Fortnightly Challenge - Jan 22 thru Feb 4 - Topic: Bibelot and/or Soft

[davidee]

not sure if soft would mean a soft background or maybe also the fuzzy kitty, but here is mine. Maybe I'll add a trinket next...



http://davidee.smugmug.com/Other/Just-Getting-Started/IMG4037/662554972_vN6Wn-X2.jpg

 

[Designer Dale]

not sure if soft would mean a soft background or maybe also the fuzzy kitty, but here is mine. Maybe I'll add a trinket next...




Welcome. Soft is soft. Anything that is or conveys the feeling of soft is acceptable for this part of the topic.

Cats make good subjects and I love to look through the old photos of pets threads for the cat pics. The next time you get a chance to photograph this cat, see if you can place the focus sharply on the highlights of the eyes. That makes them glisten and catch the eye. The light areas on the right of the frame are distracting. One of the key things to learn in photography is to be aware of what is going on in the background of the frame. Sometimes it can make or break any photo.

Dale

 

[stiffcrumb]

Hi,

This is my bibe-lot !

My son said I should try so I thought I would , now I have I'm off to try again , hopefully something a little more interesting ?

Thanks for looking.

 

[Maxxamillian]

From a long-ago shoot.

 

[Maxxamillian]

Thanks. I wasn't really happy with it straight on but in order to get the reflection off the countertop I have to be at the level of the glass ball. So any shot 360 degrees around it looks the same. Of course the glass and the background changes. Am I missing something in your suggestion? If I come up off the counter top any it changes completely.

Here's two more. The first one illustrates what happens when I come up from level with the glass. I still like the colors but the counter changes. The second was just a horizontal shot at counter level.

I really like the shot on the left--the color palette and reflection work nicely together; I find myself stopping at this picture each time I scroll through page 1 of this thread. I need to go bauble-hunting in my house to see what I can come up with…

Well done

 

[davidee]

From a long-ago shoot.

dude, I hate you ... that one is awesome

 

[mike dunx]

 

[deep diver]

I've posted this one before. It has been a hellish couple of weeks but I did not want to be absent from the forum.

 

[Designer Dale]

Hi. That clanging sound you have been hearing is me whacking myself in the head after realizing that I have a bunch of interesting trinkets in my library.
In September '08 I drove the North Cascades Highway and stopped at the site of fatal forest fire memorial. The wall of the memorial was covered with mementos left by visitors. Most are Forest Service related and all both interesting and moving at the same time.

I'll start with the plaques and the wide shot of the scene and add more over the next few days.

Old Point and Shoot Fuji.

Dale

 

[JDDavis]

I really like the shot on the left--the color palette and reflection work nicely together; I find myself stopping at this picture each time I scroll through page 1 of this thread. I need to go bauble-hunting in my house to see what I can come up with…

Well done

Thanks. I really appreciate that. I'm kind of hooked on this little thing. I tried using some other things with it like the water droplets that was suggested but I couldn't really make it work. Here's a few more experiments. The first two are with a floor lamp that washed out the color and then I exaggerated it a bit and the second two are with my 50mm instead of the 18-200. I know it's really more of the same but like I said I'm kinda stuck on it right now.

 

[Designer Dale]

From the Thirty Mile Fire Memorial. My last home was served by the East Pierce Fire and Rescue. Their fire chief was killed in California scouting the big fire last summer. Firefighting in the woodlands is for only a few.

Dale

 

[acearchie]

I hope you agree nicely soft focused !

 

[JDDavis]

I hope you agree nicely soft focused !

Very cool. I hope you didn't pay for that shot in blood? Whatever is on the tv is a bit distracting though.....

 

[acearchie]

Very cool. I hope you didn't pay for that shot in blood? Whatever is on the tv is a bit distracting though.....

The darts did get close! It was the lens I was worried about! Any suggestions for something I could do to the dart in Photoshop. Cropping it ruins the whole composition!

 

[Chappers]

I think it could be cropped

 

[macinhand]

The trinket is the Dalek cuff link on our sons shirt as we were celebrating our Mother & Fathers 50th Wedding Anniversary and a bit of soft from our Son & Daughter

 

[Ad Lib]

Newbie here. Here's my stab at the soft part of the challenge.

 

[acearchie]

I think it could be cropped

Hmm I'm a fan of having the subject (well the dart and face in this case) in the middle.

I might have a look in photoshop and see if I can reduce the brightness of the tv!

EDIT: I have adjusted the levels of the matte in photoshop the picture does look better however I am unable to upload from the firewall at school!

EDIT2: Ok so I can upload to Flickr!

 

[Maxxamillian]

Is it me or has the thread been a little slow? My next contribution--from last summer.

 

[Maxxamillian]

Love the warmth and vibrancy you captured in this picture--the complementary colors (oranges and blues) simply arrest the eyes. My favorite of the bunch

 

[Ad Lib]

Is it me or has the thread been a little slow? My next contribution--from last summer.

Wow...that's spectacular! I'd love to know a little about how you did this. Thanks.

 

[Designer Dale]

The trinket is the Dalek cuff link on our sons shirt as we were celebrating our Mother & Fathers 50th Wedding Anniversary and a bit of soft from our Son & Daughter

^^^ I like the shot with the cufflink a lot. The framing is nice and the metal contrasts well with the cloth of the cuff.

Newbie here. Here's my stab at the soft part of the challenge.

^^^ Welcome. The colors that you have captured here are very nice. The purple and gold work well together. The out of focus area in the background is managed well, but it would be nice to see some color in the bokeh.

Is it me or has the thread been a little slow? My next contribution--from last summer.

^^^ A little show, yes. Part my fault. The light here is not what I like to shoot in and I need to set up some sort of studio. As if I have the space...

This shot is up to your usual standards of excellence. What am I looking at here? I think I see two or more images of the same flower blended together.
Did you shoot this with a zoom during the exposure?

There is a bit of white running off the top left of the frame that I would clone back a bit.

Dale

 

[JohnMC]

Hi All,

I'm still working on some family issues so I apologize for not posting in this challenge so far. The work is incredible. I want to let everyone know that a new challenge topic suggestion thread is up here.

John

 

[TH3D4RKKN1GH7]

Oh man I have soft for days! But here is one of my favorites

I've got some flower ones but eh. Also the color tone is warm on purpose, I do have a "proper" white balanced one lol.

 

[Maxxamillian]

Wow...that's spectacular! I'd love to know a little about how you did this. Thanks.

Thanks for the encouragement See my answer to Designer Dale below for details.

This shot is up to your usual standards of excellence. What am I looking at here? I think I see two or more images of the same flower blended together.
Did you shoot this with a zoom during the exposure?

There is a bit of white running off the top left of the frame that I would clone back a bit.

Dale

As usual, great observations You have a trained eye sir!

This is a composite of three separate photos, overlaid with varying opacity and then selectively masked to preserve some semblance of a flower. I wanted to bring out the colors captured as the red/green & blue/orange combos would add their own punch to the ethereal nature of the composite. This was done through a series of brighten and saturation layers with a neutral gradient thrown in there somewhere. The lens I used was a Nikkor 105MM Micro which contributed nicely to bokeh; a lens I renew a love affair with each time I use it.