition in the second.

Well done on all this work :clap:
 
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