Fortnightly Challenge - Jan 10 thru Jan 21 - Topic: Mechanical

[Maxxamillian]

I wanted to move Maxx's bike out of the racing environment. I took some photos of downtown Tacoma at an angle that would not mess the of feel perspective. It's a lot of free style stuff that I get into when working a difficult assignment, so it would be pointless to post a screenshot of my layers. I know what I did, but it's hard to explain...😀
I know you can't pop a wheelie on a damp street, but it didn't look right with both wheels on the street. Compromise.

Dale
(I changed my mind)

Well done😀 Have been completely swamped and none of it has been mechanical 🙁 Some great / fun work going on this thread...

 

[Chappers]

Do we think the editing of other peoples photos worked? Or did the thread get too cluttered with editing and not enough challenge stuff?

Simon

 

[Designer Dale]

Do we think the editing of other peoples photos worked? Or did the thread get too cluttered with editing and not enough challenge stuff?

Simon

I feel that the PhotoShop part of the Challenge has caused some people to either misunderstand the topic or whatever (I lost my train of thought there). I like it when lots of folks post pictures, and that has not really been the case this time around. But it could be other things as well. The weather keeps a lot of us inside and the constant grey of the Pacific NorthWest dampens my creativity. Photo of the Day has been slow as well, so I don't know.

I have been flashing my PS chops with what I post this time and I don't know if that holds others back or not.

Mechanical things should be easy to shoot, but I keep thinking mechanical things to PhotoShop.

Dale

 

[Chappers]

I feel that the PhotoShop part of the Challenge has caused some people to either misunderstand the topic or whatever (I lost my train of thought there). I like it when lots of folks post pictures, and that has not really been the case this time around. But it could be other things as well. The weather keeps a lot of us inside and the constant grey of the Pacific NorthWest dampens my creativity. Photo of the Day has been slow as well, so I don't know.

I have been flashing my PS chops with what I post this time and I don't know if that holds others back or not.

Mechanical things should be easy to shoot, but I keep thinking mechanical things to PhotoShop.

Dale

That's what I'm curious about.

I don't think you flashing your skill in PS have put anyone off - I thought it was useful (increasing knowledge base etc) and getting a different perspective.

I was a bit against a theme in the first place for this challenge, I thought the concept could be the theme but it didn't seem popular. Maybe it needs its own thread.

PS - Dale - I noticed the TAR - are you in line for an iSlate?

 

[maddagascar]

 

[Chappers]

I tweaked it a little by straightening it, upping the red tint and warmth in iPhoto then distorted it to a bit in photoshop to straighten it a bit more. It still needs a little more but time is against me.
Lastly I cropped it to remove the lamp on the left.

 

[pdxflint]

Just an observation from someone who may be clueless... 😉

I do think the thread swung a bit into another realm, and for those who aren't either doing modifications to show their pp concepts or have a photo they want others to do post-processing experimentation, I think these people might feel they are slightly out of the loop, or are themselves actually off topic by just posting a shot... sometimes the conversation becomes limited to one or two original photos which are all being experimented on by others - kind of like the old thread where someone would offer RAW files for others to practice their HD magic on. We saw all kinds of variation on a few pics, but not a lot of original pics were submitted. I'd hazard a guess that the two types of threads, while both interesting, are quite different - thus contributions are down.

As I said, it's just an observation, and I could be very wrong here... (clueless?? 😉 )

BTW: I like the idea of this kind of thread, and want to encourage you guys to keep up with it. It's just that I do think the original concept gets lost, so maybe split it up into separate threads... or not.. 🙂

 

[Designer Dale]

<...>

PS - Dale - I noticed the TAR - are you in line for an iSlate?

What do you mean "in line"? Oh..Shouldn't of said that...😎

Just an observation from someone who may be clueless... 😉

I do think the thread swung a bit into another realm, and for those who aren't either doing modifications to show their pp concepts or have a photo they want others to do post-processing experimentation, I think these people might feel they are slightly out of the loop, or are themselves actually off topic by just posting a shot... sometimes the conversation becomes limited to one or two original photos which are all being experimented on by others - kind of like the old thread where someone would offer RAW files for others to practice their HD magic on. We saw all kinds of variation on a few pics, but not a lot of original pics were submitted. I'd hazard a guess that the two types of threads, while both interesting, are quite different - thus contributions are down.

As I said, it's just an observation, and I could be very wrong here... (clueless?? 😉 )

BTW: I like the idea of this kind of thread, and want to encourage you guys to keep up with it. It's just that I do think the original concept gets lost, so maybe split it up into separate threads... or not.. 🙂

You are never out of the loop. I agree with what you have to say. The thing I'm concerned with is that Fortnight Challenge is viewed as a Chappers/Deep Diver/Designer Dale club. That will kill it.

Dale

 

[deep diver]

You are never out of the loop. I agree with what you have to say. The thing I'm concerned with is that Fortnight Challenge is viewed as a Chappers/Deep Diver/Designer Dale club. That will kill it.

Dale

This is an interesting conversation. I would agree that we went with a good idea that just did not work as hoped. JDDavis and Maxx generally contribute. I would love to see more regular participation from John, someoldguy, designguy, Phrasikleia, and pdxflint. There are a lot of other folks out there as well. The other thing we see is someone posting one image and then disappearing without participating in the process. I'd really like to know why they aren't staying so that we can get this opened up more.

 

[Phrasikleia]

This is an interesting conversation. I would agree that we went with a good idea that just did not work as hoped. JDDavis and Maxx generally contribute. I would love to see more regular participation from John, someoldguy, designguy, Phrasikleia, and pdxflint. There are a lot of other folks out there as well. The other thing we see is someone posting one image and then disappearing without participating in the process. I'd really like to know why they aren't staying so that we can get this opened up more.

OK, here I am. 😉

Honestly, I'm a control freak and would be pretty uncomfortable passing off my photos to be 'shopped by everyone in a challenge thread. I realize that the instructions encourage people like me to post a photo and then include some text that the photo is not up for manipulation, but I would worry that the text might be overlooked--we all know that the level of reading comprehension on these forums isn't always very high. 😉

I really like the idea of the challenge thread and hope it continues, but I think the Photoshopping aspect might be better in a thread dedicated to it. Mixing it in with the challenge thread has muddied the waters quite a bit.

 

[maddagascar]

I tweaked it a little by straightening it, upping the red tint and warmth in iPhoto then distorted it to a bit in photoshop to straighten it a bit more. It still needs a little more but time is against me.
Lastly I cropped it to remove the lamp on the left.

sweeet!! thanks. see, i'm not good with editing as i don't have any photoshop software, soo i'm just stuck with taking basic photos and posting them. but you used iphoto. i'm gonna have to look into that and see what else i can mess with. any way you can send me the file for that? or will it be the same quality if i save it to my computer if i wanted to print it.

thanks!!

 

[designguy79]

This is an interesting conversation. I would agree that we went with a good idea that just did not work as hoped. JDDavis and Maxx generally contribute. I would love to see more regular participation from John, someoldguy, designguy, Phrasikleia, and pdxflint. There are a lot of other folks out there as well. The other thing we see is someone posting one image and then disappearing without participating in the process. I'd really like to know why they aren't staying so that we can get this opened up more.

I am behind with some projects but plan to participate as time permits! Keep up the good work.

 

[Chappers]

sweeet!! thanks. see, i'm not good with editing as i don't have any photoshop software, soo i'm just stuck with taking basic photos and posting them. but you used iphoto. i'm gonna have to look into that and see what else i can mess with. any way you can send me the file for that? or will it be the same quality if i save it to my computer if i wanted to print it.

thanks!!

I did use a bit of Photoshop too - but mostly iPhoto - which as a tool for quickly straightening cropping and crowd control it's quite useful. iPhoto is not every ones cup of tea but I have affection for it.

If you wanted a print you would probably need a higher resolution version.

I will happily do this if you want but have a go yourself - straighten a bit, increase saturation, red tint and temperature a little and crop out the light on the right. Feel free to ask more questions at anytime - there are many great people on this thread and forum who are happy to help.

 

[Chappers]

As for what every one else is saying - I agree with you all.

I don't want this thread viewed as a Dale, Deep Diver - Chappers club either and as it seemed to be cluttered with editing stuff and general chat I bought up this question and the answer seems pretty clear.

So maybe the whole idea of letting others edit our work wasn't a good one, however, I however learnt a great deal from seeing stuff from another persons perspective.

A good example was the work Dale did on Maxx's bike photo which was very rewarding - but for it all to work properly - I think a separate thread is needed.

 

[Designer Dale]

More Chatter

When John set this thread up the initial goal was to encourage folks to shoot on a theme while others would post comments with the intent of improving the skill of the shooter. This starts with framing, focus, DOF and other in-camera techniques, but Post is a part of it too. By that I mean adjusting the photo so that has better overall impact as a picture. Most of us do Post for this with PhotoShop, but you can do quite a bit of it with PhotoShop Elements, too. Every photographer should have a good Post app and know how to use it.

I'm rambling, but what I want to see is people posting photos and getting involved in this wonderful mess called photography.

As for a PhotoShop thread, there is Post Your PhotoShop Stuff (or words to that effect). I'm about as interested in that as I am in HDR... I just want to shoot pictures.

BTW: I would never touch a photo by my Slovenian friend...

Dale

 

[Phrasikleia]

BTW: I would never touch a photo by my Slovenian friend...

Dale

Hehe. Would that by any chance be me? 🙂 FWIW, I'm actually an American, but I spend lots of time in Slovenia. Or perhaps you meant some other "Slovenian" shutterbug control freak MR addict... 😉

By the way, I've enjoyed seeing the products of this thread. However, since I wasn't following it closely, I sometimes was unable to get a sense of whether I was looking at an original or at someone's manipulation. If this thread continues with the Photoshopping theme, it might be helpful to post a 'before' image alongside each 'after' image. Just a thought.

 

[Maxxamillian]

Post Processing.

It very well could be just me…but the subject has a more taboo'd air about it here at MacRumors than in the other boards I haunt. Not sure why this is, but it sure has made for some interesting reading.

The current thread is, I feel, a success. If not by the number of posts then at least by the number of reads. The Fortnightly Challenge thread currently runs second behind the POTD thread in the number of visits generated (not considering any sticky threads seeing the POTD and Fortnightly renew at least monthly). In my mind, that is success. People are obviously interested and return for more. This has been the case for most of the Fortnightly Challenges to date from what I can tell. The PP exercise has been an enjoyable one as I learned a ton from the bike exercise and then more when others jumped in and expressed their creative vision with the pictures.

However, I think a separate PS thread will fail for the following reason:

PP can be one of the most expensive and complex tools in a photographer's kit. The intimidation factor alone I'm sure, can dissuade many.

My vote? Nix the Photoshop thread, move onto the next topic at Fortnightly Challenge--easily the most valuable thread this site has to offer.

BTW--even if it were the thread were a DesignerDaleChappersDeepDiverJohnMC thread it would be well worth a visit 😀 😀

 

[Designer Dale]

Hehe. Would that by any chance be me? 🙂 FWIW, I'm actually an American <--->

I knew I shouldn't have made that quip. That's where I always get into trouble with you. I'm the poster who once thought you were a guy...

Will I ever learn? No. Then I would be just another dull internet person.

For the record, I'm a guy. When I was finishing my Masters Degree in Special Education in '78 I kept getting mail addressed to Ms. Dale Shearon...

Dale

 

[Chappers]

I knew I shouldn't have made that quip. That's where I always get into trouble with you. I'm the poster who once thought you were a guy...

Will I ever learn? No. Then I would be just another dull internet person.

For the record, I'm a guy. When I was finishing my Masters Degree in Special Education in '78 I kept getting mail addressed to Ms. Dale Shearon...

Dale

Damn - there goes another illusion

 

[Designer Dale]

Steam Donkey

This is a piece of old logging equipment in a public park in Buckley, Washington. It consisted of a steam engine and winch that allowed it to move by pulling itself with a cable. There were several different versions depending on if they pulled logs on a road in the woods or around a log yard.

If you think a steam engine in a forest is a bad idea, your'e right. Steam powered trains were responsible for starting several cataclysmic forest fires in the late 1800s that burned Hinkley, Minnesota and Peshtigo, Wisconsin to the ground.

Dale

 

[pdxflint]

SP&S Railroad engine #700

Again, reaching into the archives (since the weather here's been wetter than I like...) this is from a b/w print, obviously full-frame. I like the old mechanical stuff... and it was belching steam a little after this shot. Here's a link for more info about this locomotive engine.

 

[Designer Dale]

Again, reaching into the archives (since the weather here's been wetter than I like...) this is from a b/w print, obviously full-frame. I like the old mechanical stuff... and it was belching steam a little after this shot. Here's a link for more info about this locomotive engine.

Very nice photo. Love the feel of it. I like old mechanical stuff and I have been surprised how little of it is left around outside of museums and preservation societies. This is something that film will do better that digital; convey feeling in B&W.

BTW Your dog photo over in the contest is ace. What a wonderfully pampered pet.

Dale

 

[Maxxamillian]

^^^

+1

Including the dog photo comment 😀

 

[pdxflint]

Thanks Dale and Maxx... and for sure that dog's a pampered pooch. Can't help it since she was abandoned as a pup in Baja along with a bunch of others that I couldn't say "no" to - so they're now in my charge....😱 🙂

I also love the way b/w film conveys a certain look to old machinery. I would love to wander around an old railway yard, or old factory or machine shop looking for details of all that hand-built mechanical engineering of days gone by...

 

[Phrasikleia]

I also love the way b/w film conveys a certain look to old machinery. I would love to wander around an old railway yard, or old factory or machine shop looking for details of all that hand-built mechanical engineering of days gone by...

Agreed. It really works with that photo, especially with the steam in the mix. Although I've seen some wonderful color photos of such subjects too.