ProG's 2010 52 Wk Challenge - Wks 26 & 27 - "BEGINNINGS/ART"

[SarahLee]

The more I look at that the more I like it. Well composed and the B&W conversion really suits it.
How long did it take for somebody to walk past the other end for you to shoot them?
(perhaps a poor choice of words, given what it actually is.)

It's hard to imagine 26 of those all bolted together . . . or that it would actually be stable / secure enough to function properly as a gun.
A very interesting shot though and the second really puts it into perspective.

 

[RobC]

Cracking composition. Nice light and the B&W works so well.

 

[jgs001]

Brilliant, well framed and works so well in mono.

 

[ProG77]

Nice, original shot and as far as I'm concerned, really fits the theme!

Yup spot on!..... really nice interesting framing of the subject

Thanks guys!

great composition, what the hell is it though?

It's the barrel of a super gun.....not reading my post...tut tut :shake:

OOo, yes, like that very much. In context it looks like the subject is considering the implications of the supergun.

Excellent translation that - it does indeed! Hadn't seen it that way, but since you said it, I think I like the image even more!

The more I look at that the more I like it. Well composed and the B&W conversion really suits it.
How long did it take for somebody to walk past the other end for you to shoot them?
(perhaps a poor choice of words, given what it actually is.)

It's hard to imagine 26 of those all bolted together . . . or that it would actually be stable / secure enough to function properly as a gun.
A very interesting shot though and the second really puts it into perspective.

"How long did it take for somebody to walk past the other end for you to shoot them" - didn't realise that apart from being a great photographer, you are also a great comedienne Sarah?
Answer to your question however is not long as there were people walking past and standing in front quite frequently. In fact, there was actually another guy in the image but he was looking the other way so I cloned him out.

Cracking composition. Nice light and the B&W works so well.

Brilliant, well framed and works so well in mono.

Thanks guys, I must admit that despite being quite a simple image, I think it's quite a powerful one, especially the more I think of The23rd Man's analogy of the subject contemplating the implications of a supergun!

 

[MadFrankie]

The first image of candid is special, very special indeed. The b&w adds to the feel and mood of the shot and the composition is spot on...

Love it

 

[Harlequin565]

Well composed and the B&W conversion works a treat. It really draws the viewer into the frame.

Ian.

 

[ProG77]

The first image of candid is special, very special indeed. The b&w adds to the feel and mood of the shot and the composition is spot on...

Love it

Well composed and the B&W conversion works a treat. It really draws the viewer into the frame.

Ian.

Thanks guys - glad you like it and appreciate the comments.

 

[ProG77]

Wk 12 - Produce

Originally, I wanted to go down the fruit and veg route and had an image of a fruit/veg stall with lot's of different fruit and veg and colours.........then I got hit by a incredibly busy week at work and an even busier weekend, so out went my idea!

So, rather than fall behind, I took a quick few shots to go down the 'produce' as in 'make' route and here is the result. The image itself, I think is pretty self explanatory.......

Can be viewed as a larger version HERE

Tried re-sizing the image to make it larger and stay within forum rules but couldn't figure out how to

What did I learn this week?
Don't leave taking the image for the 52 week project till the last minute!!

 

[RobC]

Clever, me like would like to see a larger version.

 

[jgs001]

I agree, very clever... it works well, fits the theme (also kinda fits chemistry too ).... Good colours and comp in each panel. The only thing ... it looks like the original doesn't contain the wool for the gloves... that's being majorly picky of course...

 

[Lynton]

Yeah I like it. Very clever...........

 

[SarahLee]

That is VERY clever.
Each individual shot works well, but the way you've combined them really fits the theme.
You don't make things easy for yourself though do you?
It's bad enough leaving one shot for the 52 until the last minute, but three!!!!!

The only thing ... it looks like the original doesn't contain the wool for the gloves... that's being majorly picky of course...

I'm glad I'm not the only one to notice. I thought it was just me being a bit obsessive

 

[ProG77]

Clever, me like would like to see a larger version.

I agree, very clever... it works well, fits the theme (also kinda fits chemistry too ).... Good colours and comp in each panel. The only thing ... it looks like the original doesn't contain the wool for the gloves... that's being majorly picky of course...

Yeah I like it. Very clever...........

That is VERY clever.
Each individual shot works well, but the way you've combined them really fits the theme.
You don't make things easy for yourself though do you?
It's bad enough leaving one shot for the 52 until the last minute, but three!!!!!



I'm glad I'm not the only one to notice. I thought it was just me being a bit obsessive

Thanks guys. Can't say I was very pleased with the final image myself buy yes, I too did like the idea. Schoolboy error not including the actual ball of woll which was used to make the baby mits :bonk: and no, you are not being picky by pointing this out - well, not as picky as my wife who kindly pointed out that the balls of wool and the knitting needles didin't alone make the mits and that I should have also included a picture of her hand!

Anyway, I have re-shot 'produce' as part of this week's theme so have a look below and see what you think. Thanks.

 

[ProG77]

Wk 13 - Re-shoot:
As I wasn't entirely happy with 'Produce', I decided to take advantage of this week's theme and re-shoot 'produce' again.

I got the idea from last month's Practical Photography and wanted to try something similar. I am not quite sure if I do like this shot or not as it's not my usual kind of image, but once again, I am doing this whole project to try out and learn different things, so here it goes:

Happy Easter and hope everyone (well, other than the one's that have to work :razz is enjoying the break.

 

[jgs001]

I have that copy too... it's an interesting idea, and your interpretation of it has worked well

 

[ProG77]

I have that copy too... it's an interesting idea, and your interpretation of it has worked well

Thanks. Can't say it's the best shot ever, but in a weird kind of way, I really like it too!

 

[ProG77]

Wk 14 - SPRING SHOOT - ARACHNOPHOBIA ALERT - Do not view if squeamish!

I was tempted to borrow a gun from/ask a friend who is a firearms trained copper to pose for this week's task, but knew that others would have similar ideas and glad that I didn't go down that route as I've seen some amazing images/interpretation of the theme using guns as props, which would have no doubt put my efforts to shame..........

So instead, I went down the route of a 'Spring Shoot' for which I had 3 main aims:

1. Capture the essence of spring

2. Take as many shots with my new Tokina macro lens and begin my journey in to the world of macro

3. Enjoy the sunshine!

I took several shots which can be viewed HERE but just a selection of what I think below capture spring.

1. The smell of freshly cut grass

2. Daffodils everywhere

3. Ladybirds & Spiders gallore in the garden!

ARACHNOPHOBIA ALERT FOR NEXT IMAGE!

Learnings from this week:

1. I love my new macro lens!

2. I have a long way to go before I become good at taking macro shots

3. I need a ring flash!

2. I am still scared of spiders - even if they are 3cm long!

Thanks for looking and apologies for being greedy by posting multiple shots - but as I have said, this was my Spring Shoot, so felt I had to show a selection if images.

 

[jgs001]

An interesting set of shots for the theme this week. But if I'd got a nice new macro lens, I'd probably have done the same thing ... Congrats on the new lens BTW.

The Daffs are my fave here. Not sure what's going on with the Ladybird... there's what appears to be a halo... The spider has just missed the DOF (gotta watch that with Macro, there's so little of it). As for the ring flash.... if budget is tight, as long as the flash burst clears the lens, any flash will help a lot, or you can make a converter thingy with some cardboard, cd spindle and duck tape for a normal flash gun (it works much better if the flash has manual controls though).

 

[ProG77]

Thanks John - appreciate the feedback. Yes, I did struggle with controlling the DoF with the macro lens but with practice will hopefully get better at controlling it. Re: ring flash, thanks for the tip. Have seen several threads in this forum about DIY versions of ring flash adapters so will have a more in-depth look and see what I can come up with as can't really justify spending £150+ on a dedicated ring flash.

 

[dan_yorkshire]

Nice macro shots, agree with john and the daffs are my favourite image too.

The first uses a really nice dof but the daffs show more subject matter.

Well done

 

[SarahLee]

I'm with John and Dan on this one too.
The Daffs really stand out as an image. Very strong colours and I like the busy feel to the composition.

The ladybird comes a very close second for me. There is a slight halo, but overall it's another strong image, nicely composed and I like the play of the light on its back.

Technically I think the cut grass works well - although the WB may be slightly off. The colour doesn't look quite right to me.
As subject matter though, it doesn't appeal as much as the first two.

And the spider? - I don't want to spend too long looking at that one!
I'm really not a huge fan of spiders and it's making me feel a bit shivery
Looks to be some good detail in there though, even if the DoF isn't quite perfect.

Good to see you enjoying your new lens

 

[Sonial]

Now you see the spider would win hands down for me I love spiders...it is a shame that highest section is oof but the rest of the image is lovely. Good luck with getting to grips with the new lens...I'm very jealous!

 

[ProG77]

Nice macro shots, agree with john and the daffs are my favourite image too.

The first uses a really nice dof but the daffs show more subject matter.

Well done

Thanks. Pleased with my first attempt with the new lens and just glad that I managed to get some decent results.

I'm with John and Dan on this one too.
The Daffs really stand out as an image. Very strong colours and I like the busy feel to the composition.

The ladybird comes a very close second for me. There is a slight halo, but overall it's another strong image, nicely composed and I like the play of the light on its back.

Technically I think the cut grass works well - although the WB may be slightly off. The colour doesn't look quite right to me.
As subject matter though, it doesn't appeal as much as the first two.

And the spider? - I don't want to spend too long looking at that one!
I'm really not a huge fan of spiders and it's making me feel a bit shivery
Looks to be some good detail in there though, even if the DoF isn't quite perfect.

Good to see you enjoying your new lens

Thanks and sorry to scare you (I scared myself everytime I saw the spider move through the view finder! ) As for the DOF, hopefully I'll get better with this lens with more attempts.

Now you see the spider would win hands down for me I love spiders...it is a shame that highest section is oof but the rest of the image is lovely. Good luck with getting to grips with the new lens...I'm very jealous!

Finally! Someone who actually likes spiders! Yes, shame about the fact that I missed the focus point on the spider's eyes, but hey ho, better luck next time I guess.

 

[ProG77]

Wk 15 - "Single" (A day late posting but taken yesterday!)

Although I've gone down the obvious route with this week's theme and pictured a bottle of "single" malt, I wanted to do something different at the same time and try/learn something new.

Having recently bought some wireless flash triggers from Flash in the Pan, I decided to try them out and although it took me several attempts, I finally managed to get this shot very late last night.

What Did I Learn?

1. How to use wireless flash triggers
2. How to use my SB-900 in manual mode
3. The various effects of positioning the flash at different heights/positions
4. How to hold a flash, click the remote shutter release and pour in to a glass in near complete darkness - all at the same time!!

So, what do you think? How could the image have been improved? Really keen to perfect these type of shots before I venture in to the world of capturing water/liquid droplets.

Thanks for looking.

 

[SarahLee]

I'm completely clueless about wireless flash triggers, so I really can't help you at all on that one I'm afraid.
I'm sure that somebody who knows more will be along with plenty of pearls of wisdom on this technique though.

As for the shot itself, I really like the idea of capturing the moving liquid and I love the way that it's sloshed up the side of the glass.
I also laughed at your lesson no.4 - that must have taken some real dedication

From a composition point of view, I think that this might have been a case of less being more. I can understand why you included the bottle, but I don't think you needed it to get the theme across - and the fact that it's a miniature bottle is making the glass look a bit out of proportion.

Personally, I think that just the glass on its own and an angle that included all of the shadow would have had more impact and been more than enough to fit the theme.

 

[ProG77]

I'm completely clueless about wireless flash triggers, so I really can't help you at all on that one I'm afraid.
I'm sure that somebody who knows more will be along with plenty of pearls of wisdom on this technique though.

As for the shot itself, I really like the idea of capturing the moving liquid and I love the way that it's sloshed up the side of the glass.
I also laughed at your lesson no.4 - that must have taken some real dedication

From a composition point of view, I think that this might have been a case of less being more. I can understand why you included the bottle, but I don't think you needed it to get the theme across - and the fact that it's a miniature bottle is making the glass look a bit out of proportion.

Personally, I think that just the glass on its own and an angle that included all of the shadow would have had more impact and been more than enough to fit the theme.

Thanks Sarah. I can totally see where you are coming from in regards to the composition aspect. I did try this shot with a 70cl bottle, but then I had the issue where the glass looked too small next to it and it would have been difficult to capture the detail of the pouring liquid inside the glass. I also wanted to show a 'single shot of single malt whisky', so I felt that I had to include the bottle in the image. I have replaced my image with a smaller image as I think it's important to be able to see the image as one rather than having to scroll down. I am definitely going to try more of these shots minus the bottle as you have suggested (trying different angles etc.) as I think freezing the liquid/capturing droplets is fascinating.

 

[clud17]

I really like your shot of the grass, i think this captures the essence of spring perfectly as you wished, the colours are sweet too and well presented in the frame.

Top marks for the moment capture for single i can almost hear the liquid filling the glass.

 

[ProG77]

Top marks for the moment capture for single i can almost hear the liquid filling the glass.

Thanks Chris - more importantly however, can you almost taste it? Maybe I should have dropped a couple of cubes of ice in to the glass and then it would have been perfect!

 

[jgs001]

I agree with Sarah about the bottle... I think it doesn't help with the scale being a miniature, but it is also a single helping... anyway it all fits the theme...

As for the flash, check out the Nikon AS19, it's cheap (about £6 I think) and will hold any flash, allowing you to rest it on the table/floor, or mount it on a tripod.

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-nikon-as-19-speedlight-stand-for-sb-800/p1017542

 

[ProG77]

I agree with Sarah about the bottle... I think it doesn't help with the scale being a miniature, but it is also a single helping... anyway it all fits the theme...

As for the flash, check out the Nikon AS19, it's cheap (about £6 I think) and will hold any flash, allowing you to rest it on the table/floor, or mount it on a tripod.

http://www.warehouseexpress.com/buy-nikon-as-19-speedlight-stand-for-sb-800/p1017542

Thanks for the link John - I do have one of these, but I had the flash pointing downwards towards the top of the glass so the stand was no good in this case I'm afraid.

 

[ProG77]

Wk 16: "Stare"

Right then, busy weekend ahead, so wanted to get this in earlier than my usual posting time of 11:58pm on a Sunday night!

So here it is - me staring at me! My 1st attempt at any sort of a self portrait, which I had fun taking.

If I was to do a re-shoot, I would have probably looked straight rather than looking up, but that's a learning for next time.

Learnt quite a few things this week:

1. I prefer to be behind the camera rather than in front of it!!
2. How to try various off camera flash settings to light just one side/one part of an image
3. How to 'flip' an image in photoshop (in the image above, the image on the right is the original image, which was then flipped horizontally in PSE)
4. How to stich 2 images together

Thanks and would really appreciate some C&C on this as I'm really keen to try more self portraits and improve.

 

[daddy day care]

I think you have supplied your own crit on this one mate.

Looking straight instead of up would have made it better.

Other than that I like the idea and the lighting

Andy

 

[Tracer]

I think the pose works quite well as it is, though I'd also like to see a version looking straight. You've managed the lighting well and it is always useful to learn new PP skills.

 

[clud17]

interesting concept although i think the portrait shot would work well on its own. As said above it would benefit as an image if you were staring at yourself. I like the mono treatment too.

 

[dade_f]

good concept - you know about the eyes already only crit really

 

[foggy4ever]

Great idea and as said before you are right about needing eye contact.

 

[ProG77]

I think you have supplied your own crit on this one mate.

Looking straight instead of up would have made it better.

Other than that I like the idea and the lighting

Andy

I think the pose works quite well as it is, though I'd also like to see a version looking straight. You've managed the lighting well and it is always useful to learn new PP skills.

good concept - you know about the eyes already only crit really

Great idea and as said before you are right about needing eye contact.

Thanks very much guys - think I nailed it on the head with the self crit and will definitely keep this one in the bag for a 're-shoot' week. Still, pretty pleased with my 1st attempt but really appreciate your comments and feedback.

interesting concept although i think the portrait shot would work well on its own. As said above it would benefit as an image if you were staring at yourself. I like the mono treatment too.

Thanks Chris and the more I have looked at the image I posted alongside the original image, I agree with you about the actual portrait image working better.

So I give to you - 'staring in to thin air' aka, day dreaming (which I seem to do a lot of! )

 

[SarahLee]

Absolutely agree with the above.
The portrait actually works much better as a standalone shot.
I love the idea with the mirror image, but I think you really needed eye contact between the "two yous" to make it work.

I'm the worst possible person to give you any advice on lighting (I haven't got a clue with that stuff) but it seems to have worked well - especially for a first attempt
If you were to do it again, I think maybe you could do with toning down the bright light on the side of your neck and getting a bit more light on your eyes.

 

[dan_yorkshire]

Like the lighting and the shot in general but as has been said before I think it would benefit if looking straight.

You've learnt new PP skills which is what this is all about so win win.

Well done

 

[Harlequin565]

As an atmospheric portrait it works very well - if that's what you were after. However...

I think the light is a little too harsh on your neck. Looks to me like the flash head was a bit too close to you. Some diffusion would have helped, or if it was diffused, the flash head could have gone a bit further back.

Your face is in quite a flat shadow. Moving the flash around a bit, or changing your pose would have brought more light onto the face adding some impact. Did you try bouncing the flash, or adding a reflector? (difficult if you're on your own).

Also, agree with the others on the pose. Looking up isn't really working for me. Also, there's "something" behind your top lip that's distracting...

I hope this doesn't come across as too harsh. The reason I feel the need to add what I did was because there's great raw potential there. It's very well framed, nicely in focus, and you've given thought to the shot in terms of lighting and background. The B&W conversion is also nice and subtely done.

Self-portraits are really tough to do, so a big from me for the effort. Hope I don't disillusion you with my comments which are trying to be helpful...

As always, this is my opinion which has about as much value as you place on it.

Ian.