Patti hosts this weeks challenge and asks us to use compositional tips to improve our images. The tips and full challenge details are outlined in her original challenge post which you can find here.
We’ve just returned from a holiday where my camera has been really busy. Having returned on Friday I shot a wedding yesterday so there’s no way I’ll get out this week to shoot new images for the challenge. What I can do is use some of the images from yesterday, and last week, to fit some of the tips in Patti’s post.
The old port lighthouse with three small tenders moored up nearby. If the boats had been more interesting I’d have walked around and made them the main subject, rather than the lighthouse.
Tina has set this weeks challenge – The rule of three.The rule of threes depicts images which contain three subjects. This is a lesser-known photographic concept but perhaps one worthy of further exploration.
I have to say this was a new rule for me. I can’t say I’ve ever deliberately taken a picture with this rule in mind, up until today that is. I could say that I’ve tried to shoot still life subjects, like food, in a triangle around the frame. That very loosely follows the same concept but the objects in those triangles can be very different things and not obviously three distinct items.
We’re currently on holiday in Rethymno, Crete, Greece. So without access to my portfolio at home I went out for a walk this morning and tried to find groups three to photograph for the challenge. Like last weeks Lens Artist tasking, it was another interesting photographic exercise. I’ve ended up with a few images I’m pleased with that I wouldn’t normally have shot. It’s one reason I love Lens Artists, I’m thinking differently and shooting images I wouldn’t shoot – last week and today are two great examples.
I’m typing on an iPad, which is painful, so without further ado here are my challenge images, all shot in Rethymno today…
Colourful rustic chairs outside a local restaurant.Terracotta plant pots on some colourful stepsThree small windows in a building located in the towns old fortress.A colourful window display. By now I was starting to realise I was just photographing other people’s ideas for groups of three 😎I got a bit more creative with this intersection of three roofs.I did create this group of three and tried to tell a little story with them. They’re take away coffee cups from a local cafe we’ve been visiting. I’ve loads more to collect 😃
Thank you to Tina for hosting and setting another challenging challenge. It’s proper ‘SCHORCHIO’ here so I’m getting back on the sun bed now. I’ll leave you with a lovely sunset shot from last night.
Our trusty, old, metal watering can. Shot with a vintage Canon FD 55mm f1.2. I shot the rose at f1.2 to give that really shallow depth of field. I always wanted a lens for portraits with a really shallow depth of field. This lens is perfect for that and it’s very sharp as well.
Egidio sets this weeks challenge. his original challenge post is here. To quote from Egidio’s post, these are the rules for the ‘Stuck in a Place’ challenge:
This image is similar to the scene in the film ‘Gladiator’ where Russell Crowe returns to his small holding. It’s not Russell Crowe in this image, it’s my wife, Linda, and there’s no bad news at the end of this track. However both and Russell were doing the same thing, reaching out to feel the texture of the wheat.
Anne has set this weeks Lens Artist Challenge. Anne has asked us to show images where texture plays an integral part. Here original challenge post can be found here: Lens Artist Challenge #397: Texture
This is a view across to San Gimignano, Tuscany Italy from our accommodation. I’ve used the vineyard adjoining our property for some foreground interest. The middle ground is the view across the valley, filled with olive groves and more vineyards. The focal point is the background, wonderful San Gimignano.Continue reading →
A Flamingo. It’s strange converting this because it really is all about the colour with these wonderful birds. That said I like it in monochrome.
Egidio hosts this weeks challenge and, if I have this right, he would like us to post black and white images that contain a subject, that we know so well, we can replace the missing colour. His original challenge post is here.
A flower on a Ribes shrub growing in a cottage garden we passed
A sudden spell of good weather has brought our local woodland and gardens to life over the past week or so. The weather here, in the South West of England, has been very wet but mild over the winter. So there have been no hard frosts to kill off delicate plants or hold things back.
So, having successfully opened up a Helios 44-2 and reversed the front element using a newly purchased lens spanner (blogged here), I decided to attack another couple of lenses this week. Things went pretty well initially but, I learnt a tough lesson through inexperience with these older lenses.
Dogs have no trouble relaxing most of the time. My dog is the really lazy hound in the background. The dog in the foreground is her brother, who belongs to my sister.
Anne hosts this weeks challenge which is themed on ‘Time to relax’. My personal routines for relaxing revolve around photography, walking and visiting new places. Nothing particularly special to share with you all so I thought I’d post a few images that fit the theme. You can view Annes original post here.
An early shot with the modified lens. I took the lens out with us to grab some shots this morning but we were unlucky with the weather and walked straight into a monsoon like squall. Thinking of my wife and dogs welfare I agreed to put the camera away and go for a coffee until the squall blew through. I know, I’m a good guy. Actually, the truth of the matter is I was more worried about getting my vintage lens and Sony A7 wet!!
Having scoured so many vintage lens blogs and watched hours of vintage lens YouTube videos over the last few months, I was aware that lens elements could be reversed to achieve some quirky effects. It was something I hadn’t considered trying until I stumbled across Nadin Thomsons wonderful photography blog site. Here’s a link to Nadins site, it’s well worth making a visit – nadinthomson.co.uk
Steve Hyde 