weekly RyanB's 52 for 2025 Week 34 Insects

[Darkslinger]

Excellent! Everything in walking distance...except the mountain.

 

[Cloudforest]

I like that Ryan. Nicely framed.

 

[Kell]

Nicely framed - the colours work really well to ensure the sign is the focal point.

 

[BobBCN]

Nice signpost indeed and the composition works well.

 

[RyanB]

Nice signpost!

Thanks Simon!

Fab shot

Great that you can grab some provisions from Joan's Cafe on your way to Everest

Oh yeah, they do a mean breakfast and lovely cakes. Wouldn't last the trip though, probably be gone before I got to the disabled parking...

Very nice!

Cheers Paul!

Nice one,

I wouldn't trust their sat nav though with Kilimanjaro is currently orbiting Earth.

Ha, hadn't noticed that! I'd say their tomtom need the maps updating.

Great sign and stands out well against the background

Thanks!

Excellent! Everything in walking distance...except the mountain.

Cheers, might need to be a strong swimmer as well, got to at least get across the channel.

I like that Ryan. Nicely framed.

Many thanks!

Nicely framed - the colours work really well to ensure the sign is the focal point.

Cheers Kell, I did play with the sign being in the middle as there is another window to the left but no bench to match and it just looked lopsided.

Nice signpost indeed and the composition works well.

Thanks Bob!

 

[RyanB]

Week 09 Horizontal

went a little bit abstract with my processing/ exposure to remove distractions from either side of the bridge.

 

[Kell]

Your chosen image is a real mind-bender. Great image.

 

[Boots]

Ooh! That messes with my head a little bit!

 

[SimonH]

Nice. I like the chosen image - the swan adds extra impact. Can't quite get my head around the lines - the bridge looks nicely horizontal, but the bridge buttress looks on an angle. Probably just the angle of the shot. It's good anyway

 

[Allan.H]

Excellent image

 

[RyanB]

Your chosen image is a real mind-bender. Great image.

Cheers Kell!

Ooh! That messes with my head a little bit!

Ha, glad its working... mine too.

Nice. I like the chosen image - the swan adds extra impact. Can't quite get my head around the lines - the bridge looks nicely horizontal, but the bridge buttress looks on an angle. Probably just the angle of the shot. It's good anyway

Thanks Simon, I believe the bridge itself is at a slight camber as its on a gradual bend in the train line above. I levelled the image to the bridge rather than the buttress/ water. I only realised this once I got home and tried to square everything up in my post processing, had me scratching my head as I knew the camera was level and near dead centre under the bridge.

Excellent image

Thanks Allan!

 

[-Oy-]

Oh aye that's a keeper

 

[nog]

Star Wars or bridge, nice shot

 

[Hadron]

Nice. It took me a bit to work it out though

 

[AlanDorset]

Really effective!

 

[Darkslinger]

A striking image Ryan. Well shot.

 

[RyanB]

Oh aye that's a keeper

Star Wars or bridge, nice shot

Nice. It took me a bit to work it out though

Really effective!

A striking image Ryan. Well shot.

Many thanks all!!

 

[RyanB]

Week 10 Patterns

This scene had a lot of patterns from the multiple repeated carriages to the sounds of the train and barrier alarm which while you obviously cannot see in an image I hope still came across.

 

[Darkslinger]

Great sky and colours. Always, always like a good m-e...

 

[RyanB]

Great sky and colours. Always, always like a good m-e...

Thanks Bill, I only really started playing with ME recently but it is good fun. Tonight when I got home I discovered my camera can actually do them in-camera, really should have rtfm!

I had hoped/ hoping to find a way to customise each exposure of a set of 3 so I could do something like one fast shot followed by a long exposure finishing off with another fast one but have them all exposed around the same so the match but I am having difficulty figuring out if its even possible. If I am quick enough I could do it by hand but I think even on a tripod I would probably induce camera shake doing it that way.

 

[-Oy-]

Love it! I live near a level crossing amnd seem to spend about 10% of my life sat waiting there lol. I know the sound very well

Will your camera bracket by shutter speed? My Nikon Z9 does.

 

[RyanB]

Love it! I live near a level crossing amnd seem to spend about 10% of my life sat waiting there lol. I know the sound very well

Will your camera bracket by shutter speed? My Nikon Z9 does.

Cheers Dave, that sounds like the ticket!! I didn't even know what exactly to google to figure it out but with that hint, woohoo! Sounds like I need to use AV and then use exposure bracketing, shutter speeds change but exposure stays the same. Thanks!

 

[Darkslinger]

Thanks Bill, I only really started playing with ME recently but it is good fun. Tonight when I got home I discovered my camera can actually do them in-camera, really should have rtfm!

I had hoped/ hoping to find a way to customise each exposure of a set of 3 so I could do something like one fast shot followed by a long exposure finishing off with another fast one but have them all exposed around the same so the match but I am having difficulty figuring out if its even possible. If I am quick enough I could do it by hand but I think even on a tripod I would probably induce camera shake doing it that way.

Hey Ryan, I do a lot of me's but not in-camera. My Oly only gives me the option for two exposures. I generally do everything handheld (sometimes combining static shots with longer exposures/ICM). I'll bring them into LR and do some minimal adjustments and then export them to PS as layers where I can combine them into one image. The PS process is actually pretty easy.

 

[Boots]

Great image!

Love the sky and the semi-translucent train. Really well processed.

 

[LC2]

Loving the multiple exposure effect. not liking the HDR style processing so much though.

 

[RyanB]

Great image!

Love the sky and the semi-translucent train. Really well processed.

Thanks Paul!

Loving the multiple exposure effect. not liking the HDR style processing so much though.

Thanks Tim, it was all a bit of an experiment really. Rather than masking I just adjusted the blending modes of each layer to make the ME effect. I guess a side effect was the somewhat extreme HDR look, not for everyone i know. I quite liked it as if felt more like an illustration than a photo.

I did do more photographic style ME ones using masks too but didn't want to post 2 shots that were so similar.

 

[RyanB]

Week 11 Animals

One of my favourite photographic subjects, Tikka our cat. Always willing to let me test out a new lens on with the added bonus of being very photogenic.

These were done with a spares and repair vintage Super Taukumar 85mm f1.9 which had its aperture blades rusted solid and completely corroded through. I removed the blades and cleaned up the glass and then cut a new aperture out of black card at approx f2.2 as it was a bit soft and low contrast fully open.

This was an experiment with a jagged edge cut out aperture, just to see how it would come out, liked the stopped down effect but not the shape so much. The orange tone is from curtains and sunlight.


these were with a more traditional aperture shape

 

[cptnm]

A lovely subject! It's hard to pick, I quite like how warm your experimental pic is but you can't go wrong with any of the three

 

[nog]

Lovely looking and very lucky to have a cooperative cat. Good set of pictures and agree with your choice, especially like the background in your chosen shot

 

[Cloudforest]

3 beautiful cat portraits Ryan. I like them all.

 

[bullinachinashop]

Incredible cat shots - the last one takes it for me! Gorgeous colurs and depth

Multiple exposure shots really effective - I like the orderely chaos of your chosen shot.

The horizontal shot is very striking and creative too.

 

[Kell]

I do like the experimental shot. The bokeh looks like crinkle cut crisps.

Great looking cat and super sharp given the history of the lens.

 

[Darkslinger]

Great set Ryan, they're all good but I think you chose the right one.

 

[LC2]

Nice work playing with shaping the bokeh.
Which lens were you using? 8 bladed aperture I assume.

 

[RyanB]

A lovely subject! It's hard to pick, I quite like how warm your experimental pic is but you can't go wrong with any of the three

Lovely looking and very lucky to have a cooperative cat. Good set of pictures and agree with your choice, especially like the background in your chosen shot

3 beautiful cat portraits Ryan. I like them all.

Incredible cat shots - the last one takes it for me! Gorgeous colurs and depth

Multiple exposure shots really effective - I like the orderely chaos of your chosen shot.

The horizontal shot is very striking and creative too.

I do like the experimental shot. The bokeh looks like crinkle cut crisps.

Great looking cat and super sharp given the history of the lens.

Great set Ryan, they're all good but I think you chose the right one.

Many thanks all, I will pass your complements on to the Diva possibly in the form a cat treat.

Nice work playing with shaping the bokeh.
Which lens were you using? 8 bladed aperture I assume.

Thanks Tim, I did explain in the OP. Its a Super Takumar 85mm f1.9 with the ruined aperture blades removed, the first image is using a multi pointed star shaped aperture I cut out of black card and the second is a more traditional shape that would be normal for an 8 bladed aperture although also cut out of black card.

The reason I did it this way is this is what the blades looked like when I opened the lens up to see if I could repair it.

I can normally clean these vintages lenses up pretty well but this was beyond my and probably anyone's ability to repair. The corrosion had actually eaten completely through the thin blades and the aperture actuation arm was completely seized as well. I couldn't think of any other solution really. I might try some other style apertures in future as it is really easy to open and change out the card.

 

[RyanB]

Week 12 Broken

 

[-Oy-]

I'll get in first...

Eggscellent shot!

It's a cracker!

 

[RyanB]

I'll get in first...

Eggscellent shot!

It's a cracker!

Terrible Dave, just terrible... I just been getting every egg pun joke ever created from my daughter and the missus for the last half hour after they saw me editing this shot.

 

[-Oy-]

Terrible Dave, just terrible... I just been getting every egg pun joke ever created from my daughter and the missus for the last half hour after they saw me editing this shot.

Good to have Eggsperts in punnage in the family

 

[RyanB]

Good to have Eggsperts in punnage in the family

I really should have eggspected this...