NickDs TP52 for 2021 - Week 52 - Showcase... Bring on 2022!

[Cobra]

I've no idea what it is either but its enhanced with the hoverfly
No matter what Tim ( @LC2 ) says

 

[Nostromo]

Plant
Really good detail in the hoverfly. Very vibrant yellow flower, which I like.

 

[Hadron]

Really nice, it almost looks like some kind of alien landscape. You’ve caught a great amount of detail in it

 

[NickD]

A perfectly good plant photo and you ruin it with a creepy crawly !!!

Thanks!
Adding creepy crawlies is the only way I know to make a plant pic interesting!

Some fantastic detail in there and the colours really pop. Lovely shot.

Cheers
I have no idea what the plant is, but it comes alive for about a month in the year and it's so vibrant. The insects love it.

I've no idea what it is either but its enhanced with the hoverfly
No matter what Tim ( @LC2 ) says

Thank You!
Agreed. Probably just my lack of skill, but a plant need an insect of some kind to make a decent shot out of it.

Plant
Really good detail in the hoverfly. Very vibrant yellow flower, which I like.

Thanks!
This one really is all about the colours.

Really nice, it almost looks like some kind of alien landscape. You’ve caught a great amount of detail in it

Cheers!
I'm quite impressed with the pseudo-macro capabilities of the XF70-300. I'd love a proper macro lens, but this will definitely get me close onough for a while.

 

[NickD]

Catch up - Week 29 - Dominating.

I've just realised this is the first time I've fallen behind this year, which isn't so bad. A combination of going away and the kids being on holiday caused things to slip, and also restricted my choices to opportinuties found on family outings. Still, it's been fun.

Found this Fella at Whipsnade's 'Zoorassic Park' feature. He was pretty dominant by all accounts... until the asteroid!

Apex Predator by Nick, on Flickr

 

[Cobra]

Found this Fella at Whipsnade's 'Zoorassic Park' feature.

Nicely taken Nick

 

[NickD]

Week 30 - Snappers Choice.

Time out with the Kids invariably means another trip to the Raptor Foundation, they love it up there. I only came away with a handful of shots as I was mostly supervising Archie with his funky little X-T10, and he did really well.

Anyway, this is Spike, their resident male Harris Hawk, always photogenic!

Spike by Nick, on Flickr

 

[Cobra]

Anyway, this is Spike, their resident male Harris Hawk, always photogenic!

Very nice Nick
Of all the BoP's I've trained and flown over the last 30 odd years, The Harris's Hawk ( correct spelling)
is my all time favorite

 

[NickD]

Very nice Nick
Of all the BoP's I've trained and flown over the last 30 odd years, The Harris's Hawk ( correct spelling)
is my all time favorite

Thanks!

Spike is a beauty, They have half a dosen or so, but he's the only male. He really knows how to make an entrance when he's flown, as if he knows it's showtime!

 

[seaodyssey]

Good Photo Nick, lots of details in his legs and the focus seems to be on his eye, nice background as well.

Pete

 

[-Oy-]

Two nice pix of very different predators

 

[Allan.H]

Agree nice shot of the hawk

 

[HelenC]

Two nice shots... the dinosaur is definitely dominating the image.

 

[Simonbrown16]

Nice pic of Spike, didn’t know their legs were that long. I like the background blur as well it really highlights Spike.

 

[NickD]

Good Photo Nick, lots of details in his legs and the focus seems to be on his eye, nice background as well.

Pete

Thanks!
The reviews of the XF70-300 were generally disparaging of the bokeh, but I'm pretty happy with how it deals with OOF areas.

Two nice pix of very different predators

Cheers!
And one is believed to be a descendent of the other to an extent!

Agree nice shot of the hawk

Thank You!
They're one of those creatures that it's hard to take a bad shot of.

Two nice shots... the dinosaur is definitely dominating the image.

Thanks!
If I'm honest I though twice about that shot... it's just a model donosaur after all, but after a gentle HDR tweak it came to life a little more.

Nice pic of Spike, didn’t know their legs were that long. I like the background blur as well it really highlights Spike.

Cheers!
His pose really does emphasise the langth of his legs, It strikes me that all raptors have pretty long legs, but it's hard to notice usually.

 

[NickD]

Week 31 - Hands.

Posted with many thanks to my partner for her patience !

Traditional Grip by Nick, on Flickr

 

[Allan.H]

That works really well I like the blackness which just leaves the essential parts

 

[-Oy-]

Yep sure does

 

[NickD]

That works really well I like the blackness which just leaves the essential parts

Yep sure does

Thanks!
The longest job was finding her black long-sleeved shirt, but I knew bare forearms wouldn't work as well. It was worth it in the end. It's not too often that an image comes out pretty much as I had imagined it, but this one did.

 

[Nostromo]

Hands
Great looking shot, good use of lighting.

 

[StuartPearson]

Plant
Fantastic range of colour that looks great even on a iPad at low brightness. Nice details on the bug too

Dominating
I love the expression the makers have gave the dinosaur, very smug at the top of the pecking order. Sharp image with sky not distracting from the main subject.

Snapper's Choice
I need to arrange a visit to the Kite place near me, my photos are definitely lacking in decent images. You captured Spike's focus well.

Hands
Well handled lighting with all the elements working well together.

 

[NickD]

Hands
Great looking shot, good use of lighting.

Thanks!
The lighting was a bit of a fudge in the absence of any proper kit, basically a small lamp off to the LHS. I guess it did the job though.

Plant
Fantastic range of colour that looks great even on a iPad at low brightness. Nice details on the bug too

Dominating
I love the expression the makers have gave the dinosaur, very smug at the top of the pecking order. Sharp image with sky not distracting from the main subject.

Snapper's Choice
I need to arrange a visit to the Kite place near me, my photos are definitely lacking in decent images. You captured Spike's focus well.

Hands
Well handled lighting with all the elements working well together.

Cheers!
I love the Raptor Foundation, they do great work and Family membership is only about 35 quid for the year... the kids love it too. Having said that I am jealous of anyone who lives near any of the Kite feeding stations. As thinks open up more I'd love to visit one.

 

[NickD]

Week 32 - Fur.

Limited opportunities for me this week, what with work, a busy weekend and no pets. I had to stake out the garden for a visitor, but for some reason these little guys are scarce this summer.

Out For Nuts by Nick, on Flickr

 

[Allan.H]

We have a couple who visit our garden to raid the bird feeders but like you I have noticed they are not as busy as last year.
nice shot though looks like he's heard you

 

[seaodyssey]

They must have come to our Garden, mind you the council are clearing the wooded area over the road, so maybe they will be scared away for a while.
Anyway a well caught shot, love the bright eyes and all the detail in the fur and tail.

Pete

 

[Simonbrown16]

Striking quite the pose there, love the focus on the eyes and how sharp the fur looks.

 

[NickD]

We have a couple who visit our garden to raid the bird feeders but like you I have noticed they are not as busy as last year.
nice shot though looks like he's heard you

Thanks!
We had lots over the first lockdown, but they've been notably more absent this summer. We have had an explosion of corvids this year though, and I do wonder if the Magpies have been taking the infants?

They must have come to our Garden, mind you the council are clearing the wooded area over the road, so maybe they will be scared away for a while.
Anyway a well caught shot, love the bright eyes and all the detail in the fur and tail.

Pete

Cheers!
They're a beautiful thing, and so alert. A great subject for photographs.

Striking quite the pose there, love the focus on the eyes and how sharp the fur looks.

Thanks!
They are quite obliging subjects!

 

[NickD]

Second catch-up of the year, as I was away with the kids, so I've only had one eye on photography. I grabbed what I could while we were out and about.

Week 33 - Clean.

The water certainly wasn't, but the Pelican was doing it's best to keep up appearances.

Keeping Clean by Nick, on Flickr

Week 34 - Glass/Glasses

Honestly untouched by me, a grab shot of what appears to be an abandoned/lost pair of spectacles, probably positioned on the log by some kind soul in the hope that it would improve the chances of them being reunited with their owner.

Abandoned by Nick, on Flickr

 

[Harlequin565]

Glass works really well. Very striking amongst the other entries. Loved it.

 

[seaodyssey]

Glasses reminds me of Eric Morecombe for some reason.

Nice details in the clean shot as well

Pete

 

[NickD]

Glass works really well. Very striking amongst the other entries. Loved it.

Thanks!
I got lucky there, the scene was laid out for me as we got out of the car, just sat there. All I had to do was point and shoot.

Glasses reminds me of Eric Morecombe for some reason.

Nice details in the clean shot as well

Pete

Cheers!
Now you mention it I can't look at it any other way!

 

[FlyPhot]

Nice idea for the theme, great use of DoF too. I like the setting you've chosen as it kind of puts the glasses 'out of place' if you know what I mean.

 

[Nostromo]

Clean
Nicely caught, the timing is just right.

Glass(es)
What a fortunate find.

 

[HelenC]

Glasses makes a great image... the positioning on log and dof resembles a face to me.

 

[NickD]

Nice idea for the theme, great use of DoF too. I like the setting you've chosen as it kind of puts the glasses 'out of place' if you know what I mean.

Thanks!
I was just lucky to park there. I didn't think much about settings, just wide open, as it's my default when out walking with the kids.

Clean
Nicely caught, the timing is just right.

Glass(es)
What a fortunate find.

Cheers!
The pelican was great, we were listening to a talk about them and it obviously wanted to be a part of the show.

Glasses makes a great image... the positioning on log and dof resembles a face to me.

Thanks You!
I know what you mean, and the log looks like my skin in winter... could almost be a self portrait!

 

[NickD]

Week 35 - Snappers Choice!

This week I started fettling an old gun, it's going to be my winter project and my aim is to get it back to how it left the factory in 1986. After a bit of test shooting I've found that its still silky smooth, so most of the work will be cosmetic. As the image shows, I'm going to need a fair bit of elbow grease for the metalwork prep!

Business End by Nick, on Flickr

 

[Harlequin565]

Dramatic composition! I wonder what it would look like just losing a bit off the RH side. Maybe just that red-brown blob on the RH edge of the frame... Just to give the barrel a bit more prominence...

 

[FlyPhot]

Nice close up image, good use of DoF too. I'd agree with Harlequin that a chop off the right hand side may work better(?). Is that a .22?

 

[NickD]

Dramatic composition! I wonder what it would look like just losing a bit off the RH side. Maybe just that red-brown blob on the RH edge of the frame... Just to give the barrel a bit more prominence...

Thanks!
Damn my lack of attention to detail... Had I looked harder I'd have at least had the brush over that blob and brought it down a bit. My thinking with leaving the space at the RHS was leaving the gun something to shoot into, so to speak. I did try a tighter 5/4 crop but it felt a little constricted to me.

Nice close up image, good use of DoF too. I'd agree with Harlequin that a chop off the right hand side may work better(?). Is that a .22?

Cheers!
It is a .22, an old Weihrauch HW77.

 

[-Oy-]

I knew it was a HW77 as soon as I saw it - I bought one new back in the 80s! Great bit of kit! Nicely shot here.