Project 52 by John B. Harle

[FrankMi]

Great perspective in the Week 11 shoot, John. Made me smile! It is interesting how the striped pattern carries through to the coloring in the eyes as well.

[johnbharle]

Great perspective in the Week 11 shoot, John. Made me smile! It is interesting how the striped pattern carries through to the coloring in the eyes as well.

Thanks Frank!

[Goldcoastgolfer]

I took it into Viveza and lightened up the clouds. As I said, it is a fine balancing act to get the dark clouds lighted without blowing out the lighted cloud. The blue sky may be a bit much, but this isn't bad.

I see what you mean. You could try a selective exposure adjustment or layering it to keep the tones in the clouds but bring up the colours in the water.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Spring is springing, which means yard work. And now I'm in lawnmower hell. Spent all weekend trying to get the lawnmower to work. Finally gave up and called the repair place today. So I didn't get much done in the way of photography. Therefore, today is somewhat of a throwdown photo. Not great by any means. But I at least cropped it a little . This little (well, not so little) guy showed up in my yard and I found him when I went out to see why the dogs were barking so much. Glad I didn't put my finger anywhere near his mouth!

He doesn't look too happy, does he? Nice capture

[johnbharle]

This week there are too many chores and that saps my inspiration. So instead, I went back and reworked a photo from September. This is the first (I think) rain after the great drought of 2011. It wasn't much to look at, but I played with the exposure, then took it into Viveza to punch up the tree branches. After that, on to ColorEfex to give it the gaudy sky and chartreuse grass. Maybe not a great photo, but for some reason it makes me feel good, so I guess it's a keeper.

[kezmal]

Really nice photo John, it looks like the calm before the storm. Just a shame about the power lines.

[johnbharle]

Really nice photo John, it looks like the calm before the storm. Just a shame about the power lines.

One thing I'm learning from this project is that I don't know how to really look at a photo critically. I just made a similar comment on Mal's lizard eye photo. He (and you) see things that simply pass over my head.

To me, the lines don't matter. Or, more accurately, maybe I just look at them more as photojournalism. They are part of the view and therefore part of the picture. Sure, it would be nice if they weren't there, but they are, so I just accept them. In their defense, at least they echo the line of the fence Guess this is why you guys are pros and I'm just a rank amateur. Also, I'm not good enough at cloning to remove them :-@

Anyway, thanks so much for looking and noticing. As long as I can learn, I might advance.

[johnbharle]

Really nice photo John, it looks like the calm before the storm. Just a shame about the power lines.

One thing I'm learning from this project is that I don't know how to really look at a photo critically. I just made a similar comment on Mal's lizard eye photo. He (and you) see things that simply pass over my head.

To me, the lines don't matter. Or, more accurately, maybe I just look at them more as photojournalism. They are part of the view and therefore part of the picture. Sure, it would be nice if they weren't there, but they are, so I just accept them. In their defense, at least they echo the line of the fence Guess this is why you guys are pros and I'm just a rank amateur. Also, I'm not good enough at cloning to remove them

Anyway, thanks so much for looking and noticing. As long as I can learn, I might advance.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

John - for some reason I'm not seeing your photo for week 12. Is anyone else having this problem?

[Geoff F]

Yes, I'm just getting a Tinypic message about the image being deleted or moved.

[johnbharle]

Yes, I'm just getting a Tinypic message about the image being deleted or moved.

You know, TinyPic has been giving me headaches lately. Don't know what happened. Let me try again

[Goldcoastgolfer]

One thing I'm learning from this project is that I don't know how to really look at a photo critically. I just made a similar comment on Mal's lizard eye photo. He (and you) see things that simply pass over my head.

To me, the lines don't matter. Or, more accurately, maybe I just look at them more as photojournalism. They are part of the view and therefore part of the picture. Sure, it would be nice if they weren't there, but they are, so I just accept them. In their defense, at least they echo the line of the fence Guess this is why you guys are pros and I'm just a rank amateur. Also, I'm not good enough at cloning to remove them :-@

Anyway, thanks so much for looking and noticing. As long as I can learn, I might advance.

Pros? That's funny . We just have too much time on our hands so we can spend more time looking at photos Actually, not so much these days but the power lines thing is more of a habit. You've captured such a great, natural scene with some fantastic colours that it actually makes the fence and the power lines look like they don't belong. To be honest, it's not so much the lines themselves because as you pointed out, they follow the fence line - just the power line pole.

But all in all, you saw a great scene and you captured it - and it looks great

[johnbharle]

...but the power lines thing is more of a habit. You've captured such a great, natural scene with some fantastic colours that it actually makes the fence and the power lines look like they don't belong. To be honest, it's not so much the lines themselves because as you pointed out, they follow the fence line - just the power line pole.

But all in all, you saw a great scene and you captured it - and it looks great

I hear what you're saying. Guess I need to amend my habits to notice stuff like that. I also guess I'm going to have to practice on cloning to try and take them out. Thanks, Mal (or is it Kerry?)

[johnbharle]

This is a double duty post this week, as I'm going to cross-post to the macro flower thread. Just noticed these little yellow flowers as I came to work this morning and had to get the camera and take a shot. This was 1/500 at f5.6, ISO 200, 85mm macro lens. I also cropped pretty severely to get this magnification. For once, the photo seems in focus. I really like how I got the dew drops and the pistils/stamen seem sharp. But not sure. Looks kinda flat otherwise. It was cloudy this morning, so it could just be the natural light. But C&C welcome.
john

[johnbharle]

A couple of others I took this morning...


Milkweed -- I like this one pretty well but I'm ready to hear how it could be made better.




Winecup -- Here again I'm confronted with my old friend, DOF. I shot 1/20 sec @ f11, ISO 200. The interior seems focused, but the outside of the flower is not. Would it help if I increased my ISO?

[wlou]

Hello John, The colour of this world are superb, are'nt they? To have real good focus in macro, I am learning that a tripod is essential, also that a macro lens has a very narrow DOF. If I remember correctely, in CIC tutorials there is a calculator for this purpose, lenses versus DOF. I hope I remember correctely.

[FrankMi]

A couple of others I took this morning...


Milkweed -- I like this one pretty well but I'm ready to hear how it could be made better.




Winecup -- Here again I'm confronted with my old friend, DOF. I shot 1/20 sec @ f11, ISO 200. The interior seems focused, but the outside of the flower is not. Would it help if I increased my ISO?

Hi John. Although I prefer to increase the shutter time and shoot on a tripod to get the higher F stops for DoF, I wouldn't hesitate to also increase the ISO provided there aren't heavy shadows to contend with. I've shot images like these at 800 and even 1,600 ISO with decent results.

Although it can be done, I find that multiple blossoms create a chaotic subject that is difficult to work with and get really pleasing. Whenever possible I shoot and odd number of blossoms between 1 and 5 to simplify the image.

[johnbharle]

Hi John. Although I prefer to increase the shutter time and shoot on a tripod to get the higher F stops for DoF, I wouldn't hesitate to also increase the ISO provided there aren't heavy shadows to contend with. I've shot images like these at 800 and even 1,600 ISO with decent results.

Although it can be done, I find that multiple blossoms create a chaotic subject that is difficult to work with and get really pleasing. Whenever possible I shoot and odd number of blossoms between 1 and 5 to simplify the image.

Thanks so much, Frank. Those are some good pointers. I'll try and incorporate them into my workflow (if I ever get back to my workflow :-0)

[johnbharle]

There have been so many distractions these past several weeks that I just haven't been able to think photography. Visiting family members, lawn work (and associated lawnmower hell!) But fortunately inspiration always arrives. This time in the form of this little bug. He was kind enough to freeze and play dead for me. Looks ferocious, but I suspect he's just a pussycat at heart. 1/320 sec @ f9.0; ISO 2500; 85mm lens

[johnbharle]

This pic will almost catch me up. Now just need to find something from this week This was somewhat of a lucky capture. I filled the pot up with soapy water. Came back and found it had made this pattern. I thought it was kinda cool, so I shot it. 1/60 sec @ f4, 2500 ISO, 85mm lens. Then I took it into SilverEfex for PP.