Weekly Diary Project

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Yv

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Several people have asked me if I would do a 365 and I have always answered with a categorical NO WAY! I know myself well enough to know that I would run out of steam and motivation. However, I have been looking through some of the '52' projects that are running and I think I would like to have a go at this. One picture a week that somehow says something about that week. It might be a personal one about how I am feeling, or one from some shots I have been doing that week that I particularly like, or maybe from a TP meet, whatever, each will have a reason but the reasons will vary and I shall try and explain the thinking behind them. Rather like Del's, my thinking is that if I dont get to the end of this, ces't la vie, its not the end of the world, and as such feel less pressured with that attitude, but I would like to achieve something with it, so fingers crossed and all that. I warn you there WILL be HDR's and mono conversions and basically, anything I fancy, in fact you could say I will be using TP as a repository for my photo diary, but hopefully people will enjoy some of the images. Will aim to post the new one on Sundays. Unlike most, the pics will NOT have been taken deliberately for the diary, but will be chosen for their appropriateness for that week.




So, for openers I have chosen a shot I have already shown on here in a different context and only taken yesterday but I keep looking at it and thinking 'thats how I feel', stuck in a cage, behind bars as it were with my photography at the moment. A very distinct feeling of not being able to break out and do something different, to reach past boundaries. A small voice keeps telling me to concentrate more, spend time doing one thing well rather then several things with mediocrity, which I think is what is happening. In other words, stop staring out at the world of photographers achieving great things, and start learning how to do just one of them before moving onto the next.

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So, onwards and upwards, make more of the limited time available and be creative and stop looking so bloody sad! :nono:
 
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Love the idea, and the message: One thing at a time.. I'll definitely try to follow you on that one!

I'm going to have to have a trip to the zoo sometime soon! Everyone's pictures are inspiring me :)

Good luck with the next 51!
 
This is a great project to get stuck into, Yvonne. Explaining the ideas and thinking behind a particular photo is something we often touch on in the forums and I think your approach of something meaningful from each week will be interesting - and hopefully fulfilling for you. I know what you mean about not concentrating on one aspect at a time - I'm sooooo guilty of that.

Lots of luck and fun :)

Jean

btw your first shot tells the story perfectly. :clap:
 
A great idea, and a great shot to start off with.
 
Great idea :thumbs: Love the picture and the story with it. :clap:
 
Great image. Thanks for sharing your feelings and thoughts. Just know you're not alone and good luck with your 52 :thumbs:
 
Good idea Yv. I know what you mean about concentrating on one aspect of photogarphy. I have yet to find my niche, maybe I never will. But I still enjoy what I do and hope in some small way to improve every week.

I shall follow your 52 with interest
 
The picture is a very emotional one :'( and fits perfectly with how you are feeling. I think many of us feel trapped or constrained in one way or another. Great picture and I too will follow this thread with interest :thumbs:
 
maddog.mark said:
Good idea Yv. I know what you mean about concentrating on one aspect of photogarphy. I have yet to find my niche, maybe I never will. But I still enjoy what I do and hope in some small way to improve every week.

I shall follow your 52 with interest
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I am not even sure its about finding a niche tbh Mark, I think its more about spreading yourself too thinly so never really getting to grips with anything. I have several topics I want to do better, some I have done that I am happy with and some I think I will leave well alone in furture, and some I have never even tried, and probably won't this year, but maybe in the future.

Things I want to do better include strobe and studio stuff [lighting in other words], mainly of a portraiture nature and wildlife.

things I can do reasonably well, though I dont claim to be an expert, but I am at least generally satisfied wit the results and can usually see where I could improve for next time are architecture/urban landscapes - hell, I dread to think how many photography hours I have spent walking round London. On the few occasions I have done natural landscapes, they have been fairly successful, but as someones sig says, 'anything more then 500 yrds from the car becomes distinctly less photogenic' :lol: THATS what I need to do, get out more, get a bit fitter and get used to lugging stuff across 'interesting' terrain.

Stuff I feel I should avoid concentrating on are things like street photography, because whilst I now have much more confidence to actually do it, I don't think I have a natural 'eye' for it, so if the opportunity presents itself, yes, I will take the shot, but no longer go out of my way to worry about it. Ditto weddings really, if someone wants me to be a second tog for them, I would do it happily, but I am not going to go out of my way to find wedding work.

I have never done gig photography because it doesn't appeal in anyway, too bloody old to be bothered if I am truthful.

Sports photography - well, sort of no choice in as much as I am obliged to do the karate stuff, but I am not complaining, I just feel I could apply that knowledge to other sports, human and equine and motor, more often. Again, its about making the effort tp get out and do those things. Maybe thats for next year, or certainly some of it, athletics, cricket, and so on. Stuff I know I can do, horse shows, karate tournaments, motor sport, the aim is to improve this year.


So, its a case of working out which of those things are more important to me in the increasingly limited time I seem to have available and using it more efficiently. Now I just have to decide which :bonk:
 
Just writing it actually helps work things out anyway. I dont think there is any harm in covering a wide range of subjects generally, but when time allows, I want to have a 2 or 3 particular areas I can think, right, got some time, now where can go to get some practice on one of them. I am definately swayed towards events of a sporting nature, so yes, polo will no doubt feature. Wildlife, need to get myself out there and do it not just in the garden or at zoos but in the big wild world too, and finally using artifical lighting, initially strobes as that is the kit I have, but some full blown studio lights too at some point.
 
Yv said:
JI dont think there is any harm in covering a wide range of subjects generally, but when time allows, I want to have a 2 or 3 particular areas I can think, right, got some time, now where can go to get some practice on one of them.
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Know exactly what you mean there. I enjoy specialising in the polo and would love to branch out into other Equine sports including, oddly, dressage. Would really love to have a go at studio stuff as well and hopefully will get the chance this year. But if truth be told, I just love taking photographs and will grab an opportunity to try anthing new like the zoo last weekend, or tramping through the woods.
 
Aww!!! thats a very emotive shot, Yv. Really pulls on the heart strings does that face!

This is something Id like to do at some stage, especially as Im going through massive changes in my life at the moment .. cant see me getting around to it though.

Good luck with your project :thumbs:
 
Thanks again all :thumbs:

Week 2

Well, its sunday again and time for the next installment. This week has been all about karate photographically, with a little bit of birding yesterday - the other option for this weeks shot is in my gallery, going back to improving wildlife, but decided on this one as it has covered the majority of the week - Most of my karate shots are action shots taken at tournaments, but twice a year we hold belt gradings and those that grade successfully are awarded their belt, a certificate and get their picture taken. I started doing this just over a year ago and the pictures have improved over the 3 times we have had the presentations in that time, as my understanding of flash, and working with the awful surrounds has improved. The fitness studio we use is mirrored on 3 walls, and the fourth hase floor to ceiling posters and a water fountain and just to add insult to photographic injury, only the front half of the studio has lighting, as its other main use is for pilates, yoga etc :bonk:

On friday I was asked by one of the mums if I would do some shots away from karate of her two kids, and a few others are interested too, so definately need to sort out something better by way of back drops and the like, but thats for another week. This weeks picture is of my friends son. She wanted to talk to Sensei and the little boy was in 'whinge' mode, so I took him off outside onto the landing and got him to pose for me against a bit of magnolia wall. Took the SB600 off the camera and just sat it on the floor pointing upwards, no one and nothing to hold it for me you see, and triggered it with on board. I knew I would get some shadows, but using the on board as fill in minimised them a bit and look forward to doing some better ones in more organised circumstances - what photographer wouldnt want to capture those big brown eyes?! The hardest thing about karate photography is the ultra reflective properties of the Gi, causes havoc with your exposure :lol: Hopeully over the course of this diary, my lighting/portraits will improve as I can see a lot wrong with this shot tha I know I can do better so heres to many more, but in the mean time, I give you my current favourite 'muse', Andreas.


andreas.jpg
 
Wow Yv, what a striking shot and such a good looking boy too. I see what you mean about the eyes :thumbs: I'd like to see it in portrait mode too as there is a fair bit of white space around him and, for me, it would bring him more to the fore and give it a bit more punch. But that's just personal taste, not a criticism. Well done :clap:
 
What a great idea for a 52, I can see how it enables you to focus on what you want to focus on without being restricted, yet at the same time doing the important thing and getting out, taking photos and learning in the process. I am sure that during this year as you learn and see how much you improve you will discover more about yourself and your relationship with the camera and by the end of the year you have achieved what you set out to achieve.

I really like both shots, you capture the soul of the subject really well. I'm sure you've already identified a number of technical improvements you could have made to the images such as the low level flash causing an ugly shadow of the nose and the bars are just a bit too much in focus and distract from the facial expression. However, the thing that stands out as something you do really well and is really hard to do as well as you have is how you've captured the eyes, spot on in both cases. :thumbs:
 
Great start Yvonne. You're a bl**dy good photographer according to The King of Groove!
 
Thankyou for the comments everyone. His mum is chuffed to bits, so lord knows what she will think when she sees better efforts. I spent some time last night using a makeshift background and playing around with the position of the lights for best effect. [poor daughter was made to pose again] and starting to feel a bit more comfy with the equipment and the results that can be achieved not only by adjusting position of lights, but shutter speeds and apertures too. :thumbs:
 
Even though the lighting isn't as you would have liked (or chosen) it, it's still a striking portrait. Well done on ingenuity, too. It's quite satisfying to think on your feet and find some sort of solution to a problem.

Your karate room sounds like every photographer's worst nightmare! Top marks for perservering with it.


Hope to see this young lad's next portrait - he's a dream. :)

Jean
 
jeangenie said:
Even though the lighting isn't as you would have liked (or chosen) it, it's still a striking portrait. Well done on ingenuity, too. It's quite satisfying to think on your feet and find some sort of solution to a problem.

Your karate room sounds like every photographer's worst nightmare! Top marks for perservering with it.


Hope to see this young lad's next portrait - he's a dream. :)

Jean
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Thanks Jean, I am sure he will appear in this diary again, together with some other portraits, but I promise not to bore everyone with them too much, will be doing other stuff too :D

although right now, the only thing I have to do is head over to work :(
 
OK, something totally different this week, not just for you, but me too.

I originally come from Stockport, just south of Manchester and whilst I don't get back there from London as often as I should, yesterday I got even further and went round the north side to Bury. I left the squad training in town and headed out to find something to point my camera at, ostensibly landscapes, but sadly the light was very flat all morning, with a little sunshine in the afternoon. Someone here had mentioned the East Lancs railway, so I decided to have a look at the opposite end to Bury and headed over to Rawtenstall. Here I waited a little while until the Duke of Gloucester arrived. Quite difficult to get flattering shots, so many people also trying to do the same, including one elderly gentleman who told me, quite rigtly no doubt, that whilst my camera was excellent, his 1972 model was far superior. I never did find out what model it was, he kept it in its case :thinking: :lol:

Anyway, in a break from the learning curve, but a subject I certainly haven't pointed a camera at since I was a kid, I give you the very beautiful Duke of Gloucester.

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ps, apologies this wasn't yesterday, but by the time I got back to london, all I wanted was my bed ;)
 
A beautiful piece of engineering well taken Yv, love the colours, sharpness and composition - a subject, like yourself, I haven't tried for years!

Minor nigglette is the slice of onlooker (toes and coat?) at the very left edge of the frame - hardly noticeable until some idiot like me points it out ;):D

Nonetheless a lovely shot :)
 
What a wonderful piece of engineering, and a lovely shot of it too Yv :thumbs:
 
Dark Star said:
A beautiful piece of engineering well taken Yv, love the colours, sharpness and composition - a subject, like yourself, I haven't tried for years!

Minor nigglette is the slice of onlooker (toes and coat?) at the very left edge of the frame - hardly noticeable until some idiot like me points it out ;):D

Nonetheless a lovely shot :)
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Yup - although looked three times after you mentioned it and still couldn't see it :lol::lol::lol:

It's a great photo Yv :clap:
 
Thankyou all and yes John, I did notice the nigglette afterwards, sorry :nuts:

Wierd things steam engines, its not so much their presence for me as the smell. I am by no means old enough to remember them being regular transport yet I still find the smell very evocative. :thumbs:
 
Well here we are, Sunday again and what a week. I have today ordered some a new Lencarta studio set up, so be braced for a few weeks of people pics as I get my head round an entirely new genre for me.

This week, with some improved light, was all about those garden birds. I have already posted this picture within a set, but having looked at them several times, I think this is my personal favourite.

My approach to this started with trying to pan them, but that is nigh on impossible, even for someone like me that has spent more than a few hours panning 150mph plus racing cars. These things are so small and quick! So, decided a different approach was needed. So, I set the feeder about 4 foot from the shrub the birds use as their regular 'approach perch' and therefore their flight would be roughly parallel with the front of the lens, which was at the window. This meant I could focus on a point just to the left of the hanging feeder itself, flick to manual focusing and shoot using 6fps. Of course to freeze the action and get them in focus requires high shutter speeds and the smallest aperture possible - no fun in winter - so you get as wide as possible tolerance on each flight path, which of course does vary every time. So these were basically all at f4, 1/1600, with iso 1600. My plan is that as the days get better and lighter, I will push to 1/2000, f8 would be nice and the iso as low as I can get away with for that particular day.

the result is this - still some blurring, but definately approaching useable.

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As my trigger finger gets more accurate I will also be able to fill the frame more by zooming in more, and maybe even try that panning again when light is better.

This has been really good fun to do, though does require patience and some time to spend just watching where the birds will be and their habits, but I am hoping this all pays off in the end. The best thing about it is that almost anyone that can attract garden birds can have a go and get some great results without leaving the house/garden

Anyway, onwards, studio kit is on its way and I am really rather excited :woot:
 
Yv said:
I give you the very beautiful Duke of Gloucester.

3227807963_ea0775d79d_o.jpg
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He's certainly very handsome! There is something quite awesome about steam trains in action. And, unlike you, I am old enough to remember getting filthy dirty and choked by smoke. :lol: This is a lovely shot - sorry I missed it earlier in the week.

Yv said:
This has been really good fun to do, though does require patience and some time to spend just watching where the birds will be and their habits, but I am hoping this all pays off in the end. The best thing about it is that almost anyone that can attract garden birds can have a go and get some great results without leaving the house/garden

Anyway, onwards, studio kit is on its way and I am really rather excited :woot:
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I love the sense of action in this one. It's really helpful to describe how you achieved it, and comforting to know it's not as easy as you make it look. :clap::clap:

Have loads of fun with your studio kit. I really look forward to seeing the results. :)

Jean
 
Wow, you did well to catch that little bird in flight, that's brilliant :clap:
 
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