David's Project 365

[Mike Farley]

Corrected.

edit: at least, I've made the link valid now but because the fun police at RBS blacklist youtube I can't be 100% certain it works. Should do though.

Just checked the link and it works now. Let's hope WebSense never cottons on to all the dubious stuff which we are posting on this forum and blocks it on aesthetic grounds.

[Paul Heester]

Wow, this is impressive. You have some amazing original ideas, your head must be swirling with imagination Love the video clip also.

Something I'd wanted to try for ages but needed to have plenty of time to make sure I could clean up any mess

Turns out it's really quick and easy to do. Just put newspaper down! Now I have a new work of art to put on the wall!

I also created a timelapse video showing me create it - check it out here:

http://youtu.be/NTNjSD_9v0E


Strobist -
YN560-II right on 1/128th power
YN460 left on lowest power (presumably 1/128th but it's not nicely marked!)
Both at 45 degrees to camera pointing at canvas directly approx 1m away. Damn hard to light this in a way that didn't give loads of weird highlights!

[davidc]

thanks
I have an insane number of ideas but realising them is the hard part, not even accounting for time. I just need willing models and assistants

[davidc]

Today was the very definition of a challenging day for photography. Even ignoring work

1) It was absolutely, unrelentingly, pissing it down. Very soggy indeed!
2) It was also cold and windy. Or rather... VERY WINDY!
3) My 10-22mm lens has developed a fault and can only focus at 22mm, meaning I'm locked into a SINGLE focal length for the entire shoot.

Not to mention the site is a good 35 minute walk from the nearest Tube station to get to/from. In an area of London I've never been before.

This is intended to be the first in a series of shots of the modern London skyline. It dawned on me I have these wonderful scenes which all to often are frequently ruined by the weather. However, I like this blue-steel look so I'm embarking on a project to catalogue the best of London views, images and skylines with this as an underlying theme.

Definitely interested to hear what people think!


Beneath a Steel Sky I - Canary Wharf by cedarsphoto, on Flickr

[Peter Boughton]

I like the effect here, but think it would benefit from increased contrast - maybe using histogram/curves or clarity.

Some club judges would comment about the perspective not being corrected (the tall building on the right seems to be leaning slightly?), but others wouldn't care.

[Mike Farley]

An striking effect, although by doing a series you will be dependent on variation within the structures to maintain interest. You will need to experiment to see if it works with older buildings, which might not suit a blue/grey colouring. I am thinking about the classical architecture at Greenwich, for example. For this shot, I hesitate to say it as you and I have been down this road before, but cropping some of the water to make it more of a panoramic might have helped.

[davidc]

A bit behind on this, I've got two shots done (Sun/Mon) but seriously lacking inspiration and work has blown up in my face. I'm resolving to get into work early enough to leave in time to attend tomorrow's lecture though.

Thankfully I have a holiday coming soon

[davidc]

I like the effect here, but think it would benefit from increased contrast - maybe using histogram/curves or clarity.

Some club judges would comment about the perspective not being corrected (the tall building on the right seems to be leaning slightly?), but others wouldn't care.

Clarity was at 85% and I tweaked the curve as high as I dare which resulted in this. Normally I agree that mono/duo-tone benefits from high contrast but after fiddling with that I ended up with something I preferred

The building on the right - got the ruler out and it does have a tiny lean to the left. Personally I don't think it's overly noticeable but I'll try putting it back into photoshop to see if it improves it.

An striking effect, although by doing a series you will be dependent on variation within the structures to maintain interest. You will need to experiment to see if it works with older buildings, which might not suit a blue/grey colouring. I am thinking about the classical architecture at Greenwich, for example. For this shot, I hesitate to say it as you and I have been down this road before, but cropping some of the water to make it more of a panoramic might have helped.

Never hesitate to say it, the worst I'll do is disagree with you
I considered it but liked the texture in the water (different as it is to the sky) but maybe I could lose a bit off the bottom. That would move the horizon up off the third though and centre it?

However I think I may have dust on my sensor, or perhaps it's just raindrops on the CPL filter I used - in the water there's a smudge in the shadow of the building to the right and there were a couple in the clouds I cloned out. Think I need to check how my sensor is looking just in case.

Thanks for the comments. I actually prefer it when people say "hmm I don't like this/prefer that/have you considered this" because it means I then consider it too, or get to justify the decision. Something you don't get a chance to do in competitions

[davidc]

Crikey, someone has approached me with a view of licensing and using that picture for their music album cover
Not entirely sure what to do now!

[Mike Farley]

Not entirely sure what to do now!

Agree a fee with them!

Make sure that you are clear what you are selling. It would be better to sell rights for a specific purpose rather than copyright. Is it a non exclusive one time use for the album cover only or will there be other uses such as t-shirts? Does the client want exclusive use, either forever or for a limited period? All these things will have an impact on the final price.

Do you know their budget, so that you do not pitch too low initially? That could depend on how well known the band is.

What are the payment arrangements? Make sure that you have at least an agreement in writing before handing the file over. Payment might well be on deferred terms, in which case your invoice should clearly state by when it should be paid, e.g. 30 days from date.

No doubt all this stuff and more is on the Internet.