2015 Project 52, firstquarter by Carolyn (Bunty Plumchip)

[Shadowman]

Dust bunnies aside, nice images.

[Bunty Plumchip]

Thanks John and Frank again - at least they are only practising shots and not irreplaceable moments of great importance. I have now learned always to check in future by taking a test shot.

[Nicola]

For me, Carolyn, in the first image the figure is slightly too close to the foreground; and in the next two it is fractionally too distant. The same applies to the last photo.

Only very slightly though.

This was my first thought too.
Very nice serie, anyway. i do like the sky in the #3.
N

[Nicola]

I haven't damaged a lens in over 50 years but having said that, it'll likely happen this week now that I've opened my big mouth!

If ever, you will blame Mr Murphy and his law

[Nicola]

WEEK 4

Bit of a problem this week- took the camera apart to clean up the dust bunny, thought it all sorted, then horror of horrors, the pictures came out with mucky marks all over them, like a soot storm. Turned out to be the filter which seems to have had a mishap between being cleaned and being put back on the camera, and I didn't notice. Also GIMP keeps crashing and I suspect it of causing some computer problems so I have uninstalled it for the time being, so do not have an editing program that dodges and burns or does curves, layers etc atm, so dependent on Picasa's limitations. Excuses excuses.

These shots taken on another Sunday walk along the Humber Estuary but at another village, Skeffling. Not so bright, but not too dull either, so the sky is a bit more interesting. Still working on the big sky , field and water theme with the special light caused by the sea and the river wrapping around the flat fields of the Spurn peninsula in Holderness, East Yorkshire.


[

I like those too!
looking forward to see them with some PP, as soon you restore GIMP. I'd like to play with the sky, to make it more dramatic.
N

[Bunty Plumchip]

Thanks Nicola- I have found an online editor that seems to be quite good, so I shall try to rescue some of this series (for the exercise and experience more than because they are worth rescuing!)

[Bunty Plumchip]

Rescue attempts.
Some PP done on the invasion of the dust bunnies ruined images. Maybe a bit too much.

[Geoff F]

Better but there are still some which are visible and a couple of places where you now have an obvious change of texture.

When that happens I often find that I have to clone over a bad area starting from the edges, all round the area, and gradually work towards the centre hoping that I will get a central merge which isn't obvious.

Whether to use a standard clone, or a healing brush is always debatable. Frequently, I do the main work with the clone tool then 'heal' a bit of texture over the top. The Spot Healing Tool often produces problems for me but a mixture of the others often works. Sometimes the Patch Tool is helpful; other times, with severe variations, I actually have to select a nearby area then copy and paste before moving to the desired location. Finish by cloning/healing around the edges.

And use a lower opacity so you gradually build over the problem. It is a gently does it situation which hopefully gets easier as you build more experience and confidence.

[Shadowman]

Much better.

[Bunty Plumchip]

WEEK 5

I thought I was going to have to bow out of this challenge this week, when in addition to the elusive dust bunny problem, my camera went flying and landed on the block paving. Nothing seemed broken, but there was a flashing 'ERR' message and the shutter wold not fire and no images would record. The mirror would come down on a second depression of the shutter, meanwhile the buffering 'R09' (etc) racked p- I consulted the manual, internet forums , tried everything from battery and card removals, cleaning cpu contacts, leaving it to sort itself out, fiddling with the sticking up mirror and was about to give up as a bad job- I cannot afford a £300 Nikon charge or a new camera at the moment. (There are no camera shops anywhere near me to pick brains). Then I tried the net again, and on reading a forum realised that the filter that covers the shutter curtain was not there. I had read that on no account must this be touched, and I was looking at the shutter curtain.The chap on the forum said he just prodded his with a clean blunt thing (I used a touch screen stylus) and there would be no click or indication of anything happening, but it worked. And it did. I was a very happy bunny and my dust bunnies had a party. The shutter curtain filter has come back down and I took about 50 shots today with no problem. (At least, no with the mechanical function).

So this week's photos are taken in the village where I live, on the cliff top, where there used to be a large farm. The remains of the buildings were dismantled about 15-20 years ago, and the once large natural pond is slipping down the cliff gradually but rapidly- it will only be a year or so before it is finally gone. I have called the series 'The Last Pond' because it is literally on the edge of the East Yorkshire coast.

[Bunty Plumchip]

And here are a few more views within 50 yards of the pond. I had originally planned to try a lot of different settings on the camera. In the old days of good old Soviet Zenits etc, I knew how to set all the different dials- the DSLR tends to make one a bit lazy- as a friend said, 'why put yourself through it all when the camera will just do it for you, and probably better....' How does one explain??


Thanks for looking and for any advice or C&C.

[Shadowman]

WEEK 5

I thought I was going to have to bow out of this challenge this week, when in addition to the elusive dust bunny problem, my camera went flying and landed on the block paving. Nothing seemed broken, but there was a flashing 'ERR' message and the shutter wold not fire and no images would record. The mirror would come down on a second depression of the shutter, meanwhile the buffering 'R09' (etc) racked p- I consulted the manual, internet forums , tried everything from battery and card removals, cleaning cpu contacts, leaving it to sort itself out, fiddling with the sticking up mirror and was about to give up as a bad job- I cannot afford a £300 Nikon charge or a new camera at the moment. (There are no camera shops anywhere near me to pick brains). Then I tried the net again, and on reading a forum realised that the filter that covers the shutter curtain was not there. I had read that on no account must this be touched, and I was looking at the shutter curtain.The chap on the forum said he just prodded his with a clean blunt thing (I used a touch screen stylus) and there would be no click or indication of anything happening, but it worked. And it did. I was a very happy bunny and my dust bunnies had a party. The shutter curtain filter has come back down and I took about 50 shots today with no problem. (At least, no with the mechanical function).

So this week's photos are taken in the village where I live, on the cliff top, where there used to be a large farm. The remains of the buildings were dismantled about 15-20 years ago, and the once large natural pond is slipping down the cliff gradually but rapidly- it will only be a year or so before it is finally gone. I have called the series 'The Last Pond' because it is literally on the edge of the East Yorkshire coast.

Lucky you, nice captures. I like the first one best for color capture, composition, and exposure. Those transparent borders don't really help much.

[Shadowman]

Much better borders on all but one, that transparent border just plays with my eyesight too much.

[Bunty Plumchip]

Much better borders on all but one, that transparent border just plays with my eyesight too much.

Thanks John, I usually just use a white drop shadow border, thought I would try the mirror one for a change. You are right, they don;t work that well.

[IzzieK]

Although I like all the shots here for the colour and sharpness and everything else, I enjoyed the second set better. I think they are all good ones this time around...no...I take that back...they are all good ones this second time around. Just a preference...and too quick finger/brain combination on typing...

[mknittle]

Nice set Carolyn, aside from the borders

[Kaye Leggett]

I particularly like the second image in the first series and the third in the second. The colours are good in all - did you increase vibrance and/or saturation in their processing ?

[Bunty Plumchip]

Thanks, Mark, IZzie and Kaye. I shall lose the mirror borders. I take pictures of the pond every 6 months or so. When we first came here 4 years ago, there was a good 4 metres between the pond bank and the cliff. It is incredible to think how much land and dwellings etc have been lost to the sea. The subject on it's own is not particularly picturesque, but as a record one day iT may be useful.

Kaye - I have pp'ed the photos, but do not use saturation very much as I find it distorts especially blues. I have adjusted the temperature of the dead reeds and enhanced the greens. I used a graduated white tint on most of the skies. Sometimes I use a light pink tint. Our skies can be very blue on their own when the clouds disperse.

[Bunty Plumchip]

Week 6
Derelict old chapel Skeffling, East Riding.

Took these hurriedly as images to play around with for an arty project.

1) Basic shot



2)



3)


4)

[Bunty Plumchip]

5)


6)