Critique 2019 Octoberfest – acnomad (Andy) – Hardcore - 55mm f/2.8 Micro-Nikkor - Day 31 - A New Day + Epilogue

[Kry27]

19. A Small Tomato (Or a Large Cork?)
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Four images autoaligned in PS and stacked. One-light setup was a small incandescent gooseneck lamp almost directly overhead covered by a 3x5 notecard with slits cut out to create the grid effect. Background was a thin piece of high density foam curled up to form a seamless backdrop.

That is a big cork, even though I am used to a sort of tomatoes called 'micro cherry'... here, itvis a big cork!

20. Swirl
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Not terribly inspired today, so I just tried to salvage the least underwhelming of today's frames.

Good recovery on a photographically first lazy day!

21. Old Arch
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I like it being in colors, but as mentioned, the tree should have listened and moved a bit to the right for the shot

22. Waves and Waterfalls
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I uploaded an interesting but unrelated documentary image from this morning in the bucket.

It gained by cropping away...

23. Manhattan
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As Nick said... Even the clouds c-ooperated! A Stunner!

24. South Elgin Falls
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No time or patience to use a tripod for a long exposure today, so this is a stack of 6 images blended as lightening layers in Photoshop to give the appearance of soft, white water flowing over our only "pseudo-natural" local waterfall. Otherwise, only modest Lightroom adjustments and a split toned B&W conversion.

Oh, stacking, so much learnt! Thanks for the description and idea!

25. Portrait of an Elk
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Who says you can't shoot wildlife with a 55? This fellow lives with a small herd in a large fenced off section of a forest preserve located in Arlington Heights, just adjacent to a town appropriately named Elk Grove Village. I used to frequent the running loop when I worked nearby some years ago. Today, I dropped by just before sunset, knowing that they'd be out for their evening graze. This bull approached the fence in hopes that I would ignore the "Please Do Not Feed Elk" signs and obliged me with this pose. A few more from today are in the bucket.

That is amazingly close. Nice self portrait in his eye!

26. Bouncing Water Drops
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Leaf on a glass patio table, rainfall was being filtered by the overhanging maple tree. Single strobe camera right. In the absence of any precise triggering mechanism, I simply made numerous exposures hoping to get lucky with a bounce. Stopped shooting when I was tired of getting wet (and wondering if the rain was going to short out my strobe)! This was one of the handful that had droplets in the air.

I habe been told to be creative this October, but the same is true about you! Such a wide variety of shots, and persistance and will to get something new every day!
I love the jumping bouncing droplets.

27. Black Knight
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Two off-camera strobes. Main light was at 1/16 power approximately 12 inches, camera right, backlighting the chess piece at an angle, hence the shadow on the left side of the frame. Fill light was at 1/128 power handheld approximately 4 inches directly above the camera, but feathered to the top of the chess piece to bring out detail without casting another shadow. And yes, my sensor appears to be dirty again.

Again, much learned! Wonderful. How big's that knight, actually?

28. Good Morning St. Charles
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Wow @ light! And the artwork.

29. Wingspan
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Not sure what this sculpture is called, but if it were mine, I'd call it "Wingspan."

Personal note: with a fairly sudden shift to colder weather today and no particular idea of what to shoot, I was quite reluctant to get out. Thanks to all participating in Octoberfest for the accountability and motivation to stay in the daily routine.

Yes you say it right, here we shifted weather and temperature especially, and time also! It got hard from one day to the next, nearly impossible to go outside and shoot after work.
I like 'wingspan'as title and as an image, and...

"Wingspan": To tell the truth, my first guess was a granite artificial hip. Very cool picture.

Yes!

 

[acnomad]

Day 29: I can see why wingspan is so appropriate even in the narrowly composed photo. So much detail even in the dark stone.

Thank you Nick. I walk/ride/run along this path quite often, and this sculpture has begged to be photographed for some time. In my mind, I have done so many times, but Octoberfest has, at last, made me slow down enough to do so for real.

 

[acnomad]

"Good Morning St. Charles": Amazing color composition, the way the sunrise sticks to the mobiles. Wowza!

"Wingspan": To tell the truth, my first guess was a granite artificial hip. Very cool picture.

Thanks, Chris. I guess I have only ever seen this as the full sculpture, but as shot, it certainly does look like that hip replacement that I fear I need!

 

[acnomad]

Nicely captured and the B&W conversion was a good choice.

Two more days to go! Well, three for some of us who are still pondering what to shoot.

Thanks, Paul. The home stretch looms before us. My stamina wanes...

 

[acnomad]

Bam! Well done.

Thanks, Wade.

 

[acnomad]

That is a big cork, even though I am used to a sort of tomatoes called 'micro cherry'... here, itvis a big cork!

Good recovery on a photographically first lazy day!

I like it being in colors, but as mentioned, the tree should have listened and moved a bit to the right for the shot
It gained by cropping away...

As Nick said... Even the clouds c-ooperated! A Stunner!

Oh, stacking, so much learnt! Thanks for the description and idea!

That is amazingly close. Nice self portrait in his eye!

I habe been told to be creative this October, but the same is true about you! Such a wide variety of shots, and persistance and will to get something new every day!

I love the jumping bouncing droplets.

Again, much learned! Wonderful. How big's that knight, actually?

Wow @ light! And the artwork.

Yes you say it right, here we shifted weather and temperature especially, and time also! It got hard from one day to the next, nearly impossible to go outside and shoot after work.
I like 'wingspan'as title and as an image, and...

Yes!

Thanks for catching up Roland. Your feedback and expertise are most valuable! To answer your question about the knight, it is a standard chess piece for an 18-inch board, approximately 2.75 inches in height.

 

[acnomad]

30. Peacock

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[NEF Said]

30. Peacock
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Wonderful contrast with the feathers Andy! The B&W treatment is perfect. The only critique I have is that it would have been nice to capture the top of the peacock, if possible.

Edit: Looks like my ipad was not displaying the image completely and it looked like top was clipped off. On desktop, it looks great!

 

[Palouse]

Love day 30: a 2-tone peacock, such perfect conversion.

 

[Chris101]

That is one magnificent bird Andy! There were peacocks where I used to live - they got me up in time for work (much better than the roosters by the way) and would parade around between the yards. If there were females (or even pigeons) around, they'd display their tail feathers, which was always worth the price of waiting. Cool picture!

 

[Commodorefirst]

Great conversion for day 30. It is difficult to convert bird images to BW because of the intricacies of feathers. I have done many and they can be tough. Well done!

 

[Kry27]

This is a wonderful idea also, a shot not many would think of doing in BW. Bravo!

 

[acnomad]

Wonderful contrast with the feathers Andy! The B&W treatment is perfect. The only critique I have is that it would have been nice to capture the top of the peacock, if possible.

Edit: Looks like my ipad was not displaying the image completely and it looked like top was clipped off. On desktop, it looks great!

Thanks, Paul.

 

[acnomad]

Love day 30: a 2-tone peacock, such perfect conversion.

Thanks, Nick. The lighting was odd, so the B&W conversion seemed like the right play.

 

[acnomad]

That is one magnificent bird Andy! There were peacocks where I used to live - they got me up in time for work (much better than the roosters by the way) and would parade around between the yards. If there were females (or even pigeons) around, they'd display their tail feathers, which was always worth the price of waiting. Cool picture!

Thanks, Chris. I spent only 20 minutes or so shooting, and although there were peahens present none of the peacocks obliged with a display of tailfeathers. As I grew tired of mosquito bites and hungry for dinner, I decided it was time to settle for what I had.

 

[acnomad]

Great conversion for day 30. It is difficult to convert bird images to BW because of the intricacies of feathers. I have done many and they can be tough. Well done!

Thank you, Wade. It did take quite a few local adjustments to post process this image, and I'm glad you approve of the result. Fortunately for my "short focal length manual focus Octoberfest conditions," peacocks move slowly enough and are relatively unafraid of people.

 

[acnomad]

This is a wonderful idea also, a shot not many would think of doing in BW. Bravo!

Thanks, Roland. It seemed like the right move in post, but I can't pretend that I saw it that way at the time of capture.

 

[acnomad]

With no particular theme for my Octoberfest 2019 thread, I set out only to produce one decent image per day. This left me without a clear idea for image #31. Come to think of it, that was the case at the start of most of my days in October!

This morning, I happened to be in a place where lawns are still being watered, unlike back home where grass is going dormant for the winter. So, I thought it would be appropriate to end with an image that represents not the end, but a beginning.

Thank you all for a wonderful month. I have been inspired by your work, learned from your critique, and lifted by your praise.

31. A New Day

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[Palouse]

Great shot to end the month with--a beginning eh, so we'll see you back next year

Thanks for the great encouragement, the attention to detail and the sheer diversity of your images. I wish I had half your discipline.

 

[NEF Said]

With no particular theme for my Octoberfest 2019 thread, I set out only to produce one decent image per day. This left me without a clear idea for image #31. Come to think of it, that was the case at the start of most of my days in October!

This morning, I happened to be in a place where lawns are still being watered, unlike back home where grass is going dormant for the winter. So, I thought it would be appropriate to end with an image that represents not the end, but a beginning.

Thank you all for a wonderful month. I have been inspired by your work, learned from your critique, and lifted by your praise.

31. A New Day
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Well done shot, both in composition and execution. Great set of images from you this year Andy!