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CooperBox

macrumors 68000
Regenerate.JPG


Sony Alpha6400; Sony 16-50mm f3.5-5.6
 

Alexander.Of.Oz

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 29, 2013
3,200
12,501
A tough motif this week it seemed initially, but you all made good headway with it, interpreting the theme well and with a nice diversity of visual expressions to explore it with.

I will be pretty brief with my commentary, I'm sorry. Partly because I'm an Aussie bloke and partly because, well mainly because a three metre long motorised slider with pan and tilt manoeuvrability has just arrived in town from interstate and is on its way to me in the back of a courier van and I want to have it completely sorted for use to be able to have a play with it tomorrow at some country ruins for either timelapses or video capture, depending on the cloud cover at the time.

Please, take no offence, these are just my simple observations and ruminations being shared.

--------------

Welcome to my lair, oh foolish and lonely traveller... I mean, that was indeed brave of you to start things off, Bruce!

Normally, I am not a particularly big fan of the old spot or selective colour, but for this motif it has worked well. All eyes are fixated upon the new growth emerging from the ground. The fall in and out of focus is eloquent and gentle, the background is not messy to distract the eye as some lenses are prone to do when using an open aperture.

My only suggestion for improvement is with the gentle use of a pair of graduated filters in post production coming from above and below towards the focus point with nothing but the removal of contrast applied, so as to subtly add to the focus point. I hope that makes sense?

I am slightly confused as to where the 'Regeneration' is in this image, I might need a clue to help me out here. Is it a region that has been regenerated to natural space again? Or is the young Rheindeer (?) the symbol of regeneration in this frame?

The little bit of out of focus greenery in the top right of frame is distracting for me, I would choose to either have more of it, so we get the feeling of peering through the undergrowth or to crop it out completely.

This is a difficult theme, but will try with the unique progression of the church setting piercing the fog. View attachment 921919
The theme is most apparent here in this scene in multiple ways. The spiritual and sanctified nature of the place, the sacredness of life and the way that nature retakes hers again all speak of regeneration to me.

I'm not sure if it is a result of the photo having been captured on a mobile phone or from the editing, but the white sky and the fog seem contrived to my eye. A result of post production rather than having been captured that way. It's neither here nor there in the bigger scheme of things, it's just how the image affected me visually, looking like a graduated filter with strong lightening was applied as there isn't a natural fall off to the fog, where it might be thicker in the background sections and thinner up front.

Yup, got it straight away! That tiny little tip on the left poking its head out to peer around and see whether it is safe to venture out yet.

Visually I would have lost the green from the bottom left corner by painting in some desaturation with a rough brush application. I would have loosened up the crop too, some negative space on the top and the plant being off centre might have created a bit more energy and interest to the frame. I can't claim they would have, but I would have toyed with it to see whether it worked or not. Taking the subject to a smaller size in the frame would have made it have an appearance of sharper resolution too! This sort of plant matter is a bugger to capture as there is very little high contrast matter to give our eyes the detail we delight in observing.

I'm enjoying the glow of light coming through the rear leaf and would have loved to have seen some extra glow introduced in the foreground leaf, so it was brighter than the solid section above to its right.

This is quite delightful to observe! I hope you were able to get back up again easily, that appears to have been taken from a very low position.

I'm gathering the regeneration is the presence of the plants springing forth in the spaces in the path? The addition of the small bird in the scene is nice, it adds a sense of the minuscule at play here and is nicely separated from the background with no competing luminosities or similar tones. The newly emerging plants are instantly recognisable for what they are and the soft focus upon them works nicely as they are not as out of focus as the background plant matter.

Technically, the only suggestion I will make is to boost the detail in the eye of the bird somewhat, but that is subjective, so please don't take that as a criticism, it's not.

Birth. Growth. Death.

Life.

Regenerating.

View attachment 922048
Purple Swamp Hens! We have them across Australia too. :)

Chris, there is a complexity of regeneration at play here, ranging from the immediately obvious regeneration of life with the new brood remaining safely close to their parent through to the sense of new emergence of the plant life and the output of that plant matter from the birds body that will feed and nourish plants on the ground and within the water. Great stuff! It's the observation of such cycles and interactions that form a major part of the Permaculture practices that we apply here in our garden. Some people would look at this scene and see a messy pond or waterway that needs tidying up, I don't, I see the complexities of regeneration at play!

I'm enjoying that I can see through the water to the floor of the water body. The blue/purple of the feathers has rendered wonderfully.

I think you have found the local duck childcare centre!

Spring has sprung here, well and truly. The plants of all manner forcing their way through the tight gaps in the paving, the bubba ducklings and the trailing plants from above all illustrate the regeneration of life.

Visually, I will suggest getting lower to the main subjects if it is at all possible for you to achieve this. Viewing things at their level rather than our normal height adds a unique interest and a much stronger sense of connection with a subject. If you took this with a mobile phone, it could have been held just above ground level, whilst you were kneeled down. If using a camera with a flippy-twisty screen it is dead easy to achieve, if you are physically able to get down there... I'll also suggest showing slightly more of the water and possibly changing position, so you are a bit more to the left, but that all depends on what is over to the right as to whether that point of view could work or not. This could have achieved a journey through the frame, rather than across the frame, with the ducks closest, in the middle and the water beyond.

I have enjoyed seeing some of your images of these birds and the regeneration of their species under your eaves. That is a decent sized worm, which should have satiated their appetites for a fair while.

Documentary photography of wildlife is a hard exercise and you have achieved some nice intimate moments along the way!

I'll suggest looking at your framing of composition and getting yourself as high as you can; aluminium stepladders work really well for instantly easy elevation of your point of view. Using a long lens is only part of the tools that good documentary wildlife photographers use; positioning and light are the other main components. If working from a ladder, be prepared to remain there for a while, so the parents get used to your presence and make sure it is positioned safely. I know they have moved on now, but I hope this of potential use for you next season.

I’m not sure if this actually fits the theme properly but I see this as regenerating the bond between human and nature after the mayhem.

ca735800a5f5bd7dc2134fb6a141cede.plist
Quality time together is always regenerative, spot on young fella! ? I get the "people connected to place" but I am not getting the regeneration of nature by man in this image. Maybe I have misinterpreted what you wrote, if I have, I'm sorry for that.

In the background is a huge crowd, so I'm gathering this was before verona cirus showed up on the scene?

I spent ages working out whether that was a child with their legs bent over their head on the far right of the ramp! I like the silhouetted people on the rmp, but am unsure about the colour choice here. The yellow/orange is too strong for me, it doesn't seem authentically Summer for my eyes. If that had have been applied to looking through brown grasses or grains it could have worked well, bnut for this scene, I find it a distraction, along with the crowd on the right. I'd suggest cropping them out, to make it all about the people on the ramp and their interactions with the birds on the water.

I know you love your time in a kayak, Kevin! I'm gathering this was taken by you when out on the water? I'm rolling with that, regardless.

Knowing that about you gives the image reason in regards to regeneration and it works nicely in my eyes. It's your nature fix, your exercise, your Mindfulness, your solitude, your regeneration and what a noice (that's Aussie for beautiful) spot to do this. I'm jealous!

I am very much enjoying the gradation of dark to light tht appears from the centre to top and left to right of frame.

Strewth! It's a bloody good thing you are not in Australia, that tiny thing probably would have eaten you by now! ?

Nailed it! You got the theme wonderfully and there's the subtle inference of our responsibility to act as stewards of this planet in this too!

Patrick, I'm definitely getting the regeneration aspect of this, in a Spiritually cutured and Holistic nature. Clever use of a laser pointer (?) to illustrate the path of energy/life-force/ki/prana/whatever you may refer to it as.

2013, I had only had a camera for a few months at that stage and was only just discovering the awesomeness of the wide open end of my nifty-fifty!

Our local authority have decided to 'regenerate' the area by building hundreds of new houses across the green fields of our village, effectively turning it into a town :(



Panasonic DMC-G1, 40mm @ f/8

Cheers :)

Hugh
When regeneration is used as marketing speak... That saddens me to hear this, Hugh. I so admire the great British open spaces of the villages. We went straight to in-fill here, so our villages, or small towns were gobbled up by the suburban sprawl as it let out its belt further and further. :(

The only suggestion I will make is to contemplate cropping it to a 3:2 ratio, with a trim from the top of the sky only as it appears to me to increase the ominous heaviness of the clouds.

swapping out my already late entry, if this looks different for anyone. came across these guys while gardening this morning.

View attachment 922812
"Oh, it's a ladybug giving another ladybug a piggyback ride! What, they're what? Won't somebody think of the children?!"
Sorry, Molly, I couldn't help myself.

Is that really a bubba over on the right to them? That's a great capture if it is. I thought it was a spider weighing up its chances until I read that comment in the other thread.

I get your reasoning for switching it out. Nice use of light and focus, with good colour rendition; the reds are truly red, but not oversaturated, which is so easy to do. It doesn't matter to me whether the light was natural and caught in camera or whether it was induced in post, it is effectively natural in appearance and guides your eye to the players within the scene.

50 years ago .....
"Did ya call the pool guy?"
"Oh , He's so expensive , we can take care of it ourselves"

View attachment 922787
Oh yeah, you got it! I keep searching the scene to try and find a Croc. in there somewhere.

A great visual capture of Ma Nature flexing her regeneration muscles. I'd put it up there with those pictures of houses that are long abandoned and now half filled with desert sand! Lovely light and fresh green tones. It would make a great spot for a 360 photo!

Regenerating .308 shells... View attachment 922802
Yep, that it is indeed! It fits the theme in a unique way.

I'm a pacifist through and through, so I find myself severely conflicted by this image. The nature of violence of any sort abhors me to the core of my being, but the precise patterning and repetition is engrossing! ?

View attachment 922861

Sony Alpha6400; Sony 16-50mm f3.5-5.6
I am a bit lost as to the regeneration in this image, sorry. If it is the buildings that have been regenerated through re-purposing or renovation, it might have worked better if there was a sign of that in the frame somewhere. Not necessarily a sign as in letters on a board, but something that illustrated that to those of us that have never been here and don't know of this, if that is the regeneration you intended on showing us.

Or is it the artworks? Are they all regenerated, made form materials that once had a different purpose? I could see the artwork in the back centre possibly being this.

The artwork in the right foreground is a challenging piece to illustrate its dimension well. The head, the shoulders, the tops of the knees show it off well, but the rest of it is not conveyed through this image. Playing with point of view and time of day/light would help achieve this. It looks like an interesting sculpture, exploring themes of the thoughts that make us.... maybe... I don't have the best track record for correctly interpreting artworks!

----------------

Phew! That took a wee bit longer than I had hoped! I have been popping off and doing other things along the way though and the delivery truck is about half an hour away! So good timing!

Let's get to it... The purely subjective decisions of an amateur armchair judiciary.

Bronze medal goes to:
@mollyc

Silver medal goes to:
@someoldguy

Gold medal goes to:
@AllergyDoc

Please get in touch with last weeks podium placers that match your position so that they can mail the medals to you. ?

Thanks for playing, everyone! Be safe and be well.

P.S. To pronounce "noice" correctly, one starts the word as if saying the first part of "noise", but finishes it with the 'ce' of the word "office". Noice! :)
 
Last edited:

Apple fanboy

macrumors Ivy Bridge
Feb 21, 2012
56,994
56,021
Behind the Lens, UK
A tough motif this week it seemed initially, but you all made good headway with it, interpreting the theme well and with a nice diversity of visual expressions to explore it with.

I will be pretty brief with my commentary, I'm sorry. Partly because I'm an Aussie bloke and partly because, well mainly because a three metre long motorised slider with pan and tilt manoeuvrability has just arrived in town from interstate and is on its way to me in the back of a courier van and I want to have it completely sorted for use to be able to have a play with it tomorrow at some country ruins for either timelapses or video capture, depending on the cloud cover at the time.

Please, take no offence, these are just my simple observations and ruminations being shared.

--------------


Welcome to my lair, oh foolish and lonely traveller... I mean, that was indeed brave of you to start things off, Bruce!

Normally, I am not a particularly big fan of the old spot or selective colour, but for this motif it has worked well. All eyes are fixated upon the new growth emerging from the ground. The fall in and out of focus is eloquent and gentle, the background is not messy to distract the eye as some lenses are prone to do when using an open aperture.

My only suggestion for improvement is with the gentle use of a pair of graduated filters in post production coming from above and below towards the focus point with nothing but the removal of contrast applied, so as to subtly add to the focus point. I hope that makes sense?


I am slightly confused as to where the 'Regeneration' is in this image, I might need a clue to help me out here. Is it a region that has been regenerated to natural space again? Or is the young Rheindeer (?) the symbol of regeneration in this frame?

The little bit of out of focus greenery in the top right of frame is distracting for me, I would choose to either have more of it, so we get the feeling of peering through the undergrowth or to crop it out completely.


The theme is most apparent here in this scene in multiple ways. The spiritual and sanctified nature of the place, the sacredness of life and the way that nature retakes hers again all speak of regeneration to me.

I'm not sure if it is a result of the photo having been captured on a mobile phone or from the editing, but the white sky and the fog seem contrived to my eye. A result of post production rather than having been captured that way. It's neither here nor there in the bigger scheme of things, it's just how the image affected me visually, looking like a graduated filter with strong lightening was applied as there isn't a natural fall off to the fog, where it might be thicker in the background sections and thinner up front.


Yup, got it straight away! That tiny little tip on the left poking its head out to peer around and see whether it is safe to venture out yet.

Visually I would have lost the green from the bottom left corner by painting in some desaturation with a rough brush application. I would have loosened up the crop too, some negative space on the top and the plant being off centre might have created a bit more energy and interest to the frame. I can't claim they would have, but I would have toyed with it to see whether it worked or not. Taking the subject to a smaller size in the frame would have made it have an appearance of sharper resolution too! This sort of plant matter is a bugger to capture as there is very little high contrast matter to give our eyes the detail we delight in observing.

I'm enjoying the glow of light coming through the rear leaf and would have loved to have seen some extra glow introduced in the foreground leaf, so it was brighter than the solid section above to its right.


This is quite delightful to observe! I hope you were able to get back up again easily, that appears to have been taken from a very low position.

I'm gathering the regeneration is the presence of the plants springing forth in the spaces in the path? The addition of the small bird in the scene is nice, it adds a sense of the minuscule at play here and is nicely separated from the background with no competing luminosities or similar tones. The newly emerging plants are instantly recognisable for what they are and the soft focus upon them works nicely as they are not as out of focus as the background plant matter.

Technically, the only suggestion I will make is to boost the detail in the eye of the bird somewhat, but that is subjective, so please don't take that as a criticism, it's not.


Purple Swamp Hens! We have them across Australia too. :)

Chris, there is a complexity of regeneration at play here, ranging from the immediately obvious regeneration of life with the new brood remaining safely close to their parent through to the sense of new emergence of the plant life and the output of that plant matter from the birds body that will feed and nourish plants on the ground and within the water. Great stuff! It's the observation of such cycles and interactions that form a major part of the Permaculture practices that we apply here in our garden. Some people would look at this scene and see a messy pond or waterway that needs tidying up, I don't, I see the complexities of regeneration at play!

I'm enjoying that I can see through the water to the floor of the water body. The blue/purple of the feathers has rendered wonderfully.


I think you have found the local duck childcare centre!

Spring has sprung here, well and truly. The plants of all manner forcing their way through the tight gaps in the paving, the bubba ducklings and the trailing plants from above all illustrate the regeneration of life.

Visually, I will suggest getting lower to the main subjects if it is at all possible for you to achieve this. Viewing things at their level rather than our normal height adds a unique interest and a much stronger sense of connection with a subject. If you took this with a mobile phone, it could have been held just above ground level, whilst you were kneeled down. If using a camera with a flippy-twisty screen it is dead easy to achieve, if you are physically able to get down there... I'll also suggest showing slightly more of the water and possibly changing position, so you are a bit more to the left, but that all depends on what is over to the right as to whether that point of view could work or not. This could have achieved a journey through the frame, rather than across the frame, with the ducks closest, in the middle and the water beyond.


I have enjoyed seeing some of your images of these birds and the regeneration of their species under your eaves. That is a decent sized worm, which should have satiated their appetites for a fair while.

Documentary photography of wildlife is a hard exercise and you have achieved some nice intimate moments along the way!

I'll suggest looking at your framing of composition and getting yourself as high as you can; aluminium stepladders work really well for instantly easy elevation of your point of view. Using a long lens is only part of the tools that good documentary wildlife photographers use; positioning and light are the other main components. If working from a ladder, be prepared to remain there for a while, so the parents get used to your presence and make sure it is positioned safely. I know they have moved on now, but I hope this of potential use for you next season.


Quality time together is always regenerative, spot on young fella! ? I get the "people connected to place" but I am not getting the regeneration of nature by man in this image. Maybe I have misinterpreted what you wrote, if I have, I'm sorry for that.

In the background is a huge crowd, so I'm gathering this was before verona cirus showed up on the scene?

I spent ages working out whether that was a child with their legs bent over their head on the far right of the ramp! I like the silhouetted people on the rmp, but am unsure about the colour choice here. The yellow/orange is too strong for me, it doesn't seem authentically Summer for my eyes. If that had have been applied to looking through brown grasses or grains it could have worked well, bnut for this scene, I find it a distraction, along with the crowd on the right. I'd suggest cropping them out, to make it all about the people on the ramp and their interactions with the birds on the water.


I know you love your time in a kayak, Kevin! I'm gathering this was taken by you when out on the water? I'm rolling with that, regardless.

Knowing that about you gives the image reason in regards to regeneration and it works nicely in my eyes. It's your nature fix, your exercise, your Mindfulness, your solitude, your regeneration and what a noice (that's Aussie for beautiful) spot to do this. I'm jealous!

I am very much enjoying the gradation of dark to light tht appears from the centre to top and left to right of frame.


Strewth! It's a bloody good thing you are not in Australia, that tiny thing probably would have eaten you by now! ?

Nailed it! You got the theme wonderfully and there's the subtle inference of our responsibility to act as stewards of this planet in this too!


Patrick, I'm definitely getting the regeneration aspect of this, in a Spiritually cutured and Holistic nature. Clever use of a laser pointer (?) to illustrate the path of energy/life-force/ki/prana/whatever you may refer to it as.

2013, I had only had a camera for a few months at that stage and was only just discovering the awesomeness of the wide open end of my nifty-fifty!


When regeneration is used as marketing speak... That saddens me to hear this, Hugh. I so admire the great British open spaces of the villages. We went straight to in-fill here, so our villages, or small towns were gobbled up by the suburban sprawl as it let out its belt further and further. :(

The only suggestion I will make is to contemplate cropping it to a 3:2 ratio, with a trim from the top of the sky only as it appears to me to increase the ominous heaviness of the clouds.


"Oh, it's a ladybug giving another ladybug a piggyback ride! What, they're what? Won't somebody think of the children?!"
Sorry, Molly, I couldn't help myself.

Is that really a bubba over on the right to them? That's a great capture if it is. I thought it was a spider weighing up its chances until I read that comment in the other thread.

I get your reasoning for switching it out. Nice use of light and focus, with good colour rendition; the reds are truly red, but not oversaturated, which is so easy to do. It doesn't matter to me whether the light was natural and caught in camera or whether it was induced in post, it is effectively natural in appearance and guides your eye to the players within the scene.


Oh yeah, you got it! I keep searching the scene to try and find a Croc. in there somewhere.

A great visual capture of Ma Nature flexing her regeneration muscles. I'd put it up there with those pictures of houses that are long abandoned and now half filled with desert sand! Lovely light and fresh green tones. It would make a great spot for a 360 photo!


Yep, that it is indeed! It fits the theme in a unique way.

I'm a pacifist through and through, so I find myself severely conflicted by this image. The nature of violence of any sort abhors me to the core of my being, but the precise patterning and repetition is engrossing! ?


I am a bit lost as to the regeneration in this image, sorry. If it is the buildings that have been regenerated through re-purposing or renovation, it might have worked better if there was a sign of that in the frame somewhere. Not necessarily a sign as in letters on a board, but something that illustrated that to those of us that have never been here and don't know of this, if that is the regeneration you intended on showing us.

Or is it the artworks? Are they all regenerated, made form materials that once had a different purpose? I could see the artwork in the back centre possibly being this.

The artwork in the right foreground is a challenging piece to illustrate its dimension well. The head, the shoulders, the tops of the knees show it off well, but the rest of it is not conveyed through this image. Playing with point of view and time of day/light would help achieve this. It looks like an interesting sculpture, exploring themes of the thoughts that make us.... maybe... I don't have the best track record for correctly interpreting artworks!

----------------

Phew! That took a wee bit longer than I had hoped! I have been popping off and doing other things along the way though and the delivery truck is about half an hour away! So good timing!

Let's get to it... The purely subjective decisions of an amateur armchair judiciary.

Bronze medal goes to:
@mollyc

Silver medal goes to:
@someoldguy

Gold medal goes to:
@AllergyDoc

Please get in touch with last weeks podium placers that match your position so that they can mail the medals to you. ?

Thanks for playing, everyone! Be safe and be well.

P.S. To pronounce "noice" correctly, one starts the word as if saying the first part of "noise", but finishes it with the 'ce' of the word "office". Noice! :)
Nice feedback! My image was a baby robin. That was supposed to be the regeneration. The weeds will be posted in the ‘things you hate about nature’ competition coming up! ;)
 

akash.nu

macrumors G4
May 26, 2016
10,870
16,998
A tough motif this week it seemed initially, but you all made good headway with it, interpreting the theme well and with a nice diversity of visual expressions to explore it with.

This was definitely a tough one. I wasn’t too sure if my entry actually fits in with the theme as well but since we’re still stuck at home, opportunities to take new shots is almost nil for me. Having said that I enjoyed the topic a lot.

Quality time together is always regenerative, spot on young fella! I get the "people connected to place" but I am not getting the regeneration of nature by man in this image. Maybe I have misinterpreted what you wrote, if I have, I'm sorry for that.

In the background is a huge crowd, so I'm gathering this was before verona cirus showed up on the scene?

I spent ages working out whether that was a child with their legs bent over their head on the far right of the ramp! I like the silhouetted people on the rmp, but am unsure about the colour choice here. The yellow/orange is too strong for me, it doesn't seem authentically Summer for my eyes. If that had have been applied to looking through brown grasses or grains it could have worked well, bnut for this scene, I find it a distraction, along with the crowd on the right. I'd suggest cropping them out, to make it all about the people on the ramp and their interactions with the birds on the water.

Thanks for the feedback. There hasn’t been too much editing on this picture but the crowd on the right is what I brought out actually. Looking at it again, if I keep them in the dark then probably the balance will be better.

Something like this.

cdf6e67998a2ffb4950af92b2141f2fd.jpg


And yes this picture was taken a few years ago. Nobody had heard / known about the said virus then. Also the movie contagion was not even in consideration to watch for most people.

----------------

Phew! That took a wee bit longer than I had hoped! I have been popping off and doing other things along the way though and the delivery truck is about half an hour away! So good timing!

Let's get to it... The purely subjective decisions of an amateur armchair judiciary.

Bronze medal goes to:
@mollyc

Silver medal goes to:
@someoldguy

Gold medal goes to:
@AllergyDoc

Please get in touch with last weeks podium placers that match your position so that they can mail the medals to you.

Thanks for playing, everyone! Be safe and be well.

Congratulations to all the winners. Looking forward to the next one.
 

Alexander.Of.Oz

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Oct 29, 2013
3,200
12,501
Congrats Placers!! Well done!
Thanks @Alexander.Of.Oz!

Fun fact, this was my very first contest entry in MR, specifically created for the theme which was Energy. Not sure who was hosting it. Contest MasterList does not go beyond 2015
[automerge]1591776512[/automerge]
noish?
Very noice, Patrick! Could even be a bit spesh! (Special to all the rest of the world) ?
[automerge]1591777180[/automerge]
This was definitely a tough one. I wasn’t too sure if my entry actually fits in with the theme as well but since we’re still stuck at home, opportunities to take new shots is almost nil for me. Having said that I enjoyed the topic a lot.



Thanks for the feedback. There hasn’t been too much editing on this picture but the crowd on the right is what I brought out actually. Looking at it again, if I keep them in the dark then probably the balance will be better.

Something like this.

cdf6e67998a2ffb4950af92b2141f2fd.jpg


And yes this picture was taken a few years ago. Nobody had heard / known about the said virus then. Also the movie contagion was not even in consideration to watch for most people.



Congratulations to all the winners. Looking forward to the next one.
That has worked nicely, for the crowd to not be so noticeable now! They blend into the bushes, so your eye really does settle to explore the people on the ramp, the sunlight reflections & the birds.
[automerge]1591777355[/automerge]
Nice feedback! My image was a baby robin. That was supposed to be the regeneration. The weeds will be posted in the ‘things you hate about nature’ competition coming up! ;)
I wondered if it was a bubba bird! I'm constantly in the weeds, just ask Missus AofO... ;)
 

fitshaced

macrumors 68000
Jul 2, 2011
1,742
3,646
A tough motif this week it seemed initially, but you all made good headway with it, interpreting the theme well and with a nice diversity of visual expressions to explore it with.

I will be pretty brief with my commentary, I'm sorry. Partly because I'm an Aussie bloke and partly because, well mainly because a three metre long motorised slider with pan and tilt manoeuvrability has just arrived in town from interstate and is on its way to me in the back of a courier van and I want to have it completely sorted for use to be able to have a play with it tomorrow at some country ruins for either timelapses or video capture, depending on the cloud cover at the time.

Please, take no offence, these are just my simple observations and ruminations being shared.

--------------


Welcome to my lair, oh foolish and lonely traveller... I mean, that was indeed brave of you to start things off, Bruce!

Normally, I am not a particularly big fan of the old spot or selective colour, but for this motif it has worked well. All eyes are fixated upon the new growth emerging from the ground. The fall in and out of focus is eloquent and gentle, the background is not messy to distract the eye as some lenses are prone to do when using an open aperture.

My only suggestion for improvement is with the gentle use of a pair of graduated filters in post production coming from above and below towards the focus point with nothing but the removal of contrast applied, so as to subtly add to the focus point. I hope that makes sense?


I am slightly confused as to where the 'Regeneration' is in this image, I might need a clue to help me out here. Is it a region that has been regenerated to natural space again? Or is the young Rheindeer (?) the symbol of regeneration in this frame?

The little bit of out of focus greenery in the top right of frame is distracting for me, I would choose to either have more of it, so we get the feeling of peering through the undergrowth or to crop it out completely.


The theme is most apparent here in this scene in multiple ways. The spiritual and sanctified nature of the place, the sacredness of life and the way that nature retakes hers again all speak of regeneration to me.

I'm not sure if it is a result of the photo having been captured on a mobile phone or from the editing, but the white sky and the fog seem contrived to my eye. A result of post production rather than having been captured that way. It's neither here nor there in the bigger scheme of things, it's just how the image affected me visually, looking like a graduated filter with strong lightening was applied as there isn't a natural fall off to the fog, where it might be thicker in the background sections and thinner up front.


Yup, got it straight away! That tiny little tip on the left poking its head out to peer around and see whether it is safe to venture out yet.

Visually I would have lost the green from the bottom left corner by painting in some desaturation with a rough brush application. I would have loosened up the crop too, some negative space on the top and the plant being off centre might have created a bit more energy and interest to the frame. I can't claim they would have, but I would have toyed with it to see whether it worked or not. Taking the subject to a smaller size in the frame would have made it have an appearance of sharper resolution too! This sort of plant matter is a bugger to capture as there is very little high contrast matter to give our eyes the detail we delight in observing.

I'm enjoying the glow of light coming through the rear leaf and would have loved to have seen some extra glow introduced in the foreground leaf, so it was brighter than the solid section above to its right.


This is quite delightful to observe! I hope you were able to get back up again easily, that appears to have been taken from a very low position.

I'm gathering the regeneration is the presence of the plants springing forth in the spaces in the path? The addition of the small bird in the scene is nice, it adds a sense of the minuscule at play here and is nicely separated from the background with no competing luminosities or similar tones. The newly emerging plants are instantly recognisable for what they are and the soft focus upon them works nicely as they are not as out of focus as the background plant matter.

Technically, the only suggestion I will make is to boost the detail in the eye of the bird somewhat, but that is subjective, so please don't take that as a criticism, it's not.


Purple Swamp Hens! We have them across Australia too. :)

Chris, there is a complexity of regeneration at play here, ranging from the immediately obvious regeneration of life with the new brood remaining safely close to their parent through to the sense of new emergence of the plant life and the output of that plant matter from the birds body that will feed and nourish plants on the ground and within the water. Great stuff! It's the observation of such cycles and interactions that form a major part of the Permaculture practices that we apply here in our garden. Some people would look at this scene and see a messy pond or waterway that needs tidying up, I don't, I see the complexities of regeneration at play!

I'm enjoying that I can see through the water to the floor of the water body. The blue/purple of the feathers has rendered wonderfully.


I think you have found the local duck childcare centre!

Spring has sprung here, well and truly. The plants of all manner forcing their way through the tight gaps in the paving, the bubba ducklings and the trailing plants from above all illustrate the regeneration of life.

Visually, I will suggest getting lower to the main subjects if it is at all possible for you to achieve this. Viewing things at their level rather than our normal height adds a unique interest and a much stronger sense of connection with a subject. If you took this with a mobile phone, it could have been held just above ground level, whilst you were kneeled down. If using a camera with a flippy-twisty screen it is dead easy to achieve, if you are physically able to get down there... I'll also suggest showing slightly more of the water and possibly changing position, so you are a bit more to the left, but that all depends on what is over to the right as to whether that point of view could work or not. This could have achieved a journey through the frame, rather than across the frame, with the ducks closest, in the middle and the water beyond.


I have enjoyed seeing some of your images of these birds and the regeneration of their species under your eaves. That is a decent sized worm, which should have satiated their appetites for a fair while.

Documentary photography of wildlife is a hard exercise and you have achieved some nice intimate moments along the way!

I'll suggest looking at your framing of composition and getting yourself as high as you can; aluminium stepladders work really well for instantly easy elevation of your point of view. Using a long lens is only part of the tools that good documentary wildlife photographers use; positioning and light are the other main components. If working from a ladder, be prepared to remain there for a while, so the parents get used to your presence and make sure it is positioned safely. I know they have moved on now, but I hope this of potential use for you next season.


Quality time together is always regenerative, spot on young fella! ? I get the "people connected to place" but I am not getting the regeneration of nature by man in this image. Maybe I have misinterpreted what you wrote, if I have, I'm sorry for that.

In the background is a huge crowd, so I'm gathering this was before verona cirus showed up on the scene?

I spent ages working out whether that was a child with their legs bent over their head on the far right of the ramp! I like the silhouetted people on the rmp, but am unsure about the colour choice here. The yellow/orange is too strong for me, it doesn't seem authentically Summer for my eyes. If that had have been applied to looking through brown grasses or grains it could have worked well, bnut for this scene, I find it a distraction, along with the crowd on the right. I'd suggest cropping them out, to make it all about the people on the ramp and their interactions with the birds on the water.


I know you love your time in a kayak, Kevin! I'm gathering this was taken by you when out on the water? I'm rolling with that, regardless.

Knowing that about you gives the image reason in regards to regeneration and it works nicely in my eyes. It's your nature fix, your exercise, your Mindfulness, your solitude, your regeneration and what a noice (that's Aussie for beautiful) spot to do this. I'm jealous!

I am very much enjoying the gradation of dark to light tht appears from the centre to top and left to right of frame.


Strewth! It's a bloody good thing you are not in Australia, that tiny thing probably would have eaten you by now! ?

Nailed it! You got the theme wonderfully and there's the subtle inference of our responsibility to act as stewards of this planet in this too!


Patrick, I'm definitely getting the regeneration aspect of this, in a Spiritually cutured and Holistic nature. Clever use of a laser pointer (?) to illustrate the path of energy/life-force/ki/prana/whatever you may refer to it as.

2013, I had only had a camera for a few months at that stage and was only just discovering the awesomeness of the wide open end of my nifty-fifty!


When regeneration is used as marketing speak... That saddens me to hear this, Hugh. I so admire the great British open spaces of the villages. We went straight to in-fill here, so our villages, or small towns were gobbled up by the suburban sprawl as it let out its belt further and further. :(

The only suggestion I will make is to contemplate cropping it to a 3:2 ratio, with a trim from the top of the sky only as it appears to me to increase the ominous heaviness of the clouds.


"Oh, it's a ladybug giving another ladybug a piggyback ride! What, they're what? Won't somebody think of the children?!"
Sorry, Molly, I couldn't help myself.

Is that really a bubba over on the right to them? That's a great capture if it is. I thought it was a spider weighing up its chances until I read that comment in the other thread.

I get your reasoning for switching it out. Nice use of light and focus, with good colour rendition; the reds are truly red, but not oversaturated, which is so easy to do. It doesn't matter to me whether the light was natural and caught in camera or whether it was induced in post, it is effectively natural in appearance and guides your eye to the players within the scene.


Oh yeah, you got it! I keep searching the scene to try and find a Croc. in there somewhere.

A great visual capture of Ma Nature flexing her regeneration muscles. I'd put it up there with those pictures of houses that are long abandoned and now half filled with desert sand! Lovely light and fresh green tones. It would make a great spot for a 360 photo!


Yep, that it is indeed! It fits the theme in a unique way.

I'm a pacifist through and through, so I find myself severely conflicted by this image. The nature of violence of any sort abhors me to the core of my being, but the precise patterning and repetition is engrossing! ?


I am a bit lost as to the regeneration in this image, sorry. If it is the buildings that have been regenerated through re-purposing or renovation, it might have worked better if there was a sign of that in the frame somewhere. Not necessarily a sign as in letters on a board, but something that illustrated that to those of us that have never been here and don't know of this, if that is the regeneration you intended on showing us.

Or is it the artworks? Are they all regenerated, made form materials that once had a different purpose? I could see the artwork in the back centre possibly being this.

The artwork in the right foreground is a challenging piece to illustrate its dimension well. The head, the shoulders, the tops of the knees show it off well, but the rest of it is not conveyed through this image. Playing with point of view and time of day/light would help achieve this. It looks like an interesting sculpture, exploring themes of the thoughts that make us.... maybe... I don't have the best track record for correctly interpreting artworks!

----------------

Phew! That took a wee bit longer than I had hoped! I have been popping off and doing other things along the way though and the delivery truck is about half an hour away! So good timing!

Let's get to it... The purely subjective decisions of an amateur armchair judiciary.

Bronze medal goes to:
@mollyc

Silver medal goes to:
@someoldguy

Gold medal goes to:
@AllergyDoc

Please get in touch with last weeks podium placers that match your position so that they can mail the medals to you. ?

Thanks for playing, everyone! Be safe and be well.

P.S. To pronounce "noice" correctly, one starts the word as if saying the first part of "noise", but finishes it with the 'ce' of the word "office". Noice! :)
Top work, well done mate.
 
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tizeye

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Jul 17, 2013
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A tough motif this week it seemed initially, but you all made good headway with it, interpreting the theme well and with a nice diversity of visual expressions to explore it with.



The theme is most apparent here in this scene in multiple ways. The spiritual and sanctified nature of the place, the sacredness of life and the way that nature retakes hers again all speak of regeneration to me.

I'm not sure if it is a result of the photo having been captured on a mobile phone or from the editing, but the white sky and the fog seem contrived to my eye. A result of post production rather than having been captured that way. It's neither here nor there in the bigger scheme of things, it's just how the image affected me visually, looking like a graduated filter with strong lightening was applied as there isn't a natural fall off to the fog, where it might be thicker in the background sections and thinner up front.

Thanks for the comments and congratulations to the winners.

A little update, no mobile phone and very little in post. This is from the archives and was taken in the 1980's on Ektachrome, then digitally scanning. This was in Ireland, discovered out in a field a few miles inland when returning from Cliffs of Moher. Don't want to say it was a dismal trip as I did get a couple "unique" photos. The fog was so thick you couldn't see the cliffs - or how far would fall if slipped on trail, and even cows along the viewing trail appeared as ghostly figures coming through the fog. Wasn't quite as thick inland as heading back to the cottage I rented as saw the dilapidated church remains from the road, stopped and explored. I do have another edited version where have done sky replacement, but like original better despite the fog making it look like a washed out over exposed sky.

We did return to the cliffs a couple days later with better weather and more typical photos, and if had been digital, would have returned to the church for a 'better weather' photo. But typical with film, you don't know how it turns out until back home and have the film developed.
 
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Alexander.Of.Oz

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Thanks for the comments and congratulations to the winners.

A little update, no mobile phone and very little in post. This is from the archives and was taken in the 1980's on Ektachrome, then digitally scanning. This was in Ireland, discovered out in a field a few miles inland when returning from Cliffs of Moher. Don't want to say it was a dismal trip as I did get a couple "unique" photos. The fog was so thick you couldn't see the cliffs - or how far would fall if slipped on trail, and even cows along the viewing trail appeared as ghostly figures coming through the fog. Wasn't quite as thick inland as heading back to the cottage I rented as saw the dilapidated church remains from the road, stopped and explored. I do have another edited version where have done sky replacement, but like original better despite the fog making it look like a washed out over exposed sky.

We did return to the cliffs a couple days later with better weather and more typical photos, and if had been digital, would have returned to the church for a 'better weather' photo. But typical with film, you don't know how it turns out until back home and have the film developed.
Now it becomes patently clear! ;) Thanks for the back-story, that makes sense now. Please, accept my apologies for thinking digital only. That'll teach me!
 

Clix Pix

macrumors Core
Alex wrote:

"Yup, got it straight away! That tiny little tip on the left poking its head out to peer around and see whether it is safe to venture out yet.

Visually I would have lost the green from the bottom left corner by painting in some desaturation with a rough brush application. I would have loosened up the crop too, some negative space on the top and the plant being off centre might have created a bit more energy and interest to the frame. I can't claim they would have, but I would have toyed with it to see whether it worked or not. Taking the subject to a smaller size in the frame would have made it have an appearance of sharper resolution too! This sort of plant matter is a bugger to capture as there is very little high contrast matter to give our eyes the detail we delight in observing.

I'm enjoying the glow of light coming through the rear leaf and would have loved to have seen some extra glow introduced in the foreground leaf, so it was brighter than the solid section above to its right."


Thank you for the thoughtful suggestions and critique! Of course at the time I shot this image I wasn't thinking of it to represent any particular theme, and only later when mulling over what I had available in shots I'd already done did I seize upon this one to represent "regeneration."

Sometimes I get too intent on one aspect of the subject matter and somewhat casually disregard the rest, and this image clearly points that up by the larger bud being not in sharp focus because I was more interested in playing with the slight glow and the smaller bud with its emerging tip. I really do need to be more mindful of my subject matter as a whole and not just one part of it! Sometimes using a different aperture with the idea of creating blur and bokeh just isn't going to cut the mustard. As for the green from the bottom left, yeah, while editing the image I thought about removing it but then decided I liked it because it did sort of lead the eye to the primary subject.

You're right about having more negative space at the top. I don't remember for sure now but I think that there wasn't much negative space at the top to crop, which is why there is the result you see, but I'll have to look at the original RAW image again.... That creamy grayish-white negative space is actually the sidewalk; the plants (actually Bearded Iris in the budding stage) were just adjacent to it.

The glow of light coming through the rear leaf was the sun hitting it, backlighting it at just the right angle. I suppose there would be some way in PP/editing to create a faux glow in the foreground leaf, too, which would look really cool, but that is a bit beyond my still primitive editing skills! :)
 

imac wannabe

macrumors regular
Sep 1, 2011
244
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Appleton, WI
"Yep, that it is indeed! It fits the theme in a unique way.

I'm a pacifist through and through, so I find myself severely conflicted by this image. The nature of violence of any sort abhors me to the core of my being, but the precise patterning and repetition is engrossing!"

These are loaded as precise match rounds...they went on to poke holes through paper. Thanks for judging my photo.
 

someoldguy

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Aug 2, 2009
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usa
Oh yeah, you got it! I keep searching the scene to try and find a Croc. in there somewhere.

A great visual capture of Ma Nature flexing her regeneration muscles. I'd put it up there with those pictures of houses that are long abandoned and now half filled with desert sand! Lovely light and fresh green tones. It would make a great spot for a 360 photo!

Thanks for the commentary , and the second . No crocodiles here , just maybe a copperhead or 2 if you're careless , unlucky , or stupid .
The pool is/was once part of one of the estates that graced the top of the Palisades along the Hudson . They're all gone , and the structures mostly razed , save one ,starting in the 1920's and going into the '50's , to make way for a highway project and attached parkland .Walking around the parkland , you find lots of residue from the estates like this pool , foundations , what's left or gardens and drives , stairs going to/from nowhere . I'm not real sure which of the estates this particular pool belonged to , but it might have been this one ...
 

deep diver

macrumors 68030
Jan 17, 2008
2,711
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Philadelphia.
I will be pretty brief with my commentary, I'm sorry.

Excellent entries. Excellent judging. If these are the brief comments, I'd like to see what the long ones look like. Perhaps you were inspired by Scepticalscribe last week.


My only suggestion for improvement is with the gentle use of a pair of graduated filters in post production coming from above and below towards the focus point with nothing but the removal of contrast applied, so as to subtly add to the focus point. I hope that makes sense?

This makes sense and I agree. I wish I had paid more attention before I posted.
I've been providing psychotherapy via telehealth for 3 months now. It is exhausting. I'm just glad I've had enough energy to enter two contests in a row.


a three metre long motorised slider with pan and tilt manoeuvrability has just arrived in town from interstate and is on its way to me in the back of a courier van and I want to have it completely sorted for use to be able to have a play with it tomorrow at some country ruins for either timelapses or video capture, depending on the cloud cover at the time.

Enjoy the new toy.
 

Alexander.Of.Oz

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Oct 29, 2013
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Alex wrote:

"Yup, got it straight away! That tiny little tip on the left poking its head out to peer around and see whether it is safe to venture out yet.

Visually I would have lost the green from the bottom left corner by painting in some desaturation with a rough brush application. I would have loosened up the crop too, some negative space on the top and the plant being off centre might have created a bit more energy and interest to the frame. I can't claim they would have, but I would have toyed with it to see whether it worked or not. Taking the subject to a smaller size in the frame would have made it have an appearance of sharper resolution too! This sort of plant matter is a bugger to capture as there is very little high contrast matter to give our eyes the detail we delight in observing.

I'm enjoying the glow of light coming through the rear leaf and would have loved to have seen some extra glow introduced in the foreground leaf, so it was brighter than the solid section above to its right."


Thank you for the thoughtful suggestions and critique! Of course at the time I shot this image I wasn't thinking of it to represent any particular theme, and only later when mulling over what I had available in shots I'd already done did I seize upon this one to represent "regeneration."

Sometimes I get too intent on one aspect of the subject matter and somewhat casually disregard the rest, and this image clearly points that up by the larger bud being not in sharp focus because I was more interested in playing with the slight glow and the smaller bud with its emerging tip. I really do need to be more mindful of my subject matter as a whole and not just one part of it! Sometimes using a different aperture with the idea of creating blur and bokeh just isn't going to cut the mustard. As for the green from the bottom left, yeah, while editing the image I thought about removing it but then decided I liked it because it did sort of lead the eye to the primary subject.

You're right about having more negative space at the top. I don't remember for sure now but I think that there wasn't much negative space at the top to crop, which is why there is the result you see, but I'll have to look at the original RAW image again.... That creamy grayish-white negative space is actually the sidewalk; the plants (actually Bearded Iris in the budding stage) were just adjacent to it.

The glow of light coming through the rear leaf was the sun hitting it, backlighting it at just the right angle. I suppose there would be some way in PP/editing to create a faux glow in the foreground leaf, too, which would look really cool, but that is a bit beyond my still primitive editing skills! :)
I was trying to recognise the particular type of fauna that you had captured here and now I know! Thank you.

Thank you for your judging. My entry was a baby moose in fresh new shrubs. Nature's way of regenerating.
Thans about the comment about the disturbing green on the right side. Somehow missed that.
Are you no longer in Europe? Or do you have Moose over there too?

"Yep, that it is indeed! It fits the theme in a unique way.

I'm a pacifist through and through, so I find myself severely conflicted by this image. The nature of violence of any sort abhors me to the core of my being, but the precise patterning and repetition is engrossing!"

These are loaded as precise match rounds...they went on to poke holes through paper. Thanks for judging my photo.
You are welcome, the geometry was quite engrossing.

Thanks for the commentary , and the second . No crocodiles here , just maybe a copperhead or 2 if you're careless , unlucky , or stupid .
The pool is/was once part of one of the estates that graced the top of the Palisades along the Hudson . They're all gone , and the structures mostly razed , save one ,starting in the 1920's and going into the '50's , to make way for a highway project and attached parkland .Walking around the parkland , you find lots of residue from the estates like this pool , foundations , what's left or gardens and drives , stairs going to/from nowhere . I'm not real sure which of the estates this particular pool belonged to , but it might have been this one ...
That sounds like a wonderful area to explore in safety, thanks for the link, I'll take a look in a second.

Excellent entries. Excellent judging. If these are the brief comments, I'd like to see what the long ones look like. Perhaps you were inspired by Scepticalscribe last week.
I will admit that there was inspiration derived from the grand @Scepticalscribe !

This makes sense and I agree. I wish I had paid more attention before I posted.
I've been providing psychotherapy via telehealth for 3 months now. It is exhausting. I'm just glad I've had enough energy to enter two contests in a row.
Don't be hard on yourself, they were just my thoughts and observations.

That would be mentally taxing work to do via distance. So many subtleties can be exponentially harder to pick up on in that mode of delivery. My partner is doing her Masters of Counselling and having remote sessions for practicals with fellow students isn't working for her!

Enjoy the new toy.
I did! I get to give it a serious workout next week, I'll be sure to share the results with due overeagerness!
 
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Alexander.Of.Oz

macrumors 68040
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There are moose in Scandinavia. This one was in Dovrefjell, Norway.
mmm, apparently the correct name is Elk for the Eurasian subspecies.
Thanks for the clarification, I did not know that! An old dog can learn new tricks after all, not that I will remember this tomorrow! I can guarantee you that I will say "did you know they have Moose in Europe" to someone one day soon... But, I can remember what aperture setting I used on a photo last month! ;)
 

akash.nu

macrumors G4
May 26, 2016
10,870
16,998
Thanks for the clarification, I did not know that! An old dog can learn new tricks after all, not that I will remember this tomorrow! I can guarantee you that I will say "did you know they have Moose in Europe" to someone one day soon... But, I can remember what aperture setting I used on a photo last month! ;)

Clearly you’re not as interested in moose as the apertures.
 
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oblomow

macrumors 601
Apr 14, 2005
4,508
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Netherlands
Thanks for the clarification, I did not know that! An old dog can learn new tricks after all, not that I will remember this tomorrow! I can guarantee you that I will say "did you know they have Moose in Europe" to someone one day soon... But, I can remember what aperture setting I used on a photo last month! ;)

We have a saying: you cannot learn an old moose new tricks....
 

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Haswell
Jul 29, 2008
65,187
47,572
In a coffee shop.
I will admit that there was inspiration derived from the grand @Scepticalscribe !

I'm flattered, and thank you for your kind words.

An excellent, thought-provoking and exceptionally challenging and demanding topic; some very good entries, and congrats on your thoughtful and instructive judging and constructive feed-back.
 

Scepticalscribe

macrumors Haswell
Jul 29, 2008
65,187
47,572
In a coffee shop.
I'm not sure if @AllergyDoc realises the immense good luck and unlimited wealth (of internal satisfaction) that accompanies winning the weekly contest! The next round is all yours, good sir! ;)

Indeed.

One thing that last week's judging exercise did teach me was how much actual time it takes to adjudicate the weekly competition fairly, give decent (and comprehensive and constructive) feedback, and give thought to how you plan to write the whole thing up.
 
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