2015 Project 52: 1st Quarter by Shane (ShaneS)

[ShaneS]

I have decided to join in the fun! I try to get out weekly to shoot anyways and thought that it would be a good exercise to track my progress and interests through a project like this...

My overarching goals are very much a continuation of things that I have been struggling with since I started to take this hobby seriously a few years back (I've had many wins and lots of frustration along the way ). Here are a few things that I hope to work upon:

1. Vision - Continue to improve my ability to 'see' through the camera lens and move away from documentary images to ones with more artistic merit.
2. Post Processing - learn more about the tools that I have at my disposal and when to use them.
3. Learn to see my local environment with fresh eyes - revisit locations under different conditions and experiment with different focal lengths.
4. Create a photo essay on a subject or place. This is something that I want to explore in 2015 (probably in a separate thread but I will link to in from here)

I'm off to shoot today so I can meet the Week 1 deadline

[FrankMi]

I'm off to shoot today so I can meet the Week 1 deadline

Good for you Shane! Glad to see you've joined the fray!

Don't fret over deadlines. I didn't get my last week's image for the first Project 52 submitted until 18 months after the project closed!

[moopy goops]

Good on you Shane, I agree with Frank, use the project as an excuse to get out more often than before but don't let the "every week" thing become an issue.
Revisiting places at night or with different equipment, or even with somebody else can really help you see all the different possibilities in a location.

[Mark von Kanel]

Go For it shane, to tell truth im not going to be able to work to the proposed format because of work/life styles. BUT im going to do the BEST that I can and generally improve my photography where ever i can.

Looking forward to seeing your work.

[Shadowman]

I have decided to join in the fun! I try to get out weekly to shoot anyways and thought that it would be a good exercise to track my progress and interests through a project like this...

My overarching goals are very much a continuation of things that I have been struggling with since I started to take this hobby seriously a few years back (I've had many wins and lots of frustration along the way ). Here are a few things that I hope to work upon:

1. Vision - Continue to improve my ability to 'see' through the camera lens and move away from documentary images to ones with more artistic merit.
2. Post Processing - learn more about the tools that I have at my disposal and when to use them.
3. Learn to see my local environment with fresh eyes - revisit locations under different conditions and experiment with different focal lengths.
4. Create a photo essay on a subject or place. This is something that I want to explore in 2015 (probably in a separate thread but I will link to in from here)

I'm off to shoot today so I can meet the Week 1 deadline

Hi Shane,

I would add pushing the camera to its limits, i.e. lowlight capabilities (highest ISO achievable), learning to use additional camera features. Best of luck with your adventures.

[IzzieK]

Me too -- I am shouting a GOOD LUCK!!!

[ShaneS]

A flower for you...my first image from my first photo outing of 2015. This image will fall under the 'more artistic' goal that I have set for myself. In fact this image pretty much came out as intended and required very little PP work (yeah!).

The only concern that I have about the image (until you kind folks point out more) is the row of 'dots' behind and below the flower. Part of me thinks that they detract but I have been looking at the image quite critically for a bit now so don't have any distance. As always, and and all C&C welcome...



As an aside, I was testing out a rental Sigma 17-70mm to replace my broken Nikon 18-55mm and I am still reviewing all the shots. I'm not expecting too many keepers as I was trying to figure out the capabilities of the lens and was mucking about with settings quite a bit. Not to mention that all of my shooting time was under less that ideal lighting conditions.

[purplehaze]

Very unique, intriguing perspective, Shane. You have set yourself a worthy objective and are off to a great start in my opinion. Look forward to seeing more.

[Manfred M]

Shane - I like your plan for 2015 because all of your goals are independent of each other, yet you can come up with an approach where you can combine any or all of your goals. I think it should be interesting to see how your work changes between now and the end of the year.

Learning tends to be quite iterative; you build on what you know, so as you gain more knowledge, there can be almost a snowball effect as the different skills you are working on come together.

[wilgk]

Great plan! & start to the year. Looking forward to seeing the rest of your plans to reach these goals take shape.

[ShaneS]

Thank you Janis, Manfred and Kay. I hope that this will be an educational as well as developmental project

Janis, I worked the scene on this one to find the angle I wanted and this is what I came up with. This is part of a lovely little statue in a historic graveyard in Honolulu but the photos of the whole statue did not capture the feeling she gave me and were too "documentary".

[IzzieK]

You've started very welll on the artistic side...I will be glad to see your progress along the way with this and your other plans. Now that! will be exciting in itself.

[Mike Buckley]

1. Vision
2. Post Processing
3. Learn to see my local environment with fresh eyes
4. Create a photo essay

That's a very ambitious list. Yet each item complements the other items so well that it doesn't seem overly ambitious. Great plan!

[bnnrcn]

Hi Shane The dots don't distract at all. The blurred part on the right hand side at the BG is distracting a bit. If you can do something with PP to fix the issue , you have a very nice image . (Highlights on the fingers and arm look a bit distracting too but they may not look that distracting after fixing the right hand side at the BG.)

Good luck to you on your project

[Geoff F]

If you want to mess about a little more, those dots could probably be treated with a bit of cloning, or with a Healing Brush, etc.

[ShaneS]

Thanks everyone! I'm still editing my shots from last weekend before heading out this weekend...this working for a living helps pay for this great pastime of mine but it sure does limit my shooting time

I thought that I would share a link that I found to be quite inspiring for a the photo essay part of my Project 52 and an image that I took last weekend along the same lines. Here is the link:

Visual Beauty and History in Hartford by Pablo Delano on the Lens Blog (his father shot for the FSA). I have a neighborhood in mind for this project or essay and might head in that direction this weekend.

In the meantime here is the shot that I took last weekend that I feel would fit into an essay like the one I linked to above although it is not from the neighborhood I have in mind for the project.



Any and all C&C always welcome as well as any thoughts or suggestions that you might have for a project such as this.

[IzzieK]

Big undertaking Shane...This is only my opinion, but do you think you should had cloned out that post at the front to even out this image....just a thought...

[FrankMi]

Great to see that you're moving along in your project, Shane!

I agree with Izzie on cloning out the power pole. Although you don't always want to make these type of changes if they can be avoided before the shutter is pressed, sometimes simply 'removing the ugly' can dramatically improve the enjoyment of the image.

Taking the time in post processing to try to correct all the issues you find will make you a much better photographer. It will get you to better evaluate your scenes, explore viewing and lighting options, and be more selective with the camera settings before you press the shutter. It can also help you decide what accessories will really help you correct as many issues as you can in-camera.

[Mark von Kanel]

Hi Shane, your going to be busy! +1 for the pole elimination society...

[Geoff F]

I would leave the pole, Shane. Cloning it out would be a lot of work because you also have to lose the wires.

Maybe it does slightly dominate the foreground but with all those other poles in the scene it does help to give a sense of perspective.