petemillis

Don't know what category really....

 

This is a couple of slices of banana, backlit with small LED lamp.

Tilt lens used to add some "flow" to the photograph.

 

Any thoughts/comments/input much appreciated.

Pnina, thanks for the feedback on this picture. The blue just happened - not sure how, it just did :) I too see the boat sail and the building. I think over the weekend I should have more time to experiment with different colours and shapes and will, of course, upload anything that works well.

 

Thanks again.

John, I understand your concern. But taking a snap with a p&s that's stuck on the dashboard requires zero brain processing power - it's one press of a button that's up in front of you and is far less distracting than a) listening to instructions on a GPS (which I don't have and I refuse to use as I believe they are dangerous), b) talking on a hands free mobile (which I don't have and would refuse to use as these are too distracting), c) shouting at kids in the back of the car (which I do have and I know they can be distracting), d)listening to the radio (which I do have, and I know can be distracting when the news or traffic report comes on).

 

And of course there are idiots who text people while driving. I can barely text while standing still so the thought of trying to text while driving makes me shiver, and I can fully understand why this is a major cause of accidents.

 

But pressing a button on a p&s stuck on the dash, or elsewhere in the cockpit, while keeping eyes firmly fixed on the road........

Great photograph Colin. The softness in face due to movement contrast well with the sharp lines of light outside the car. To use flash would take this away, but not everybody gets it! I have some self-portraits done like this while driving.

Brilliant drive-by. Somehow very calming and comforting to look stare at!

David, I think this works really well too - but for some reason I keep seeing organs! One thing I would add is that perhaps this is an image that would benefit from a saturation boost to really bring out the red. I took the liberty of doing this and came out with the attached.... i've upset the background colour in doing so though!

David, that fluffy bit in the icicle - excellent. And for some reason it reminds me of a feather, and then when I think of the feather the icicle reminds me of the neck of a goose stretching downwards as if about to pick up a bit of food!

 

Well spotted subject - your eyes and brain are clearly working full time spotting all the interesting things to photograph.

 

Rachel mentioned the background....I initially had similar thoughts but it's really growing on me. The colours put the icicle in a nice natural location - all good and earthy.

I like this Jeff. It reminds me of a Triffid! I like the way it is a light that isn't on but is backlit by the moon. I like the detail in the wood and the cable, and the wire strain relievers, and the fact the cable clips can be seen. I can't really add any more as it's all be said. Definitely a well thought through photograph with good post processing.

Blair Witch! As Fred said - this photograph works so well with the softness you have used. I like the vignetting here as well. Vignetting is not something that particularly moves me in any way, but here it is giving me the impression somehow of looking at the house while standing out of sight in the trees or in a corn field - almost like sneaking up on it but not wanting to go too close. The sense of foreboding mentioned above applies well.

 

I'm looking for something that I would have done differently and can't find anything - it works very well.

This is a great image. For some reason I am seeing something more disturbing than love and passion - I'm seeing some big bloke grabbing someone to take them away! It sends shivers down my spine.

 

 

Pnina, I like the colour version, but I LOVE the sepia tint version. It evokes something far more moody and timeless. I like the point written above about how the shadow appears to depict the encroachment of urban development - something we are seeing far too much of over here round these parts!

 

Very well done in terms of tones and composition.

Douglas, many thanks for the kind words - I appreciate it as it spurs me on to experiment with more ideas that just come into my head. Sometimes I think I'm going mad (well, almost) and my wife thinks this even more, so it's always good when a plan comes together!

 

I agree that I should have kept people guessing on this one - I always end up spilling the beans early though.

 

Thanks again all!

David, many thanks as ever for your thoughts - I see the porthole and the sunspots. I think the spots may have been to do with small bubbles as well as (as you mention) the direction of the beam of the torch. And the appearance of letters too - I didn't think about that. Maybe it would be worth doing something with a word - more food for thought.

Gord...Dr. Seuss - yep, I see the similarity there. We have lots of the Dr. Seuss books here - I can see the cat in the hat now! As for your last point....puppetry of the penis....I'm cringing at the thought and will definitely try to avoid going down that road :)

and I like the dog as it is - showing some movement but with enough detail to show it's a dog.

Douglas, I like the hair too - it gives a nice casual and friendly look. Very nice portrait.

Again terrific - I like dogs and water and spend so much time on the beach with mine....and they often make it into my photographs in a similar way to this. I like the square crop, tonal range and the use of a slow shutter speed to create a very dramatic photograph.

Wonderful - glad I've found your portfolio through these photographs - great inspiration for me.

Isabella, nice colours, but I agree about seeing more of the pier. I was also down there today (I only live 5 minutes away) a bit earlier (about 4.30 or so) and the number of birds (starlings I think) flying around was incredible. They used to stay away frrom the Palace (Brighon) Pier when the West Pier still had some of the old buildings on it, but now those have gone they seem to be flocking to this pier despite the presence of people and lights. Today it looked like a huge swarm of bees around the pier!

Nice one Rick. I actually like the extra space on the right. I see her looking into the photograph - not out of it - simply spotted by following the eyes. I like the composition a lot. But I do agree about the shadow under the chin - the photograph could be improved by using a reflector to reduce the shadow a bit - perhaps this is something you can do in post processing?

Gord, thanks for commenting on this. I drew a bit of inspiration from your picture of the plant between two panes of glass, and also inspiration from bright and gaudy sunsets. I have some sheets of glass here that were supposed to be shelves in a small cupboard, but they were the wrong size.

 

So....I was just about to eat my dinner, which meant getting tomato ketchup and mustard out of the cupboard. And as the glass jar of bright yellow mustard stood next to the glass jar of bright red ketchup, I saw an instant sunset. So I splodged some mustard on a sheet of glass, and then some ketchup, and spread it around with a spoon. Then I overlaid some randomly cut out pieces of paper from my gas bill to act as "skyline". Then I just propped it up, pointed the camera, turned out the lights and added back illumination in the form of my small LED torch - just moving it around behind the glass during the exposure.

 

Bit of a funky photograph resulted I think - it sort of reminded me of one of those oil filled colour wheels that used to be used a lot in discos, or a lava lamp! I was pleased with appearance of burning sun that came from this one :)

 

I'm coming up with more thoughts now - like squashing a banana between the two sheets of glass.

 

Cheers again.

 

 

Pnina, you've done it again - perfect shutter speed to create a dynamic photograph with still plenty of sharpness in more still areas like face and violin body. I love the way the slot shutter speed has enabled the eyes of the musician to be seen - with a faster speed then one eye or the other, or the nose, would be obscured by the bow - the speed you have used is perfect for this picture, and the moment has been timed so well.

ok, so it's not a real sunset, but this photograph is basically

straight out of the camera, with only minor tweaks in post

processing to saturation, levels, curve (shaped to s-curve),

sharpness and crop. The silhouettes are exactly what the camera saw,

as is the illumination. And thoughts would be much appreciated.

David, I'm settled on this one too - I definitely prefer the upside-down sad look!

 

Fred, my gut is definitely leaning to the BW for both this and the twig - I know the twig loses some of the interest in way of new buds, but I feel it's just a much stronger image in BW and is what I was aiming for. Thanks for your input on it.

 

Rachel, many thanks for your input too. I whipped out my LED torch after looking at some of your flower pictures again. And wanted to combine that with something like Ian's toned BW images. The two seem to go well together. Many thanks for the inspiration!

 

Thanks again to all of you - you're really helping me to enjoy experimenting :))

 

Pete

Lost for words.....I'm late on the wagon with this, and it's all been said already. This has to be a big competition winner - worthy of special wall space.

 

Please collect your golden certificate in school assembley!