[MossyRocks]

Only for me to get bored, stand up, and realise they had gathered literally 20m behind me... And for them not notice me and promptly run off!

At least I got some fresh air, and a chance to lie on the ground for two hours. I have the best hobbies.

Sounds like far too many hunting seasons for me.

[cprobertson1]

Sounds like far too many hunting seasons for me.

Haha! I can see the similarities! I'm actually impressed they snuck on on me - I have no idea how they got around the back of me. My only guess is that they came across the motorway - which isn't that far fetched (in fact, they may even have taken the underpass/storm drain). The other option is that they walked within 3m of me, and ignored my feet sticking out from under the blanket.

I can see it now!
"Hey, John*, is that a human hiding under a blanket?"
"Yes... yes it is... we'd better be quiet in case we scare off whatever he's waiting for!"

*John Doe. Get it?

It was actually weirdly relaxing - the smell of the grass and the earth - the sound of the birds and the wind in the grass - snuggled up for warmth under that wool blanket as the light slowly faded...

I think I'll get some camouflaged netting for future - that way I can make a simple hide and get comfy. Well...Comfier. I don't think "comfy" and "lying in a bush" are concepts that pair together particularly well! Nothing too complex - sit a tarp down, wool blanket for warmth and to hide my face and hands, netting draped over the top - and if it rains I can wrap myself up in the tarp and blanket like a big bivouac burrito.

I'll hopefully make a late submission for the critters... it's a nice excuse to get out of the house for a bit.

---

Week: №12
Duration:2020/04/14--2020/04/20



Subject: SUNLIGHT AND SHADOWS
Focus on: DIAGONALS
Style: DOCUMENTARIAN
Optional Challenge: Contrast - Focus on contrast in your composition

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This week's challenge will use SUNLIGHT AND SHADOWS as the subject matter, with a focus on the concept of DIAGONALS in a DOCUMENTARIAN style.

---

The optional challenge is: Contrast - Focus on contrast in your composition

All images you take must emphasise contrast. Either:
A) for each subject take multiple shots from different angles to both emphasise AND understate contrast.

--OR--

B) Alternate between high- and low-contrast shots for the duration of your journey.

(The purpose of this is to encourage photographers to appreciate and understand the role of contrast in their composition.)

[savoche]

Subject: SUNLIGHT AND SHADOWS
Focus on: DIAGONALS
Style: DOCUMENTARIAN

I took this a few weeks ago, but I think it fits quite well with this week's keywords The sunlight is diffused thanks to the cloud cover, but still creates shadows (and more shade, I guess). The diagonals are obviously there in this, umm, documentation of the skylight jambs. Yes, that's it...

[cprobertson1]

I love the composition! It's very simple but the receding thicknesses of the lines paired with that super smooth gradient and high contrast... Love it!

... I wonder if you could sell/license that, actually - that's the sort of image I can see in a modern household or coffee shop: like, imagine you walked into an Ikea showroom and saw that sitting above the 'soffa' - you could even call it "savoche" and nobody would even bat an eyelid!

Heck, if I had a fancier living room, I'd pay for a large print of that! My living room isn't even half as cool as that though!

---

I'm not actually sure what I'm going to do for this one. I'm thinking of finding a metal railing or fence and see if I can get nice hard, linear shadows off it. If at an angle to the fence AND to the shadow, I should be able to get a composition featuring a moire pattern with the shadows crisscrossing with the vertical lines of the fence.

Actually, come to think of it, that would probably need to be the verticals of a metal fence - railing would be too short to get the shadow AND the railing to fill the composition without distortion being a problem. There's a metal fence right beside my work... 50mm prime lens should sort that right out, might need to stop down to get the DoF though. Let's see... I want the shadow from the south-west-west, which works out at... boom, not long after I finish work... and the weather tomorrow evening is... possibly overcast. Right, I had better come up with a plan-B in case the weather takes a turn... as it usually does!

^^ Me thinking aloud - explaining the shot helps me think about aspects that I can't really see in my mental model of the shot, which entails more of the end result, not how I get to it. Try it yourself! The next time you plan a shot, explain what you want to achieve to somebody, how you'll achieve it, step-by-step, and see if you spot any problems in your thinking that you otherwise wouldn't have came across until you got there and tried taking the shot in-person. It works for many things, actually. Of course, the end-goal is to get in the mindset of instinctively thinking this way, rather than using the "describe it to someone" model to structure your thoughts. One step at a time (on a never-ending path)

[savoche]

Thanks, glad you like it, but I'm not much of a salesman. I've sold exactly one image, and that was not at all my initiative. It did pay for the GR that shot it, though.

Not sure I'll print it, either. It would empty the black cartridges right away

As for planning shots, I'm not very good at that. I'm sure I could improve with more practice, but the time and effort needed combined with the disappointment when I fail to get the shot... I much prefer to go out without too much planning and get pleasantly surprised when I get back with something usable! Your "describe it to someone" approach is a good one, though, for this and for most kinds of problem solving. It happens all the time at work; I descriibe the problem to a colleague and often discover the solution in the process. And as I read somewhere, photography is problem solving.

[MossyRocks]

Not sure I'll print it, either. It would empty the black cartridges right away

I believe that is why you have others print it for you then the ink problem becomes their problem. That is actually a big reason I went with a laser printer for home printing of documents and outsourcing photo printing. Add in that I don't have to worry about toner drying up, greater number of pages per toner cartridge and that toner and ink cartridges aren't that different in cost per cartridge and it became an easy choice.

I took this a few weeks ago, but I think it fits quite well with this week's keywords

I like it. A very minimalist feel too it almost bordering on abstract.

[cprobertson1]

"Minimalist"! That was the word I was looking for!

[savoche]

I believe that is why you have others print it for you then the ink problem becomes their problem. That is actually a big reason I went with a laser printer for home printing of documents and outsourcing photo printing. Add in that I don't have to worry about toner drying up, greater number of pages per toner cartridge and that toner and ink cartridges aren't that different in cost per cartridge and it became an easy choice.

Yes, indeed all good points. I have several reasons for doing my own prints, but economy is not one of them! Using a lab is definitely less expensive. And yes, I have a laser printer for documents. Using photo grade ink for that makes for bloody expensive documents.

But to list a few reasons for printing at home:
- It's fun. I see it as just another part of my hobby.
- I hardly ever got around to order prints from a lab. Now at least I make prints.
- Emmediacy; I can make prints when I need them, no need to plan ahead.
- Control of the entire process. I know proper labs share their colour profiles, but there aren't many of them around here.

Still, the sensible thing would be to let others do my prints - but I'm not always sensible

I like it. A very minimalist feel too it almost bordering on abstract.

"Minimalist"! That was the word I was looking for!

Thanks, yes, I tend to like minimalist photos. When done right they can be very effective. I think hunting for minimalism can be a good way of learning, too; composition, isolation, getting more attentive to what you don't want in the frame.

[cprobertson1]

Sounds like far too many hunting seasons for me.

Well, here I am! It's a self-portrait I took with my phone on a tripod.

Not bad for a blanket and some sticks - sure, it won't stand up to scrutiny... for starters, the garnish is way too thin near the front, but it certainly fools the casual observer!

On the other hand, I failed to find any deer. I spent two hours forty minutes under that blanket, and all I managed to do was scare the bejesus out of a fox.

---

I also failed to take the shot of the fence-shadows like I was intending because I forgot the camera on Thursday, and then again on Friday. I will, however, with any luck, make a late submission tomorrow for that. I'll give up on this one if I don't manage it - I have a sort of relevant photo I took last week that I can use, though it's not quite as on-the-subject as I'd like!

---

Week: №13
Duration:2020/04/20--2020/04/26



Subject: LUSHNESS
Focus on: DISENCHANTMENT
Style: VINTAGE
Optional Challenge: Contrast - Focus on contrast in your composition

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This week's challenge will use LUSHNESS as the subject matter, with a focus on the concept of DISENCHANTMENT in a VINTAGE style.

---

The optional challenge is: Contrast - Focus on contrast in your composition

All images you take must emphasise contrast. Either:
A) for each subject take multiple shots from different angles to both emphasise AND understate contrast.

--OR--

B) Alternate between high- and low-contrast shots for the duration of your journey.

(The purpose of this is to encourage photographers to appreciate and understand the role of contrast in their composition.)

[Wasp]

Lush garden, disenchanted young lady, vintage style, plenty of contrast.

[cprobertson1]

That's a gorgeous locale - I could have some real fun in that garden! All those angles and contrasts - that's the kind of place I'd love to take my camera, and sit down mid-shoot under a tree for lunch with a book (well, kindle... I hate taking books out the house as they always get roughed up during transport!)

[cprobertson1]

After bumbling three miles along a deer trail doing my best to sound like a deer... as you do... I came across this...

It was nearly a picture of a rancid puddle-ditch-thing hiding amongst some trees, but I liked this more



--EDIT--

Might have benefited from a shallower DoF. Oh well!

I might pop back over to it the next time I'm out - it wasn't too hard to get to.

[cprobertson1]

Week: №14
Duration:2020/04/27--2020/05/03



Subject: WRITING
Focus on: IMPRESSIONIST
Style: ABSTRACT
Optional Challenge: DoF - Focus on the Depth-of-Field (DoF) when shooting

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This week's challenge will use WRITING as the subject matter, with a focus on the concept of IMPRESSIONIST in an ABSTRACT style.

---

The optional challenge is: DoF - Focus on the Depth-of-Field (DoF) when shooting

All photos you take must emphasise the Depth-of-Field. Either:
A) Every time you shoot, take 2-3 shots of the same subject with different DoF (short/long, and optionally somewhere intermediate).

--OR--

B) For the first third of your journey, use a short DoF; for the second third, use an intermediate DoF; and for the final third, use a long DoF. Take at least ten shots at each setting.

Using your Camera's Aperture-Priority Mode (usually marked 'A') is advisable.

(The purpose of this is to reinforce practical understanding of the aperture corner of the exposure triangle.)

[Wasp]

That's a gorgeous locale - I could have some real fun in that garden! All those angles and contrasts - that's the kind of place I'd love to take my camera, and sit down mid-shoot under a tree for lunch with a book (well, kindle... I hate taking books out the house as they always get roughed up during transport!)

It is at a shop/restaurant complex in Meerhof, South Africa. There is food store and a book store.

Jasmyn Plaasprodukte in Meerhof, North West Province

[cprobertson1]

It is at a shop/restaurant complex in Meerhof, South Africa. There is food store and a book store.

Jasmyn Plaasprodukte in Meerhof, North West Province

WHAT!?!?! That's crazy!

It doesn't look even half as appealing on google maps - I think it must be older imagery they've used, or it looks completely different during the drier seasons.

Man, I was not expecting that to be part of a farmer's market/outlet sort of place! I like it! This is a good world!

--EDIT--
PS - I can't find any other good photos of it online, so either my google-fu has failed, or there's a chance you actually have the best publically available photo of the gardens there!