SimonTALM's Photo 52 Thread

[SimonTALM]

I like the idea and the way you have gone about it...

and I would never have thought that you could buy just one dollar like that...

my first reaction was no no no this is not working for me...

but it is growing on me...the colours and bold print doe's work...

and it's a good interpretation for poverty...so I guess that means...

yes it's a from me...

It surprised me how easy it was too to buy just a single dollar - I wouldn't have thought it was worth their effort

well done on another fab shot. I like the way you have made it stand out from the background, I will be using that idea myself in the future I'm sure!

You have captured the texture of the dollar bill perfectly and the colours are nice on the eye.

well done

Feel free to pinch the idea, I'm sure I'll be using it again myself

Ohh learnt some lessons tonight, the texture is superb, exactly how low was the angle of the flash?

I love the way the bill stands out from your background too, and, with the information behind the shot it certainly fits the theme.

Mark

The flash was really low angle... it was actually resting on the note (hence why the left of the image is really quite bright).

amazing detail and great idea

Thanks

Good idea and there is good texture and colour in the pic, i can almost smell it.

The background, does it have any significance to the pic?, when I first looked at it, I kept trying to relate the dollar to the 17. Maybe just me.

I like the low angle flash thing, I may well steal that....

I don't think you want to smell notes - the aroma is quite unpleasant .

There is significance to the 17. It is actually Saturday October 17 2009, I did wonder if someone would spot it, well done

Well done Simon, that's superb. The DOF has worked brilliantly, as has that little trick of lifting the note. As for low angle flash... It's worked superbly, I'm just not sure what you mean, but would love to know.

Thanks , not quite sure what you would love to know - the only thing I can think of is my learning point 5, and all I meant by that was I expected the travel agent to ask a load of questions about why a single dollar, when all she did was treat it like any other transaction.

 

[jgs001]

The Low angle flash bit Simon... Do you mean you pointed the flash so it was aimed just above the note ?

 

[SimonTALM]

The Low angle flash bit Simon... Do you mean you pointed the flash so it was aimed just above the note ?

What I'll do is recreate the setup tonight and take a photo of it and post it here (be alot easier than exlaining it )

 

[jgs001]

Thanks Simon

 

[antc]

Well done Simon, that's superb. The DOF has worked brilliantly, as has that little trick of lifting the note. As for low angle flash... It's worked superbly, I'm just not sure what you mean, but would love to know.

I agree with this, its very nicely done and great detail in the dollar bill. I look forward to seeing your setup when you post it too!

 

[SimonTALM]

In essence this is the setup I used (not the actual one as I took that apart but it's close enough)


Click for Larger & EXIF

Basically as you can see a soft light source (SB900 through a shoot through umbrella) close to the right and a SB800 literally on top of the note. As you can see the note is resting on my Compact Card Flash Safe thing which gives it that little bit of height. Obviously underneath all this would be the printed page of a calendar.

 

[maddog.mark]

Thanks Simon,

I see what you mean now, very nicely done.

 

[kennysarmy]

crisp...just bugs me you missed the "A" off...any reason for that

 

[SimonTALM]

crisp...just bugs me you missed the "A" off...any reason for that

I could try and blag some arty junk about poverty being the lack of money and to represent that I deliberately cut off the A, alternatively I could admit the truth and say I was just focused on getting the lighting and the 17 right I missed the A

On reflection a 10x8 crop on the middle portion may have been better

 

[kennysarmy]

I could try and blag some arty junk about poverty being the lack of money and to represent that I deliberately cut off the A, alternatively I could admit the truth and say I was just focused on getting the lighting and the 17 right I missed the A

On reflection a 10x8 crop on the middle portion may have been better

man..next time just blag it lol

 

[John Lindsay]

Hi Simon,

Just popping in with a quick comment, all yours shots are looking great!

Have I missed something though, what's the significance of the 17, in the dollar shot? I see you mentioning it and trying to get it right.



John

 

[Bruja]

Hello Simon, having a mega catch up as only just recovered from Paris!

I really like the texture of the dollar bill and the way your lighting set-up has worked. And you are right about 1 dollar being relative, in Paris it wouldn't have even paid for the sugar to put in your coffee

 

[jeangenie]

Glad I've managed to get a comment in on your Poverty shot before Week 13 is posted!

I love the texture - very crisp and well-judged (macro lens?) Sorry if you've already said what lens - I'm struggling to catch up and my brain is a bit fried! The date idea was neat - needless to say I didn't realise until it was pointed out!

Also well done on the initiative of getting a crisp new dollar bill. Thanks, too for sharing the set-up. It's always interesting to see how a shot's been done.

Jean

 

[SimonTALM]

man..next time just blag it lol

I might just do that

Hi Simon,

Just popping in with a quick comment, all yours shots are looking great!

Have I missed something though, what's the significance of the 17, in the dollar shot? I see you mentioning it and trying to get it right.



John

Cheers John,

This is October the 17th - which is World Poverty Day

Hello Simon, having a mega catch up as only just recovered from Paris!

I really like the texture of the dollar bill and the way your lighting set-up has worked. And you are right about 1 dollar being relative, in Paris it wouldn't have even paid for the sugar to put in your coffee

Thanks, it is actually quite interesting to note that according to the adjusted $1 index the UK is actually worse off due to our relatively high prices.

Glad I've managed to get a comment in on your Poverty shot before Week 13 is posted!

I love the texture - very crisp and well-judged (macro lens?) Sorry if you've already said what lens - I'm struggling to catch up and my brain is a bit fried! The date idea was neat - needless to say I didn't realise until it was pointed out!

Also well done on the initiative of getting a crisp new dollar bill. Thanks, too for sharing the set-up. It's always interesting to see how a shot's been done.

Jean

I can't remember where I saw the low angle tip for texture but I'm glad my brain stored this piece of information.

Yep, this is the magic Nikon 105mm VR

 

[SimonTALM]

Up is such a wide theme I wasn't quite sure what I wanted to do when the week started. I did think about taking a photo of some large structure (e.g. Portsmouth's Spinaker Tower) from the bottom but I didn't get round to that. So on Saturday morning this week just after I tidied the house (the GF is staying for a few days) I realised I had to get something so I looked at my stairs in the house and thought - well they go up and an idea was born.


Click for EXIF

I called this "Stairway to Knocking on Heaven's Door"

This was achieved by using a flash though a shoot through brolly just above the camera, a flash at the top of the stairs to the right with +1 stop to make the top of the stairs bright and a flash in the room on the floor facing up to help blow out everything in the room (the room was quite bright as the sun was coming through the window.

Things I learned this week.

1) I'm really pleased I have 3 Nikon CLS flashes.
2) Nikon CLS does have its limitations, specifically if there isn't line of sight you rely on bouncing light to trigger the flash (which sometimes doesn't work).
3) A DVD case can act as a barndoor for a floor standing SB600 (it stopped the light leaking and creating a shadow of the top of stairs on the left wall).
4) Sometimes a small aperture to throw the foreground out of focus just doesn't work.

 

[Toothie]

very nicely done Simon, the lighting works verywell

 

[adrury]

Good shot, I like the focus being on the door with the light behind. The black and white treatment works well and I like the shadows in the corners.

fab!

 

[Daysleeper40]

Goot shot, I like the focus being on the door with the light behind. The black and white treatment works well and I like the shadows in the corners.

I agree - the lighting works well

 

[maddog.mark]

An interesting shot and quite some work to get it just right.

I tried something similiar without the lighting setup and was frankly disappointed with my efforts, I now know why!

Good work

Mark

 

[SimonTALM]

very nicely done Simon, the lighting works verywell

Thank you

Good shot, I like the focus being on the door with the light behind. The black and white treatment works well and I like the shadows in the corners.

fab!

Cheers

I agree - the lighting works well

Thank you

An interesting shot and quite some work to get it just right.

I tried something similiar without the lighting setup and was frankly disappointed with my efforts, I now know why!

Good work

Mark

Thanks It was a bit of work but worth it I think I could have achieved a similar result just using normal lights though.

 

[Hyster]

The lighting at the top of the stairs adds a little intrigue, nice one Simon.

 

[jeangenie]

This is an astonishing image, Simon. Can anyone else see the ambiguity in perception?

I saw a flight of stairs going up, AFTER I'd seen a flight of stairs going DOWN to an open trap door at the bottom. How wierd is that? What a cracking image.

Thanks for sharing the lighting as well, Simon. It's very effective.


to lie down in darkened room.

Jean

 

[jgs001]

excellent shot Simon, the lighting is spot on.

 

[Bruja]

Great interpretation, fantastic light and the mono conversion really makes it stand out. Can't find a thing wrong with it.

PS - Letter

I hope whoever put that in the hat is still playing

 

[SimonTALM]

The lighting at the top of the stairs adds a little intrigue, nice one Simon.

Thank you

This is an astonishing image, Simon. Can anyone else see the ambiguity in perception?

I saw a flight of stairs going up, AFTER I'd seen a flight of stairs going DOWN to an open trap door at the bottom. How wierd is that? What a cracking image.

Thanks for sharing the lighting as well, Simon. It's very effective.


to lie down in darkened room.

Jean

I hadn't seen that but I can see it if I really try, the GF had to point it out to me

excellent shot Simon, the lighting is spot on.

Cheers

Great interpretation, fantastic light and the mono conversion really makes it stand out. Can't find a thing wrong with it.

PS - Letter

I hope whoever put that in the hat is still playing

Wow, thank you for such strong words of encouragement

P.S. I'm glad it's not just me who is struggling this week

 

[Spartacus]

excellent shot Simon, the lighting is spot on.

I agree that's a great shot...

and just was crying out to be B&W...

 

[SimonTALM]

A difficult week for me this week, but I got there in the end. I didn't want to do the obvious so I tried to find letters hidden in other objects and not anything printed / embossed etc. I did want to try and get the whole alphabet but after 2 days of togging I was missing C, F, G, P, U and Z but this was more down to not realising what letters I had taken than not being able to find them. I know that if I spent another day I could complete the list but I don't have the time this week - I will complete the list at some point.

As this is a composite there is no EXIF in the main photo but all the constituent photos do.


Click Individual Photos for EXIF


Things I learned this week

1) Letters are everywhere if you look for them.
2) I should have crossed letters off the list as I was taking them.
3) Joining photos together is time consuming and not very interesting.

 

[Dark Star]

4 to catch up on:

Relationships: Yum great shot and a good example of a non human relationship! Love the colours!

Poverty: Like to have seen the A and not sure of the significance of 17 in the bg (did I miss something or am I being dopey ) But I like it from a conceptual point of view and a technical point of view! A Crisp Dollar - very nice!

Up: I like it - shades of Psycho an everyday Up

Letter: Bloody cleverly seen and done - very original, I like this one best of all

 

[maddog.mark]

Damn that's clever.....I like that a lot.

 

[-Rob-]

10 out of 10 for imagination on this one Simon and perfectly executed as well. Really well done.

 

[adrury]

Excellent, very clever, who knew we were surrounded by the alphabet!! Individually they are great shots, together even better. Well done!

 

[Toothie]

very cleaver i have to say though i perfer them with the white around them - as seperates on here no idea why though

 

[liss]

very clever didnt notice it at first and then it clicked, you must have a great imagination

 

[jgs001]

Very very clever Simon, you didn't even get near the box for this one. Well spotted, thought out, implemented and such a great interpretation

 

[Hyster]

Very creative Simon, great vision.

 

[Shorty]

great thinking behind this, really like this week's shot - brilliant. Very clever indeed

 

[jeangenie]

... and the prize for the most original shot this week, goes to ...... (pause for dramatic effect) ..... Simon (loud and prolonged applause)


:1st:


I thought you were struggling this week with no ideas and ready to do dark deeds to the person who suggested 'Letter'. You've come up absolute trumps with this one. It's very, very clever and well executed. The colours all work together and the textures are excellent.



Jean

 

[SimonTALM]

Sorry I've had to remove lots of smilies in order for the post to go through.

I have to say I am blown away by all these comments - I thought this was one of my worse weeks and the post was a cop out but then what am I to know?

4 to catch up on:

Relationships: Yum great shot and a good example of a non human relationship! Love the colours!

Poverty: Like to have seen the A and not sure of the significance of 17 in the bg (did I miss something or am I being dopey) But I like it from a conceptual point of view and a technical point of view! A Crisp Dollar - very nice!

Up: I like it - shades of Psycho, an everyday Up

Letter: Bloody cleverly seen and done - very original, I like this one best of all

Thanks - the 17th October (which this 17th is BTW) is World Poverty Day - I didn't explain in the post but have later.

Damn that's clever.....I like that a lot.

Cheers

10 out of 10 for imagination on this one Simon and perfectly executed as well. Really well done.

Thanks

Excellent, very clever, who knew we were surrounded by the alphabet!! Individually they are great shots, together even better. Well done!

Thanks, I didn't realise quite how many letters there were until I started looking for them.

very cleaver, i have to say though i perfer them with the white around them - as seperates on here no idea why though

Thank you, I hadn't thought of using a white background but now you mention it it does look quite good doesn't it

very clever didnt notice it at first and then it clicked, you must have a great imagination

Cheers - I wouldn't have put imagination anywhere near top in my skills list but I am starting to think that I must have

Very very clever Simon, you didn't even get near the box for this one. Well spotted, thought out, implemented and such a great interpretation

Cheers, as I said at the top I thought this was one of my worse weeks

Very creative Simon, great vision.

Thank you

great thinking behind this, really like this week's shot - brilliant. Very clever indeed

Thanks

... and the prize for the most original shot this week, goes to ...... (pause for dramatic effect) ..... Simon (loud and prolonged applause)

I thought you were struggling this week with no ideas and ready to do dark deeds to the person who suggested 'Letter'. You've come up absolute trumps with this one. It's very, very clever and well executed. The colours all work together and the textures are excellent.

Jean

Thank you - I can assure you I was struggling and I still think it's not my best week but that's because I don't think all the individual letters are as good as I am capable of. However it appears to have pretty global support for it, who am I to argue with you lot .

 

[Bruja]

What a fantastic shot and great interpretation Simon. Fantastic imagination and each individual shot works for me too (but I love abstracts )

Definitely top of the class for this one

 

[antc]

Very clever, nicely done, well seen, what can i say, i like them!