Project 52 by Sam Smith

[Sam Smith]

With this project I hope to force myself to see things in everyday life that I just pass by. I also am aiming to improve my PP skills as well.

[ScoutR]

Hi Sam. I like your goals for this project. I've found that one of the joys of photography is that since I got the camera I've started to notice things that I would have walked right by in the past. Of course sometimes it would have been better if I had walked right by BUT that's another story. Looking forward to your first shot and I hope to follow along on the PP exercises too.

Wendy

[Ryogenetic]

Good goals, might I suggest look around your house and find something that is photo making material? Its always the things right in front of you that have the most impact.

Ryo

[Sam Smith]

Here goes. I was down town Dallas TX and went inside the city historical society building and this was inside. It is the original sign off the Mobil building in downtown. I like the shot but I do not feel I have fully frame it correctly. It was not as hard to shoot as I thought it would have been.

Canon 7D, 50mm,f/2.0,SS-1/320,manual mode,WB-daylight

[Sam Smith]

I know what you mean Wendy. It is getting easier to start seeing photos that normally we would have not noticed before. Now that work has slowed down for me I can get out more.

[ScoutR]

Great start Sam, this turned out really nice. Regarding framing the only thing I see is that I think it could use a bit more space on both sides, the hooves are too close to the edge of the frame??

The other thing I'm thinking is that I would either like to see more context so I know that this is a display (lighten up the shadows) OR, and this is the way I would go - less context and make it more of an art shot.

Try cranking up the blacks this should totally darken the floor and most of the ceiling except for the highlights along the arch, which I really like and I'd keep. Then I'd want to clone out the window behind the horse. Also if you have most of the background gone to black, you would easily be able to increase the canvase size and add a bit more space at the sides.

Great first shot, you say it was easy, but it looks like a difficult one to me. I've never tried shooting lights though.

Wendy

[Goldcoastgolfer]

I like the way the shot is framed. Having a bit more space around the hooves might help if there aren't any distracting elements around them. I agree with Wendy about trying to darken the bottom of the photo. On top of increasing the blacks you could also try a gradient darkening from the bottom up. It's actually a shame that railing goes through the hoof.

How late is the display open until?. If you took the photo on dusk when it's darker that window may be less noticeable in the shot.

[Donald]

It was not as hard to shoot as I thought it would have been.

And that is part of the learning process that, I'm sure, this project will contribute to enormously. Even those of us looking in will benefit from it.

That's a pretty impressive start.

[Sam Smith]

Thanks for the comments. There is a reception desk to the right and there is another unrelated display to the left. I will try to darken it up bit. see what it looks like.
Wendy- focus on the lights. That is what I did.

[Sam Smith]

Week 2: Out with wife looking around Joe Pool Lake state park in North Texas, I was working on portraiture. The sky was overcast. As we have never been here before we looking around alot. There is a turn of the century farm that is part of the park. The new barn is (1901-1905) was open for touring. I had a flash attached with a 1/4 cto gel attached. We heard rustling in the rafters and looked up and saw the buzzard sitting in the opening. I went outside the building and took the pic. I thought it just look cool sitting in the opening which is rare for a buzzard. Very little PP. Barn Buzzard 7D, 135mm,F8,580exII+1/4 cto gel, WB-Cloudy, AV mode

[FrankMi]

Nice one, Sam. I'd bet that with a little patience and your camera configured in anticipation, you could get a shot of him on the wing as well.

[whited3]

I like it. With the black background, I'm not sure if the bird looks regal or creepy

[Sam Smith]

Frank-If we could have got him to fly I would have tried, but it just sat there looking at us. It knew it was safe. Thanks for the comment.

Mark- I think it would have to be creepy. Natures cleanup crew. I think the black eyes do it for me. Looks blind.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Great capture - especially making the bird stand out against the background given they're both black.

[ScoutR]

Nice going, great shot

Wendy

[Sam Smith]

This week was a rough week at work, so I did not get out this weekend. I did manage to take our dogs for a walk while playing with my new 70-200 f4 is usm lens. I am posting 2 pics one before and one after. As I don't usually do a lot cloning or PP I practiced it this weekend.
Basic cloning, content aware fill, and the healing tools.

Before


After

[Rob Douglas]

Nice work Sam. Beautiful dog.

[FrankMi]

Great PP job and a lovely subject! Usually I would expect to see the subject a little more left of center given the direction the dog is looking but I think in this case the tail position provides a good sense of offset. Nice crop as well.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Nice work Sam. Because i saw the original I can see a faint trace of lines around where the dog leash was cloned over but I don't anyone would notice unless they knew it was originally there.

[Sam Smith]

Thanks for the comments. Her name is Ditty. She is a ASPCA mutt, part chow and retriever. She is all bark and lick.