Critique Connie's (Clix Pix) 52 Week Project 2020 ------ AND IT'S A WRAP!!!! 53 WEEKS DONE!!!!

[Clix Pix]

Connie, you probably should edit the title of your post to say, Week 2. And get rid of (COMPLETED) . We'd all like you around for 50 more weeks, and then some

Those are the images from Week 1. I have shot, but not yet posted any of the images I've been doing this second week.....after messing up last week I want to wait until the last day of Week 2 to post anything new. I'm going by the calendar, with the first week ending on January 7th, second week ending on January 14th, etc., etc.....so will be posting new images for the just-passed week on Tuesdays.

Ah, I didn't think about the fact that I'd said "COMPLETED" being confusing to people! Oh, yeah, you guys are stuck with me for the duration, all 52 (or is it 53?) weeks of this year! I only meant that the first week was completed, no more images being added to it, not that I was dropping out of doing this!

 

[Clix Pix]

OK, rather than waiting until tomorrow to share this past week's results, I'm posting four images today:

This one is a new and improved version of one I posted on the "Transitions" thread in the Collective Shoot. I chose an image that had been shot just a couple of moments prior to the one that was in the
CC, as the light was a little better, not quite as dark yet, and also I spent some time working with the DXO Prime noise removal tool, which now that I have discovered it, is amazing!

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Last winter and again this winter we have had some resident Hooded Mergansers, and I've been fascinated by them. Usually I haven't been able to get decent shots because they are skittish and go racing away when they sense potential danger. One reason I wanted that 200-600mm lens is to see if I would have better luck capturing images of these guys. Finally one day we had sunshine and decent weather and I went out on the deck with the new lens in hand. I was surprised that the little guys didn't immediately go swimming off, but instead remained where they were, pretty much in front of me and in the middle of the lake. Nonetheless they were still a challenge and I did have to do some cropping, but at least with the A7R IV and this new lens I got much better results than I ever had previously.

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One day last week which was cold and icky I spent indoors and that is the time to pull out the macro lens and start experimenting. The flower with which the leaves came had already seen better days but the leaves looked pretty good so I pulled out the light box and had some fun. I love the results one can get when shooting something from underneath it, and in this case, by actually putting the leaf directly on the light source.

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Yesterday's warm weather was a real gift, and we all enjoyed it -- humans and geese! I spent a happy hour and a half or so out on the boardwalk with the 135mm and the geese, who at times were really close as they were feeding. I got a couple of fun shots of heads dunking into the water and emerging from the water, but this image is the one which stands out to me because of that water drop and the reflection.....

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[kilofoxtrott]

OK, rather than waiting until tomorrow to share this past week's results, I'm posting four images today:

This one is a new and improved version of one I posted on the "Transitions" thread in the Collective Shoot. I chose an image that had been shot just a couple of moments prior to the one that was in the
CC, as the light was a little better, not quite as dark yet, and also I spent some time working with the DXO Prime noise removal tool, which now that I have discovered it, is amazing!


View attachment 1653365


Last winter and again this winter we have had some resident Hooded Mergansers, and I've been fascinated by them. Usually I haven't been able to get decent shots because they are skittish and go racing away when they sense potential danger. One reason I wanted that 200-600mm lens is to see if I would have better luck capturing images of these guys. Finally one day we had sunshine and decent weather and I went out on the deck with the new lens in hand. I was surprised that the little guys didn't immediately go swimming off, but instead remained where they were, pretty much in front of me and in the middle of the lake. Nonetheless they were still a challenge and I did have to do some cropping, but at least with the A7R IV and this new lens I got much better results than I ever had previously.

View attachment 1653367


One day last week which was cold and icky I spent indoors and that is the time to pull out the macro lens and start experimenting. The flower with which the leaves came had already seen better days but the leaves looked pretty good so I pulled out the light box and had some fun. I love the results one can get when shooting something from underneath it, and in this case, by actually putting the leaf directly on the light source.


View attachment 1653366

Yesterday's warm weather was a real gift, and we all enjoyed it -- humans and geese! I spent a happy hour and a half or so out on the boardwalk with the 135mm and the geese, who at times were really close as they were feeding. I got a couple of fun shots of heads dunking into the water and emerging from the water, but this image is the one which stands out to me because of that water drop and the reflection.....

View attachment 1653368

Wow, Connie - the leaf with it's structures is extraordinaire!

Great series
Klaus

 

[Clix Pix]

Thanks, Klaus! Light boxes can come in handy for such shots as they really bring out the detail.

 

[Palouse]

THat green leaf is so soothing a color.
The water drop shot is going to bug me for ever—come on goose, wipe your bill!

 

[Clix Pix]

LOL! I don't know how they can stand that, something suspended and then finally dripping from their beaks.... A friend who saw the goose photo commented that he looked as though he had a bad cold and a runny nose! LOL! Geese really are rather messy, I noticed as I was watching them dunking and diving for morsels of food, then coming up with their heads soaked and dripping, and for a while after the water still dripping from their beaks.... You'd think they'd want to shake it off!

The green in that leaf is such a wonderfully refreshing color right now when much of the outside world in North America, the UK and Europe is grey or brown or in some areas of the country, white.....

 

[Palouse]

some areas of the country, white.....

White is gorgeous, and cold and white even better (16F here)

 

[Clix Pix]

Brrrrrr!!!! I am perfectly happy with the 50-degree weather we've got here (at least for the time being; Saturday we may have a "wintry event," with a mixture of snow, sleet, rain, etc.).

 

[Gordo]

Love the leaf shot Connie.

 

[Clix Pix]

Thank you, Gordon! Earlier in the autumn I had tried something similar with a reddish leaf I picked up, but it wasn't as effective for some reason -- probably because it was somewhat dried out having fallen off the tree earlier, and the colors just were not as vivid. I much prefer the liveliness of this bright green leaf!

 

[BillM]

The leaf with the detail of the veins is beautiful! But the buildings, water and moon really is my favorite of this week..

Very Nice Connie!

 

[Clix Pix]

Thanks, Bill! The water, moon and buildings as darkness was falling is definitely my favorite shot of Week 2. Week 3 is about to be revealed once I process the last images that I shot just a little while ago. I had shot some earlier today and while they were OK, it really wasn't quite what I was hoping to get, so shot a few more..... Week 3 results will be along either tonight or tomorrow.

 

[Clix Pix]

OK, folks, here we go with what I shot in Week 3..... As you'll see, I was trying something new in terms of macro and abstracts but also still appreciating my birdies......

First up, the Brown Hooded Mergansers. I haven't yet figured out if they're females while the black-and-white ones are males or if they're two different types of Hooded Mergansers...... This was kind of a "grab shot" when I caught them in good light.

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I've always been fascinated by those wonderful photos we see of drops and reflections in the drops, so this week after obtaining a bottle of glycerine I set out to explore the possibilities. Heh, it's harder than it seems! One has to be careful that the drops don't drip so fast that they aren't there for the image and also that whatever is being reflected is OK, and not showing something unwanted. This was the result of my first attempts.

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The other day when at the grocery store I bought something which will eventually prove to be useful around the house but in the meantime my first thought was, "hey, this could be fun to shoot!" and I dropped it into the shopping cart. Experimented with it and, yep, had a lot of fun. This was the best of the images that resulted.....

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In an abstract frame of mind..... I've had this thing a long time and when doing some cleaning-out of a drawer the other day, ran across it and thought, "oh, yeah...." So spent a little time with it under natural lighting in "Studio A," which is my bedroom with the wonderful windows that allow in lots of sunshine and bright light -- perfect when I then at times use the dresser that sits under those windows as my work surface for positioning small subjects.

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So while I was in "Studio A" this afternoon, I did some shots with a different subject and while they are OK, they really were not quite what I wanted, so later today I went to "Studio B," which is my dining table with space for various props and lighting sources as needed..... Spent another hour or so shooting again and in the end, this was the result with which I am most happy:

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.....And that's it for Week 3!!

 

[BillM]

Wow, you have been busy in your studios Connie!

Of these, #5 is my favorite. Very nicely done!

 

[Clix Pix]

Thanks, Bill! Yeah, Number 5 is also definitely my favorite, too. I was really pleased when reviewing the images in the computer -- this one just jumped right out at me and I said, "oh, YEAH.....!!!" It is so much fun really getting back into macro again, as it has been rather a while.

 

[Palouse]

Colors and mystery make for some great shots.

 

[urbanflyer]

Looks like you are having fun with great results!

 

[kilofoxtrott]

OK, folks, here we go with what I shot in Week 3..... As you'll see, I was trying something new in terms of macro and abstracts but also still appreciating my birdies......

First up, the Brown Hooded Mergansers. I haven't yet figured out if they're females while the black-and-white ones are males or if they're two different types of Hooded Mergansers...... This was kind of a "grab shot" when I caught them in good light.

View attachment 1653958

I've always been fascinated by those wonderful photos we see of drops and reflections in the drops, so this week after obtaining a bottle of glycerine I set out to explore the possibilities. Heh, it's harder than it seems! One has to be careful that the drops don't drip so fast that they aren't there for the image and also that whatever is being reflected is OK, and not showing something unwanted. This was the result of my first attempts.

View attachment 1653959

The other day when at the grocery store I bought something which will eventually prove to be useful around the house but in the meantime my first thought was, "hey, this could be fun to shoot!" and I dropped it into the shopping cart. Experimented with it and, yep, had a lot of fun. This was the best of the images that resulted.....

View attachment 1653960

In an abstract frame of mind..... I've had this thing a long time and when doing some cleaning-out of a drawer the other day, ran across it and thought, "oh, yeah...." So spent a little time with it under natural lighting in "Studio A," which is my bedroom with the wonderful windows that allow in lots of sunshine and bright light -- perfect when I then at times use the dresser that sits under those windows as my work surface for positioning small subjects.

View attachment 1653961

So while I was in "Studio A" this afternoon, I did some shots with a different subject and while they are OK, they really were not quite what I wanted, so later today I went to "Studio B," which is my dining table with space for various props and lighting sources as needed..... Spent another hour or so shooting again and in the end, this was the result with which I am most happy:

View attachment 1653962

.....And that's it for Week 3!!

Connie, am I right? Picture #3 shows pasta?

Great images
Klaus

 

[Clix Pix]

Thank you, All!

Klaus, nope, Image Number 3 is not pasta! I can see why you thought so, though...... Actually, no food is involved in any of the photos. Rather than make everyone try to figure out what the two mystery items are, I'll do the big reveal, as neither of them is something which would easily be guessed or identified. Number three is actually a bright yellow mini-plunger, which is used to plunge out kitchen and bathroom sinks -- a smaller, prettier version of the large toilet plungers with which we are all familiar. I don't have any need for it for its intended purpose, just immediately saw it as a potential photographic subject because of its shape and curves. The other object? Ah, something which is out of context but had intriguing possibilities when I first purchased it a few years ago.....a reflector which shines at night when lights catch it. .

 

[Clix Pix]

And here we go with Week 4's images!

I'm not the only one who likes to take photos of our resident geese:

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We've had a lot of cloudy, cold, yucky days lately so I decided to brighten things up a bit:

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Who's That Looking Back at Me?

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One of my first shots with my new 85mm f/1.8 lens:

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Inspired by an abstract in another thread, I decided it was time to play again with my iPhone and the slow-shutter app and have some fun with ICM (Intentional Camera Movement). The iPhone works really nicely for this, as it is much easier to handle than the camera.

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