cw318is's Photo 52 only 7 shots to go!

Had another little bash at this one as I knew the shortcomings in the first attempt. So out I went, off came the plastic film stuff, struggle did I to get the focus how I wanted it. Not being in a position to get a tilt shift lens just at the moment I ended up focus stacking - first ever try for that.

Week 4 - Open mk2 by cw318is, on Flickr


So there we go, v grateful of the crit which I acted on, shot(s) processed differently and at a different angle, colour still not pink (its cherry blossom cerise) and physical evidence that Dawn has great taste. I'm learning slowly, one day I might actually take a decent photo.
 
Hi ya

much prefer the 2nd take with all the writing in focus (y)
Love the look & sound of the cars as well , not driven one (yet) though

Just out of curiosity, how many shots in the focus stack ?

great shot :)
 
Thats a great take on the theme and the colour makes it for me, very sharp shot, very nice :)
 
Hiya Caleb,

Much better :clap:

A much cleaner image, with a nice DOF and the cap definitely looks better.

Well done.

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
An imaginative photo. Really like the idea of something that must NOT be opened. The contrast in colour, sharpness and tone between the cap and the engine really makes it zing.

I'm probably missing something here, but what was the trouble with focussing? Could you not just use a smaller aperture for inreased DOF?

A very striking image.
 
blondie606 said:
Just out of curiosity, how many shots in the focus stack ?
Click to expand...
3 shots there, but could have in hindsight done it with 2. f1.8 with the focus point at the back of the slam panel to give the bokeh engine bay, then 2 at f2.5 with the focus points on the "." between 1.3 and the top of the T in STI. What I could have done is just gone to f8 or something and got the entire cap pinsharp in one shot.

luckless said:
Thats a great take on the theme and the colour makes it for me, very sharp shot, very nice :)
Click to expand...
Thank you.
drodd said:
Hiya Caleb,

Much better :clap:

A much cleaner image, with a nice DOF and the cap definitely looks better.

Well done.

Cheers

Dawn :)
Click to expand...
Cheers Dawn, is your Forester going to feature in this 52?

PatrickO said:
I'm probably missing something here, but what was the trouble with focussing? Could you not just use a smaller aperture for inreased DOF?
Click to expand...

At the moment my engine bay is an absolute mess with the intercooler missing and bits of fuel rail and silicone hosing all over the place, so I wanted to hide it! I also wanted the point of focus to be the rad cap. As I don't have a macro or tilt shift lens the only way I could do it was a focus stack. First attempt of a single shot at f1.8 gave the right background effect but the dof on the cap wasn't great, combined with a cosmetic issue with some film on the rad cap. As mentioned above I could have got the same result with a stack of just 2 shots. Pin sharp rad cap, blurred bay.

Thank you everyone for your comments and crits. Good luck with all your 52's :)
 
Just seen your thread for the first time. Nice work. I agree with the general concensus that your second take on week 4 is the better of the 2. I think the contrasts between the dark engine bay and the pink. erm . sorry, Cherry Blossom Cerise are great.
Rebelious take on theme. Nicely done .

Martin
 
cw318is said:
<snip> Cheers Dawn, is your Forester going to feature in this 52?<snip>
Click to expand...

Hiya,

Good question! Not sure, it all depends on the themes, but I am not really one for taking pics of my vehicles, except for my own pleasure.

But who knows, a bit of spit and polish and she may just feature in one pic :D Wait and see :p

D ;)
 
Nah leave it dirty - the stage fresh look suits foresters!

You could always use it for Hard maybe? V hard to change a clutch on them? V hardcore farm vehicle? Will take a lot of punishment so its well 'ard? :LOL:
 
cw318is said:
Nah leave it dirty - the stage fresh look suits foresters!

You could always use it for Hard maybe? V hard to change a clutch on them? V hardcore farm vehicle? Will take a lot of punishment so its well 'ard? :LOL:
Click to expand...

:LOL: Or I could add it to an EASY theme, easy to plough through the snow, easy to beat any turd who wants to dice me, :p (specially with the turbo), easy to drive (being automatic), easy to notice ... after all who could miss the insig of a Subaru :D OMG the list goes on :D

:LOL:

Cheers

D :)
 
Week 5 - Hard by cw318is, on Flickr


One hardened HSS drill bit. I took this shot because I really like some of the product shots posted on TP with the baseline reflections. I put the drill bit on some smoked glass with black card underneath, then balanced another piece of card on top of the camera and the glass to stop the ceiling being reflected. Not sure if this has worked or not as a shot but I'm pretty happy with it. It was a bit of a mare photoshopping out all the dust on the glass, that was after I dusted it.
 
Quite simply brilliant, for me the best shot I have seen for any week.
 
And there's me thinking i was going to be first this week lol great shot im going to try that idea with the glass at some piont i hope thanks for tips
some good takes on themes here mate (y)
 
Hiya Caleb,

Well done on getting this week done so quick, and an fantastic shot to boot.

Can't fault it (y)

Thanks for the tip about the black card I must remember that.

As for cleaning glass, you could always try methylated spirits and newspaper. That is what we used to clean our windows with back in South Africa. It is brill for removing any streaks and may also help with dust spots you were talking about, worth a try. Obviously only do that in a well ventilated area as the meths has a very strong smell.

Now you can sit back and enjoy seeing what everyone else comes up with for this week's theme.

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
Nice shot Caleb I like it (y) simple but well executed ;) well done ..still to get mine sorted out god the days fly by....
 
Hi Caleb

I really like the composition in your first week 4 shot, but prefer the dof / focus in your 2nd attempt :) I had no idea it was called 'cherry blossom cerise' - far more sophisticated than 'pink' :LOL:

your week 5 shot is really on the money - beautiful composition, sharpness and reflection, stunningly simple but very effective :)
 
Thank you everyone for the feedback :)

To be honest the drill image is really annoying me now, I was hoping someone somewhere could and would find a fault with it. I don't want it to be a flawless shot - I might only ever take one in my whole life and I'd be really upset if when I get to the pearly gates I realise it was of a mundane drill bit.

So please, someone say something bad about it!
 
Hi! I'm afraid I can't find a fault with it either; I think it's excellent! It's a brilliant take on this week, and perfectly shot. Sorry... :p
 
Hi Caleb.
Love the shot and dont want to be reeeeaaaaallly picky... but since you pushed... maybe having the drill bit slightly higher up in the image? (You know the old rule of thirds and all that).

Not a criticism at all cause I totally love the shot.
 
So, clutter being the theme I thought of shots of my office, my garage/workshop and my kitchen, all of which are incredibly cluttered. Then keeping to my "rules" about only using primes to keep things creative I thought about maybe selecting various areas of - like my incredible collection of assorted nuts and bolts that will never be used for anything - but someone already did that. So onto thinking about how to deal with clutter.....

Week 6 - Clutter by cw318is, on Flickr


Maybe not cluttered, but a shot pleasing to me none the less. Comments and crit gratefully received. :)
 
OK

drillbit shot, i don't like the reflection of the reflection (does that make sense?)
but that's only because you really wanted there to be a problem with it!

I like the vacuum photo, but I don't know why it means clutter... after all imho vacuums are used to clean up dirt, and not clutter? (as it would probably jam the motor...)

still, good shot:)
 
Hiya Caleb,

Lovely clear shot of a vac, and can see your way of thinking regards it as a machine to de-clutter. I would need more than a household vac to declutter my house, thinking more along the lines of a huge monsterous industrial cleaner would fit the bill more :LOL:

However, regards your image, I think you have done a good job on the b&w conversion. I'm not sure about the composition and the big shadow is quite distracting. But on a positive note I think you have used good control of lighting on the vac.

Personally I don't you should worry about the fact that others have already used an idea you perhaps had considered. This is not a competition and there are no rules to say you can't used an idea that has already been shot. Infact I think that could be a good thing in some respects and we can all learn from similar subjects, not to mention that each will have a uniqueness to them as we are all individual in interpretation and expression of style.

As an example, I am really impressed by the different takes on the HARD theme where a number of folk used 'hard as nails', using a similar subject but different from each other in so many ways.

We will all probably at some time have similar ideas for the theme, so please don't let that stop you from going with what you thought of for a theme.

I have enjoyed following your project and look forward to keeping up with your progress.

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
soggydiverdan said:
OK
I like the vacuum photo, but I don't know why it means clutter... after all imho vacuums are used to clean up dirt, and not clutter? (as it would probably jam the motor...)
Click to expand...

Its more kindof post clutter, once you've cleared the clutter away you dust and hoover up kindof thing?

drodd said:
Hiya Caleb,

Lovely clear shot of a vac, and can see your way of thinking regards it as a machine to de-clutter.
However, regards your image, I think you have done a good job on the b&w conversion. I'm not sure about the composition and the big shadow is quite distracting. But on a positive note I think you have used good control of lighting on the vac.
Click to expand...

Hiya Dawn, can I just ask what shadow? The hoover was pretty evenly lit from the front to be honest - or do you mean the bit infront of it?

With what I was planning, every clutter shot I could think of would look cluttered, then to me it wouldn't be a decent shot just a busy photo of lots of stuff if that makes sense. Had to think really hard about this one!
 
cw318is said:
<snip> Hiya Dawn, can I just ask what shadow? The hoover was pretty evenly lit from the front to be honest - or do you mean the bit infront of it?

With what I was planning, every clutter shot I could think of would look cluttered, then to me it wouldn't be a decent shot just a busy photo of lots of stuff if that makes sense. Had to think really hard about this one!
Click to expand...

Hiya Caleb,

I was referring to the shadow cast behind the vac, i.e., in the upper right quad. I agree the hoover is pretty evenly lit, hence why my attention is drawn to the dard shadow at the back.

I can see, and appreciate you have thought long and hard about this shot, so for that I commend you. Thinking outside of the box is always a good thing .... although my opinion is perhaps you have gone a bit too far outside (if you know what I mean)...... I don't want that to come across in a negative way, but rather as constructive crit. ;)

You are doing a fab job, looking at your previous weeks, but I think this one was taken a bit to the extreme (if you know what I mean)

Maybe if you had gone with one of your original ideas, even though someone had already done it, I think you could have pulled it out of the bag .... I know you have the confidence and creativity to do same.

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
drodd said:
Hiya Caleb,
I was referring to the shadow cast behind the vac, i.e., in the upper right quad. I agree the hoover is pretty evenly lit, hence why my attention is drawn to the dard shadow at the back.
Click to expand...

Ah I see. To be honest that was one of my concerns when I did the black and white conversion, the original colours afterall are a teracotta carpet, and silver and purple dyson. In the shot the hoover is leaning backwards making use of the tripod while I stood on the coffee table with the monopod to get the angles and light right. Clearly the B&W conversion has lost a bit of content - that shadow is actually a just hoovered bit of carpet. I did quite liberally apply some shake n vac before just to highlight the just cleaned area which is why the colour and texture is so different.
 
Hi Caleb

The more I look at your clutter shot the more I like it ! The B&W works well & the black in front of at the sides says (to me anyway) that you've hoovered up the clutter (or dust as it may be) .Subtle take on the theme but works well to me (y)
 
Last edited:
cw318is said:
Ah I see. To be honest that was one of my concerns when I did the black and white conversion, the original colours afterall are a teracotta carpet, and silver and purple dyson. In the shot the hoover is leaning backwards making use of the tripod while I stood on the coffee table with the monopod to get the angles and light right. Clearly the B&W conversion has lost a bit of content - that shadow is actually a just hoovered bit of carpet. I did quite liberally apply some shake n vac before just to highlight the just cleaned area which is why the colour and texture is so different.
Click to expand...

Maybe you could post the colour version for us to compare to the b&w? That way maybe things wil be in perspective.

I actually got the 'shake n vac' spots on the left :LOL: not something I do on regular basis .... so your home must smell fab!

Admire the exreme sport you went to for this shot ..... all in the name of photography :LOL: Amazing the positions we can get ourselves into for a good shot :D

Caleb, I look forward to watching your progress with project, so keep up the good work pal!

Cheers

Dawn :)
 
Thank you all for your feedback you lovely people.

Here is the original, exactly as shot;

smallClutter.jpg
 
Last edited:
I must admit, I think I prefer the colour version :) The tones of the Dyson are rather pleasing for me!

The composition is spot on too, but the only (slight) niggle i have is the shake and vac..makes the image slightly messy. Good effort (y)
 
Interesting shot, I too prefer the colour version, I don't mind the sake and vac though, follows the theme. I didn't know they still made that stuff!
 
Ah damn you. Now I have that blasted shake n vac song stuck in my head... :bang:

I do prefer the colour version btw, works much better I think.
 
I have a stupidly busy week booked this week and have spent all day housebound on my own tidying, cleaning and thoroughly bored so thought I'd get my image done tonight. First idea - delicate like an eggshell. Foiled by not having any eggs. So onto the lateral thoughts, delicate, intricate, fragile could collapse like a................

Week 7 - Delicate by cw318is, on Flickr


The one thing I really can't decide on is the shadow. To me it doesn't dominant the image but can see how some might think it does. I do think it adds a bit of dimension though?
 
Hiya Caleb,

Once again quick off the mark there!

:thinking: thinking about the said shadow, still not convinced it adds to the image, however, I think you have hit the nail on the head with this one.....

I find myself wanting to blow the whole display down, out of pure envy of your creative thinking :LOL:

Well done!

Cheers

Dawn ;)
 
Thanks Dawn, there was a few moments when a furry terrorist decided to inspect the set up........

IMG_2864.jpg


IMG_2865.jpg


IMG_2867.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top