Sarah's 52 for 2010 - Now continued in part 2

[johnnyguitar]

Very nice and very interesting shot. I'd got as far as the word 'Dreamland' in the post before I was drawn to the pic and thought the shot would have suited that theme equally. I think the processing is very interesting and I like the idea a lot

 

[karmagarda]

Nice second shot there! Really interesting PP there. You're skills are really coming along! Very impressive!

Oh, and I only just uploaded my first 2 themes today so you hadn't missed anything from me just yet!

 

[Harlequin565]

Great shot. Good to see someone found the time to set things up and concentrate on achieving something from start to finish. I had great ideas, but alas, work went mental last week and I couldn't find the time.

Having looked at both images, I prefer the boldness of the original image rather than the toned down version, but then that's just me.

Nice words in the poem, and overall, I think you've captured things very well.

Nice work.

Ian.

 

[Slimbert]

Cracking effort for week 2 Sarah!! Really lovely image....

Look forward to following this throughout the year, should be a wonderful 52!!

 

[mickyluv]

Sarah, that is a really imaginative shot. Your PP skills are to be admired. It gives me inspiration when I see something like this.....Mick

 

[louise-knight]

I love week 2, love love it! Not sure what it is about it though.. there's something about the curve (damnit wrong week!_ of the globe with the little highlights showing through, I just love it!

 

[Kdot]

I haven't read all the comments, as there are already too many to catch up on, so without any bias I would say that Week 1 is a good shot, but I'm not sure what I should be looking at - my eye gets drawn to the cherries, each glass in turn, and the fruit. I know they all have curves, but for me it lacks a focal point. Week 2 (the re-edit) is simply stunning. Get it made into Christmas Cards, or something, and live off the royalties...wonderful shot.

 

[SarahLee]

Been so busy catching up with the others that I seem to have lost my own thread.
Thank you to everyone who's commented.

Interesting image for the second week, great interpretation of the theme and very different from what i expected to see from you....which is a great thing!!

Keep up the good snapping...looking forward to your 'chopped' image...how far out of the box can you be this time i wonder...

Thanks Stephen.
Week 1 was very much my comfort zone, so I'm trying to make myself try new things.
Got an idea for chopped, but it's going to be a Saturday job again I think. . . trying to come up with an interesting spin on it.

Wow, Sarah, that's fantastic

So creative and not much evidence of global warming going on there

Thanks Jill. It was something a bit different for me, so I'm glad that it had a good response.

This is great shot sarah.Very artistic indeedy

Thank you Martin

Excellent shot with some great Photoshop skills thrown in too. I'f I were being picky, I'd say not enough emphasis on the fire part, but hey, well done

Thanks Mark.
I see what you mean about the fire part, but glad that you like it.

This is wonderful Sarah. I actually like the original image as well - nice and simple, but the finished image just goes to another level.

Thank you Jackie. Pleased that the hard work paid off.

a brilliant shot, great creativity I genuinely am looking forward to your forthcoming photos

Thanks Huss

at first glance I missed the candles in the globe, I like a photo when you can find different aspects when you take a deeper look, well composed and look forward to picking your brains for photoshop ideas in future I think I may need them lol.

Thank you . . . not sure how much there is to pick, but you're welcome to ask away and I'll help if I can.

Really, really creative image - the time you took on it certainly paid off, well done

Thanks Nick.

Really like that, the PP work is awesome.
Totally different look to the original image.
You have done really well with that

Thank you Rikki.

 

[Dark Star]

Beautiful poem. beautiful image and the edit is an improvement! Sarah thats a winner !

 

[SarahLee]

That's a bit good that is. Love it and the PP work is spot on.

Thanks Neil . . . seems I'm moving in the right way with PP.

Sarah, that is fantastic. I think I prefer the second one. Fits the theme and matches the poem perfectly. You really do put a lot of thought into your shots and it pays off!

Jenny

Jenny thank you - very kind of you.

Some interesting effects there! Very creative and goes well with the poem

Thanks Kay.

Very nice and very interesting shot. I'd got as far as the word 'Dreamland' in the post before I was drawn to the pic and thought the shot would have suited that theme equally. I think the processing is very interesting and I like the idea a lot

I'd forgotten the other poem because I found this one and based the shot on it, but I think you could be right with that.

Nice second shot there! Really interesting PP there. You're skills are really coming along! Very impressive!

Oh, and I only just uploaded my first 2 themes today so you hadn't missed anything from me just yet!

Found your 2 weeks!
Unfortunately lost my own post in amongst everything else & I'm amazed how many comments are on here.
Thanks for stopping in Conor.

Great shot. Good to see someone found the time to set things up and concentrate on achieving something from start to finish. I had great ideas, but alas, work went mental last week and I couldn't find the time.

Having looked at both images, I prefer the boldness of the original image rather than the toned down version, but then that's just me.

Nice words in the poem, and overall, I think you've captured things very well.

Nice work.

Ian.

Thanks Ian.
I don't think I've seen your week 2 yet - and it seems that you've done week 3 now as well. I'll stop in once my week 3's done and catch up on both weeks then.

Cracking effort for week 2 Sarah!! Really lovely image....

Look forward to following this throughout the year, should be a wonderful 52!!

Thanks Damien.
I'm trying to avoid fillers this year - even if it means posting late.
I'd like to get the 52 printed as a photobook.

Sarah, that is a really imaginative shot. Your PP skills are to be admired. It gives me inspiration when I see something like this.....Mick

Thanks Mick.
I'm still learning this myself, but if it encourages somebody else then that's got to be a good thing.

I love week 2, love love it! Not sure what it is about it though.. there's something about the curve (damnit wrong week!_ of the globe with the little highlights showing through, I just love it!

Thank you Louise. Whatever it is I'm glad that you like it.

I haven't read all the comments, as there are already too many to catch up on, so without any bias I would say that Week 1 is a good shot, but I'm not sure what I should be looking at - my eye gets drawn to the cherries, each glass in turn, and the fruit. I know they all have curves, but for me it lacks a focal point. Week 2 (the re-edit) is simply stunning. Get it made into Christmas Cards, or something, and live off the royalties...wonderful shot.

Thanks Keri.
I take your point on week 1. TBH although I was pleased with it at the time the more I look back on it the more flaws I spot. I'm probably being overly critical, but it's the only way to improve.
Possible candidate for a reshoot though I think.

Glad you liked week 2 so much though.
Retiring and living off royalties . . . that sounds like a dream come true. Maybe one day

 

[SarahLee]

Beautiful poem. beautiful image and the edit is an improvement! Sarah thats a winner !

Thanks John. Almost missed your reply, but I'm really glad that you like it.

 

[foggy4ever]

Trying to keep up with all these threads is harder than tackling the theme

Love the way you have put this together.

 

[kitten]

beautiful shot Sarah and I'd have thought there was minimal PP so you're doing something right! Look forward to seeing more

On your personal project - last year I got stuck so many times during my 365 when the weather was crap or I wasn't feeling good that I started to look at boring, mundane things and see if there was any way I could make it look completely different, or interesting - like a ceiling fan spinning on a slow shutter speed or a macro of a split teabag. I had fun doing it, not sure how much success I had

 

[Steven001]

What a fantastic shot, you certainly aren't lacking any creativity. Love it!

 

[jgs001]

Wonderful image that fits perfectly with the poem. Very well executed and beautiful processing.

 

[dlh]

Time to try play catchup with everybody.

Week 2 - It's a fantastic idea and works pretty well. Two things that bother me (slightly) are one too many flares (I'd keep the one on the globe but lose the one on the snow) and I'd move the flames over the rainforests to give them more prominence. Liking the image as a whole though. Looking forward to week 3

 

[L'Cham]

Just popping in to see if you've done your 'chopped' shot yet after enjoying your previous entries. I've just found the subscribe option.

 

[dade_f]

Wow!!!! Popular lady (and rightly so ) it took me ages to go through your thread.
I too was looking for piece of wonder you were going to marvel us with this week!!?

May I first say thank you for accepting the critique and then taking the time to enhance your work - it was worth the effort

Sadly work has gotten in the way for me this week - so mine may be late :=S
I shall return

 

[Gonetae]

Just catching up on some 52's and came across your poetry shot Sarah.. Wow !
A nice poem but what an image, top, top quality and one of the best shots I've seen for a while.

Tommy.

 

[SarahLee]

Trying to keep up with all these threads is harder than tackling the theme

Love the way you have put this together.

I'd even lost my own thread in amongst all of these!
But thank you for dropping in and taking the time to comment.

beautiful shot Sarah and I'd have thought there was minimal PP so you're doing something right! Look forward to seeing more

On your personal project - last year I got stuck so many times during my 365 when the weather was crap or I wasn't feeling good that I started to look at boring, mundane things and see if there was any way I could make it look completely different, or interesting - like a ceiling fan spinning on a slow shutter speed or a macro of a split teabag. I had fun doing it, not sure how much success I had

Thanks.
And I think I have an idea for my project now, inspired by week 3's theme . . . so something good has come out of it.
I absolutely love the cemetery near me and I'm thinking that it would be nice to document it through the seasons. Just need to get started now.

What a fantastic shot, you certainly aren't lacking any creativity. Love it!

Thanks Steven

Wonderful image that fits perfectly with the poem. Very well executed and beautiful processing.

Thank you John

Time to try play catchup with everybody.

Week 2 - It's a fantastic idea and works pretty well. Two things that bother me (slightly) are one too many flares (I'd keep the one on the globe but lose the one on the snow) and I'd move the flames over the rainforests to give them more prominence. Liking the image as a whole though. Looking forward to week 3

Thank you . . . definitely given me something to think about. I positioned the flames where they were to fill up that blank space in the Atlantic, but you might be right about moving them
Glad you liked it though.

Just popping in to see if you've done your 'chopped' shot yet after enjoying your previous entries. I've just found the subscribe option.

Well I'm really flattered that you want to subscribe to this one . . . I'm afraaid that week 3 may be a bit of a let down though

Wow!!!! Popular lady (and rightly so ) it took me ages to go through your thread.
I too was looking for piece of wonder you were going to marvel us with this week!!?

May I first say thank you for accepting the critique and then taking the time to enhance your work - it was worth the effort

Sadly work has gotten in the way for me this week - so mine may be late :=S
I shall return

Thanks. I'm amazed by how many comments I've gotten in here.
Glad that the edit worked for you and thank you again for the suggestion. I definitely prefer the edit here on my lappy . . . although viewing at work the original looks better :shrug:
It goes to show the difference that a screen can make.

Just catching up on some 52's and came across your poetry shot Sarah.. Wow !
A nice poem but what an image, top, top quality and one of the best shots I've seen for a while.

Thank you Tommy.
As I said earlier I'm amazed by the reaction that shot got . . . and thank you for popping in to comment.

 

[SarahLee]

Well here we are on week 3.
Probably my least favourite theme so far, because it hasn’t done much to inspire me.
And after all the lovely comments last week, I think this one is going to be a bit of a let down

There are a lot of obvious shots for “chopped”, fruit, veg, trees etc etc and I really wanted to avoid those, but I couldn’t seem to see very far past them either.
My plan was a visit to St Woolos cemetery – one of my favourite places to shoot and there are some beautiful old monuments there, many of them falling apart . . . chopped in two . . . statues with heads and arms chopped off . . . and memories of lives that have been chopped short.

I visited yesterday, but stupidly didn’t check my battery before I left and only managed a few shots before it died on me. A bit of a disastrous trip really.

Of course I always had the obvious fruit shots to fall back on, so I had a bit of a play with those too and tried a bit of PP to chop the photos up and make them a bit different.

:shake: I’m not particularly happy with anything that I’ve done this week, but it’s Sunday and the next theme will be out soon if it isn’t already (I haven’t looked yet) so here you are :

Week 3 : Chopped

​

The crop is a little bit close on this for me, and there were far better on theme shots to be had if my battery hadn't died . . . but this is it for week 3 :bonk:
I'm thinking of using this cemetery for a series of shots for a personal project, so I may very well get the themed shot I wanted in the next few weeks.


I thought I'd share a couple of the fruit shots that I played with and then rejected. They may be more on theme than the one I chose, but they all had more flaws than the image I settled on.
I quite like the first one, but it's a little softer than I would like. The kit lens just isn't ideal for getting that close up.
I've been wanting to try Photoshop's Jigsaw texture for ages, and this week gave me a chance to play with chopping an image up into a jigsaw.

Lesson learnt : I need a bit more practice with cutting out . . . this one's all a little bit messy for me and I managed to get a jigsaw joint right in the middle of the water drop :shake:

Alternative shots​

​

 

[Squawk]

I think you hit the nail on the head with self criticism. A potentially interesting shot that you didn't have the opportunity to capture due to battery. Well worth a reshoot at some point though as it looks like an interesting subject, maybe when you have a bit of free time you could go and have another go.

I quite like the lemon on black background, that could work really well as a poweful image. On with next week

 

[mmcp42]

I like the lemons a lot
when I first saw it I thought you'd made a triptych with the jigsaw underneath
either way I like

 

[blakester]

Another one for the lemon on the black background Sarah. Shame about the batteries dying on your camera. Sometimes these things are sent to try us eh?
As was mentioned above, perhaps a reshoot on the cemetry at some time will be in order?
Onwards to week 4

 

[foggy4ever]

I actually prefer the jigsaw alternative, something very different although I would liked to have seen the lemon a little larger.

 

[Digitall]

Without the description the first shot would mean much to anyone let alone chopped.
After reading the description it could be said that there is a very somber overtone here.

I like the ying and yang lemon shot, I know it's all PS'ed but simple often works.

Nice idea with the jigsaw, not my type of thing.

Allan

 

[justlooking]

I like the lemons, but find the cemetry a bit too dark.

 

[jollyjack]

The lemon works well, i know what you mean by it being a hard one, i had the same issue, then got an idea and it didnt go down to well with the forum members which made me feel down alittle because i was alittle excited about it, in the end had to fall back to the old veg chopping thing.

Dont feel bad with yourself because there is no need, there are alot of others including me that haven't produced excellent work this week so we are all in the same boat.

I still like all 3 of your images and can see the theme in all, well done

 

[Nick T]

I like the Jigsaw one too - it's a really interesting photo I also found this week quite difficult - here's to week 4!

 

[dlh]

I like the jigsaw effect and the image you've used it on. Shame about the battery failure, a bit wider on the main shot and I think it would have given it a little more context. As it is it's a little confusing (to me at least) as to what's going on.

 

[jennyb]

Hi Sarah,

Pity about the cemetery. I looks like there will be some interesting shots there.

I really like the jigsaw photo and it fits the theme. However, without seeing the previous lemon photo I probably would not have recognised the lemon in the jigsaw. Either the lemon or the whole photo need to be bigger. Or maybe it is just my eyesight?

Jenny

 

[ProG77]

Hi Sarah, I guess at least one lesson you will definitely learn from this week's task is to either charge your battery before going out for a shoot, carry a spare charged up battery or invest in a battery grip that can take AA batteries!

On the image front, without reading your words, I couldn't tell what your main shot was, and as others have said, I definitely prefer your shot of the lemons (especially the one against the black background). Makes my shot of the lemons look pretty poor compared to yours!

I truly hope that you won't let this week's experience de-motivate you and I am sure you will come back with a bang in Wk4 so I look forward to seeing your image next week!

 

[SarahLee]

I think you hit the nail on the head with self criticism. A potentially interesting shot that you didn't have the opportunity to capture due to battery. Well worth a reshoot at some point though as it looks like an interesting subject, maybe when you have a bit of free time you could go and have another go.

I quite like the lemon on black background, that could work really well as a poweful image. On with next week

Definitely lesson learnt on the battery front.
That's what I get for rushing out the door, but onwards and upwards eh?

I like the lemons a lot
when I first saw it I thought you'd made a triptych with the jigsaw underneath
either way I like

Thanks Mike.
Glad you liked the lemons, just not particularly exciting . . . and I know that I can do better than that

I actually prefer the jigsaw alternative, something very different although I would liked to have seen the lemon a little larger.

Not sure that the white b/g helped with that one either.
But it was fun learning something new.

Without the description the first shot would mean much to anyone let alone chopped.
After reading the description it could be said that there is a very somber overtone here.

I like the ying and yang lemon shot, I know it's all PS'ed but simple often works.

Nice idea with the jigsaw, not my type of thing.

Allan

I knew the jigsaw would be a bit marmite, but it was something I'd been wanting to try.
Yep, not the best this week . . . but hey there were a few weeks like this last year too.

I like the lemons, but find the cemetry a bit too dark.

I did deliberately darken it - original looked a bit bright on my laptop. Either way it's really not a great shot, so I'm not going to worry about it too much

Another one for the lemon on the black background Sarah. Shame about the batteries dying on your camera. Sometimes these things are sent to try us eh?
As was mentioned above, perhaps a reshoot on the cemetry at some time will be in order?
Onwards to week 4

Definitely onwards and upwards.
That cemetery is one of my regular shooting locations, so I'm sure it will feature again somewhere.

 

[SarahLee]

The lemon works well, i know what you mean by it being a hard one, i had the same issue, then got an idea and it didnt go down to well with the forum members which made me feel down alittle because i was alittle excited about it, in the end had to fall back to the old veg chopping thing.

Dont feel bad with yourself because there is no need, there are alot of others including me that haven't produced excellent work this week so we are all in the same boat.

I still like all 3 of your images and can see the theme in all, well done

I looked at yours earlier Jon . . . actually really liked the B&W conversion, but you can't please everyone all the time.
My frustration is that there were some great shots to get there and it was a silly mistake on my part. But oh well - it's hardly the end of the world is it?

I like the Jigsaw one too - it's a really interesting photo I also found this week quite difficult - here's to week 4!

Yep. Come on week 4

I like the jigsaw effect and the image you've used it on. Shame about the battery failure, a bit wider on the main shot and I think it would have given it a little more context. As it is it's a little confusing (to me at least) as to what's going on.

Absolutely agree. It needed a wider shot.
The fact is though that there are far more interesting shots to be had there that would fit with the theme. These were just a few warm up snaps as I was wandering around.

Hi Sarah,

Pity about the cemetery. I looks like there will be some interesting shots there.

I really like the jigsaw photo and it fits the theme. However, without seeing the previous lemon photo I probably would not have recognised the lemon in the jigsaw. Either the lemon or the whole photo need to be bigger. Or maybe it is just my eyesight?

Jenny

Thanks Jenny. It probably could have been a bit larger in the image, but it's not one that I'm going to revisit.
It was a good learning experience, but I don't think there's enough mileage in it to re-edit for that shot.

Hi Sarah, I guess at least one lesson you will definitely learn from this week's task is to either charge your battery before going out for a shoot, carry a spare charged up battery or invest in a battery grip that can take AA batteries!

On the image front, without reading your words, I couldn't tell what your main shot was, and as others have said, I definitely prefer your shot of the lemons (especially the one against the black background). Makes my shot of the lemons look pretty poor compared to yours!

I truly hope that you won't let this week's experience de-motivate you and I am sure you will come back with a bang in Wk4 so I look forward to seeing your image next week!

Thanks Pradipta.
It's not a mistake that I'll make again, that's for sure.
There are 52 weeks to this challenge, and as I found last year there will be some weeks where things just don't slot into place.
It happens and it's not worth letting it get you down.

 

[SarahLee]

For anyone wondering what could have been if my battery hadn't died, this is more what I had in mind.
There are some truly stunning monuments with "missing parts" in this cemetery. This shot is from last November and was my entry for POTY. I was planning on something with minimal PP for this week's theme, but this gives a feel for the sort of statues I was hoping to shoot.

From an earlier cemetery shot

 

[dan_yorkshire]

I like the lemon shot Sarah. Very sharp and the black and white backgrounds are a great contrast against the yellow.

I struggled to workout the focus point of your shot from the cemetry whilst appreciating what you were trying to do. The theme has been so difficult, been really interesting to see what ideas people have in trying to stay clear of the chopping board... I partially failed!!

Like the image you have shown from your previous cemetry visit. The PP is really cool (what are the yellow lights in the sky?).

Roll on week 4, unless its grunge we'll all be relieved

Well done,

Dan

 

[Darkmage]

SarahLee just stumbled across your week2 shot, its awesome Lovely original and some very clever processing.

 

[Rudders]

I like the lemon shot's especially the jigsaw one (I'll have to find a jigsaw "frame" for Photoshop to have a mess with at some point).

I like the cemetary shot but it doesn't really say chopped to me probably because you ran out of battery, it looks like an interesting cemetary though the statues remind me of a scene in Interview With A Vampire it's also very Buffy-ish!

 

[dade_f]

I liked the lemon shots - it works and sometimes thats enough.

Dont beat yourself up, your shots are great - personally I thought CHOPPED was easier topic than POETRY, but as I have yet to complete mine, the less said the better

Fruit and Veg were an obvious choice sure, but its what you do with them - one user here (sorry I forget which) chopped a cauliflower in half and used a red dye, it looked amazing like a lobotomy photo, its not the subject but how you use and interpret it.

Its good I am getting to understand you a little more, not only from the shots you take but effort you make, keep up the great work

 

[mich66]

arrgh.. know how you felt about the battery.. I went to the cliffs of moher late summer, the sky was brooding perfection, lighting spot on.. 3 shots, battery died!

I'd like to see more of the cemetary if you do a reshoot.. the one for POTY is great!, something about cemetaries appeals to me..

like lemon with black background and the jigsaw effect.. will have to try that out sometime!