weekly GarethB's 52 challenge for 2019 - Week 51 & 52 - CHRISTMASSY & OUTTAKES - FINISHED!

Wow lovely close up macro for Closed Gareth, some great details caught here and the same can be said for your free week, love the details in the water drop and the colour technique works superbly! Nice one!
 
Hi Gareth.

Wk30 Snapper Choice, Good work and lots of it must have taken ages to do all those drops and then to crop. The crop does improve it.

Pete
 
mdpF2 said:
I think they're both excellent images, very creative. The selective colour looks as though it took ages, you have a lot more patience/skill than me! They both look subtly executed, well done.
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Thank you kindly Mark, indeed, it took a long, long time! I would say, however, that a strong wrist is more important than patience or skill!!:D

Scots_quine said:
Love your FREE one Gareth and truly admire your patience! Your selections are 'spot on' so well worth the effort.
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Thank you so much Joan!
My original idea would have used a similar technique, but rather than drops, I was aiming for little 'colour-pop rivulets' running down the leaf 'washing' the colour away, so to speak!
I'm regretting not pursuing this now however, it would have been far less, 'wrist-achingly' tedious....although I am pleased with the final result!:)

Turbo-G said:
Nice image Gareth, and interesting take on the colour pop. I think it works well, and slightly more unusual.
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Thank you Grant! I appreciate the positive comment.(y)

Daniel_Paul said:
Wow lovely close up macro for Closed Gareth, some great details caught here and the same can be said for your free week, love the details in the water drop and the colour technique works superbly! Nice one!
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Thank you very much Daniel! I'm very pleased my wrist-shattering ordeal, selecting all those tiny drops wasn't in vain!!:LOL:

seaodyssey said:
Hi Gareth.

Wk30 Snapper Choice, Good work and lots of it must have taken ages to do all those drops and then to crop. The crop does improve it.

Pete
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Thank you kindly Pete!(y)
Four hours selecting all those ruddy drops!!
And I did it the wrong way round of course!
I should have cropped first, then selected them!
What can I say....I am a complete numpty!:LOL:
 
Week 31 - Life

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I've been a bit poorly this week....bit of a cold....but fortunately I had these in the bag a few days ago.
I went to a reserve/boating lake with the idea of taking a photo of a lifebelt, but it just didn't work.

As luck would have it, I was poking around in the bushes, and came across these mucky beggars.... 'at it'!!:LOL:

So without further ado, may I present....

....creating a New Life!


Damselfies mating by Gareth Bellamy, on Flickr

This is a stack of just two images, and unfortunately there are one or two 'stacking' artefacts which I tried to remove, but I don't think they're immediately obvious.

...as always, thanks for looking folks.:)
 
Dave70D said:
Get well soon Gareth.
What another fine and great image for the theme from you too, love the colours of the Damselflies mating and a good clean BG to make them pop.
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Thank you kindly Dave....I'm feeling better now!:)
Thanks too for the kind, positive comment, always appreciated.(y)
 
rpn said:
What a fantastic image. Perfect background, spot-on focus and excellent timing. What's not like about it; well maybe just a bit more breathing space in the bottom if I'm being really picky. As the saying goes, no harm for poking around! :ROFLMAO: :LOL:
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Thank you so much Stan for the very kind, encouraging comment!:)
I agree re. breathing space at the bottom....seems a bit cramped down there.
Perhaps I should have cropped a bit off the top, to balance it a little better?

It was awkward framing in those bushes, and I rattled of as many frames as I could before 'the action' was finished, and with a tiny crop after stacking (the best two images), that was indeed the bottom of the frame!
I'll try to take more time to frame more 'spaciously' the next time I'm poking around!:giggle:
 
I think it’s fine as it is nice work and not something I would have tried stacking two images of this kind of subject, very good work as always from you.
 
Allan.H said:
I think it’s fine as it is nice work and not something I would have tried stacking two images of this kind of subject, very good work as always from you.
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Many thanks for your positive encouraging comment Allan.(y)
Until fairly recently, I too wouldn't have thought it could be possible to stack live insect images.
I must have shot about 30 images, and using the 'rocking-back-and-forth' focus method whilst shooting, I thought I'd have more to choose from, but as it turned out, I only had two images where each one was in focus.
I stacked them manually though, which sounds harder than it actually is, but there's an annoying little bit of stem that looks a bit suspect.
I am quite happy with the final result though, thanks for looking Allan.:)
 
Good work Gareth! Better than Mr Common Blue - he's not gonna pass on his DNA like that! :)
 
-Oy- said:
Good work Gareth! Better than Mr Common Blue - he's not gonna pass on his DNA like that! :)
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:LOL::LOL::LOL:

He's got to be an inexperienced young-un....I'm no expert, but I'm sure he's doing it wrong!!:D

Many thanks Dave for looking and commenting, always appreciated!(y)
 
Great macro Gareth, excellent detail and colour with just the right depth, well done
 
Hi Gareth,

Life - Bug Shot - No Comment (though I do like the blue).

Free Week - The tight crop works, there is so much detail in the leaf and droplets. Whilst it is selective colour, it is so not obvious. Very nicely done.

Closed - Sorry, another bug shot so no comment.

Wide - That takes me back, it's been years since I used a micrometer (or even a set of verniers) in anger. Well captured. That is some serious magnification.

Dirty - I don't see anything on my monitor, and I tend to think I have it too bright a lot of the time.
Looks spot on to me and nicely done for the theme.

Drink - Love the colour, love the frozen motion, just love it (y)

Full - I agree with Allan, great shot, well executed.
 
Thank you very much Tim ( @LC2 ) for the detailed comments!

You've got me curious now....why the aversion to insect images?
I'm sure you've explained before (and maybe you're sick of explaining, so I won't push it!;)), in fact I seem to recollect you saying something at the end of last year's 52, right when I joined....but memory being what it is, I can't remember!:D
 
Lovely image, I love the composition and the way the stem cuts across the frame. the colours are great and the subject is lovely. Really nicely done.
 
FlyPhot said:
Lovely image, I love the composition and the way the stem cuts across the frame. the colours are great and the subject is lovely. Really nicely done.
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Thank you most kindly Jim, I really appreciate the positive comment!:)
 
Hi Gareth,

Now that's an absolute stunner of an image for your Snappers Choice. Amazing and all the time you spent on it! Well done :clap:

Life is another incredible image. Super sharp, wonderful colours and perfect for the theme. What's not to like :)
 
Life
The dirty so and so's. Very nice shot, a good blurry background and good isolation.
 
Leebert said:
Hi Gareth,

Now that's an absolute stunner of an image for your Snappers Choice. Amazing and all the time you spent on it! Well done :clap:

Life is another incredible image. Super sharp, wonderful colours and perfect for the theme. What's not to like :)
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Many thanks Lee, I really appreciate you looking and commenting!(y)
Yep, that leaf image took ruddy ages!! I've learnt my lesson....and like I said the last time...."Never again!":D

Nostromo said:
Life
The dirty so and so's. Very nice shot, a good blurry background and good isolation.
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Thank you kindly Dominic!(y)
They have no shame at all!! :D
 
Week 32 - Interior

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Here is my entry for the interior theme.
I had a couple of ideas, and I'm not sure which one I prefer.
The first is the interior of Happisburgh Lighthouse which is the only, independently run working lighthouse in Great Britain.
It's located on Norfolk's east coast, in the village of Happisburgh (pronounced 'haysburgh') and was built in 1790.

Not having a wide angle lens meant that I had to be quite choosy of angles and since it was quite busy, it was tricky shooting around the dozens of other visitors up there.

This image is the interior of the large 'fresnel' style lens which houses the surprisingly small bulb.


Lighthouse 5 by Gareth Bellamy, on Flickr

The view from the top - lens structure on the left....


Lighthouse 8 by Gareth Bellamy, on Flickr

Close up of the bulb....


Lighthouse 4 by Gareth Bellamy, on Flickr

Here is the stairway leading to the top....that's our guide Shaun Fordyce, who grew up in the adjoining bungalow, and whose father was the last official keeper, before Trinity House closed it in 1987.


Lighthouse 3 by Gareth Bellamy, on Flickr

This next image was shot last year, but shows what it looks like from the outside....the weather was much nicer on that day!


Lighthouse 12 by Gareth Bellamy, on Flickr

My next idea was to show the interior of one of my vaping devices.
I don't normally go to all the trouble of making fancy coils these days, being that I am spectacularly lazy!:giggle:
I thought I would make an effort for the theme however.
These are not that fancy, but they look quite nice whether heated or not....I did both.

They are known as 'Clapton' coils - I think because they resemble a guitar string (Eric Clapton?)....but don't quote me on that!
They are created by winding a very thin wire around a slightly thicker wire, and then wrapped 5 or 6 times around a 3mm shaft....it's supposed to improve the flavour and uptake of liquid, giving a bigger cloud!
Personally, I usually stick to very simple, single core coils....I can't tell the difference nowadays....maybe my taste buds are broken!!:D

Heated coils....


coils 2 by Gareth Bellamy, on Flickr

and now with no heat....note the colouration from having been heated previously - I rather like this one...


coils 1 by Gareth Bellamy, on Flickr

...as always, thanks for looking folks.:)
 
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Dave70D said:
Great shots Gareth, my pick is the close up of the bulb as you could say the interior of the bulb too. Great set of images too.
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Thank you most kindly Dave!(y)
I probably should have entered that one actually....now that I look at them again, I think I prefer that image too!

mdpF2 said:
They're all good shots, I think my favourite is the very last one.
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Many thanks Mark!(y)
I was undecided whether to choose the lighthouse image or that coil one....in the end it was a flip of a coin!:giggle:
 
Interior

All are very good shots, it's hard to pick a fave, but I'll go for #1 & #3. A good choice of angles You've made there.
 
All great shots Gareth, I'd struggle to pick a favourite :)
 
Nostromo said:
Interior

All are very good shots, it's hard to pick a fave, but I'll go for #1 & #3. A good choice of angles You've made there.
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Thank you kindly Dominic!(y)
I was going to try some stacking on #3, to see if I could get both the bulb, and the lens prisms in focus, but it all went badly wrong for some reason!:D

rick448 said:
All great shots Gareth, I'd struggle to pick a favourite :)
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Thank you Rick, for the kind comment, and you mustn't struggle on my account!!:giggle:
 
Wow!! You've taken and processed some stunning photos there Gareth :clap:

The first shot showing the lens detail is my pick of the lighthouse image and I absolutely love both vape coil shots. Both are jaw droppingly stunning :clap:
 
Leebert said:
Wow!! You've taken and processed some stunning photos there Gareth :clap:

The first shot showing the lens detail is my pick of the lighthouse image and I absolutely love both vape coil shots. Both are jaw droppingly stunning :clap:
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Gosh, thanks so much Lee, for the very kind comments!(y)
The coils were shot with my newly acquired macro tubes, and I was a bit worried that I might melt the end of the lens!
They were only a couple of centimetres from the front element!!:eek:

Luckily I only burnt my thumb when I carelessly missed the fire button and pressed it into the hot coils!:facepalm:
I do have a rather nice stripy pattern on my thumb now though!:D
 
All good hard to choose so I’ll just say the pictures of the lighthouse work really well as a series of shots, nothing wrong with the coils shots but the lighthouse for me
 
Allan.H said:
All good hard to choose so I’ll just say the pictures of the lighthouse work really well as a series of shots, nothing wrong with the coils shots but the lighthouse for me
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Many thanks Allan, appreciate the positive comment.(y)
 
Fab lighthouse pix! Shot 1 does the job nicely.
 
Week 33 - Plastic

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Here is my entry for the 'plastic' theme.
They are some plastic forks that I had lying around, which I have arranged in a circular pattern - you wouldn't believe how long that took!!:giggle:
They are lit with three flashes, each with just a red, green and blue gel on them.
I quite like how the lights blended to form some nice rainbow colours.


TP-52-2019 wk-33 - Plastic 1 by Gareth Bellamy, on Flickr

...as always, thanks for looking folks.:)
 
That's awesome!
 
Wow! Some of these recent images are just sublime. You have a real eye for an image, detail and colour. Fantastic work Gareth, i'm in awe!
 
-Oy- said:
That's awesome!
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Thank you most kindly Dave!(y)

FlyPhot said:
Wow! Some of these recent images are just sublime. You have a real eye for an image, detail and colour. Fantastic work Gareth, i'm in awe!
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Many thanks Jim, that's very kind of you to say, most appreciated!(y)
 
Great take on the theme and wonderful execution. Top job :)
 
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