Scarecrow's 52 for 2010...Week 13 - Quad - page #5

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Derek
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Week 02 - Poems and Poetry - post #20
Week 03 - Chopped - post #35
Week 04 - Street - post #47
Week 05 - Speed - post #68
Week 06 - Present - post #75
Week 07 - People - post #83
Week 08 - Mechanical - post #91
Week 09 - Play - post #104
Week 10 - Chemistry - post #110
Week 11 - Candid - post #111
Week 12 - Produce - post #118
Week 13 - Quad - post #121


A late entry for week 1, but just got it in before the end of the week.

p.s. This is the first image from my new camera.

01_curved.jpg
 
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& a very nice first image it is too.
Would it have been an idea to have the curve of the guitar body coming from right in the left hand corner?
 
Great lightling - love the curve on the shadow too. I'd probably crop a bit more of the black space at the top of the frame to give more weight to the subject, but that would just be my personal choice. Nice shot :thumbs:
 
sawman said:
& a very nice first image it is too.
Would it have been an idea to have the curve of the guitar body coming from right in the left hand corner?
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You're probably right. I was struggling with an uncooperative tripod and an unfamiliar camera, so was pleased to even record an image. :lol:


Lasagne said:
Very nice - and we had similar ideas !
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I know - I've just seen yours and thought 'oh no, another guitar. I hope no one thinks I'm being unoriginal'. Spooky.


Irus said:
Great lightling - love the curve on the shadow too. I'd probably crop a bit more of the black space at the top of the frame to give more weight to the subject, but that would just be my personal choice. Nice shot :thumbs:
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Strange you should say that as I cropped some black space from the original at the top, but I didn't want to go too far and have a square image, which I didn't think would suit the subject.
 
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Scarecrow said:
I was struggling with an uncooperative tripod and an unfamiliar camera,
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I thought this was a very good image before I read that - and now I'm doubly impressed :clap:

I actually rather like the black at the top. Wouldn't want to see any more of it, but the amount that's there adds a nice balance to the composition.
The lighting's worked well too. The shadow is very harsh, but in the context of the image it adds another level of curves and actually contributes something to it :thumbs:
 
Thats really nice. Did you add some blur in PP because it says f5.6 and I can never get DOF to look like that at f5.6...?
 
You don't seem to be having too many problems with that new camera! Must be one of those all singing and dancing ones that lets anyone take a good picture :lol:

No really, very well composed. Blacks are nicely black and the curves are well placed to lead through to the back of the frame. The dark space at top suits the image. Nicely done :thumbs:
 
Thank you Sarah, especially after encouraging me to have a go at a 52.

dlh you are absolutely right - this new camera is all singing and dancing. I just have to whisper to it what I am trying to achieve, point it in the general direction of my subject, and sit back and take the credit. :laugh:

Vinny absolutely no blur was added in PP - quite the contrary, a little bit of USM to help the sound hole stand out. The shallow depth of field is probably down to the fact that the camera was really close to the guitar, virtually touching in fact.
 
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Great image :thumbs:
I was going to shoot my SG but managed to get something else this afternoon.
 
Very well done Derek, lovely curve and the lighting and shadow really helps to emphasise it.
 
Something very sexy about a guitar shape, caught very well
 
I really like that, the colours, DoF and lighting are spot on for my tastes, I love how it goes to black at the top. The only thing I don't like is that I feel like its falling over to the right slightly. I suspect that might be intentional and simply a matter of taste, I do tend to be a bit of square at times.
 
I have to say that I found the theme for this week quite challenging, but I guess that's the point.

The inspiration for my offering this week came from the pen of Wilfred Owen, a renowned poet who managed to write about the hell of trench warfare during World War I. His poem 'Dulce at Decorum est' is probably the most famous of the period, and is quite poignant. The complete phrase, coming from the last verse, is Dulce et Decorum est pro patria mori, which means - it is sweet and right to die for your country.

Wilfred Owen was killed on the battlefield in the last week of the war in 1918.

02_Poetry.jpg



If you would like to read the complete poem, you can find it here.
 
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Loving week 1, very well taken and composed. Week two is a good shot too, not sure about the overlay, if I were it would have been a lot lower I think - it looks out of place so high. Excellent idea though.

Arthur
 
Scarecrow said:
I don't seem to have done too well with this one. :shake:
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Gonna have to disagree with you.
I think this a well thought out interpretation of your chosen poem, especially with the backdrop of ghosts.
 
I disagree too - its a great idea for a tough theme (I still aint got mine done yet!) and I like the idea for the image.
However I think the actual main image lacks a little something - I cant deceide if it needs needs desaturating or a bit of punch.........Not very helpful I know. Sorry:)
Wk 1 is a cracker btw.
 
week 1 like the angle and lighting very much :thumbs:

week 2 single gravestone works well. :)
 
really like week 1 lots, bang on theme, maybe bounce a bit of light back to tone the slightly harsh shadow down.

week 2 has so much meaning behind it, you have done it justice, :thumbs: nice poem and very good shot too.
 
fordpop said:
However I think the actual main image lacks a little something - I cant deceide if it needs needs desaturating or a bit of punch.........Not very helpful I know. Sorry:)
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It's strange you should say that. I did try completely desaturated but, for me, it didn't look quite right somehow. As shot, even though it was an overcast day, the colours that were there were just a little too bright for what is, after all, a fairly sombre photograph. In the end I opted for slightly desaturating the colours just to tone them down a bit.

Of the three options, I felt it struck a reasonable balance; or maybe it's just a compromise that doesn't really work. It was a difficult call but on balance this version, again through my eyes, just pipped it.
 
Scarecrow said:
I don't seem to have done too well with this one. :shake:
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:bat: Absolutely not Derek!!!
I think this has worked very well. Sensitively shot and it works well with the poem. You've got it right with the desaturated colours too IMO.

I love the overlay of the soldiers, although I missed it on first glance at the shot. I think it could do with the opacity turned up just a touch.
I also like the positioning of it at the top of the shot - it gives an almost cloud like quality to it. It's a shame that there were no real clouds in the sky that you could blend it in with.
 
SarahLee said:
:bat: Absolutely not Derek!!!
I think this has worked very well. Sensitively shot and it works well with the poem. You've got it right with the desaturated colours too IMO.

I love the overlay of the soldiers, although I missed it on first glance at the shot. I think it could do with the opacity turned up just a touch.
I also like the positioning of it at the top of the shot - it gives an almost cloud like quality to it. It's a shame that there were no real clouds in the sky that you could blend it in with.
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It wasn't until I read this, then checked about the ghostly overlay I had missed. Works superbly....................

Cheers, Rob
 
Nicely executed! This week's theme was really broad so I think we've all struggled to really capture the poems but you've done this really well.
 
I missed the figures on first look too.. works very well with the poem..

the guitar shot is fab, bang on theme!
 
I really liked this weeks Derek.

Although I nearly missed the overlay as well. Probably just a touch too light (might be my work monitor though)

A very well thought out image and a poignant message. I remember covering the poetry of the great war during my English Literature lessons many moons ago.

And well done for not using one of the most common photo hosting sites. I can see your images - it appears that my IT dept have now blocked most of the sites :bang:
 
Thank you Sarah and Rob - you seem to have highlighted the ghosts for others to see. Again, I was unsure how much opacity to give them - too much and they wouldn't appear ghost like and would start dominating the image; too little and they would disappear altogether. Thank you to everyone else for your kind comments; I was really pleased with the final image in that it came out exactly as I originally envisioned.

Sorry for the late reply, but I've been working nights this week, which always seems to leave me short of time to get on with the important things in life - like my photography. ;)

That's my excuse for being late with this week's entry. I found this to be really difficult, and didn't have any inspiration at all, so I've gone with the obvious I'm afraid.

The only thing I think I can take away from this week's exercise is that I can at least take a photograph that's in focus! :p


03_Chopped.jpg
 
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i think your in the same boat this week, with lot's of people not having inspiration for this one...

i like the shot, the swirly mark's on the knife blade are quite cool too
 
I've only just started looking through others Chopped shots, as I didn't want to be influenced before taking my own, but I suspect that there may be a few that are quite similar to what I ended up with.
 
1. Curves - I love the guitar shot, great lines and colours! :clap:

2. Poetry - a very good illustration for the poem. I would have tried lowering the ghosts slightly so that there was a hint of overlap with the tombstone. Very poignant. :thumbs:

3. Chopped - punchy colours, very sharp, and I love the swirly patterns on the knife. :clap:
 
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