Project 52 by Vicente

[Vicente]

Ok since I am really new to photography, I got my first camera 3 months ago, any improvement and learning would be fine but if i have to pick something in particular it would be:

1. Learn to see more.
2. Learning about composition.
3. Learning to be patient enough to work a shoot.
4. Improve my Photoshop and Lightroom skills.
5. Learn more about optics and light.

But at the end i think my main porpuse would be keep shooting and don't lose the inertia of this last weeks. So I will use this post to keep that innertia.

Any comment or crityc its really welcomed.

I dont know if its permited but i will try to post at least 2 photos each week. One with a little of PP work on it and 1 shoot as it is (well with minior adjustments like sharpness, crop and that kind of stuff).

[Vicente]

Well my first photo wich I also summited to the monthly contest (March).

[Vicente]

Ok i started using masks in PP and this photo seemed to be a good starting point. I am not completly sure about the composition but i think it looks nice. That flower just caught my eye, it was growing fromm the corner of the window on an abandoned apartment.

[FrankMi]

Well my first phot wich I also summited to the monthly contest (March).

Good use of symmetry and strong colors. A strong red color will always grab the eye but there is still much to explore once the image has your attention.

[FrankMi]

Ok i started using masks in PP and this photo seemed to be a good stating point. I am not completly sure about the composition but i think it looks nice. That flower just caght my eye, it was growing form the corner of a window in an abandoned apartment.

This one doesn't do much for me, Vincent. The combination of color and monochrome, in focus and out-of-focus, large subject and small subject, and symmetrical and asymmetrical all in the same image feels disjointed to me. I think a simpler image would have been stronger.

[Vicente]

Yeah I think I went to far using everything that pop into my head at that time, i didn't realized that when i was editing the photo i was so focused on the PP thing. I have been watching some composition tutorials and I tried to use everything in this photo (lines, "shallow" DoF, color, symetry, etc.. =P). I have another shoot of this same flower but i think the flower doesn't catch the eye in that one. This is the other one:



Now that I look at the image again I think the main idea its lost in first version, the fact that the flower grew from the corner of the window without any flowerpot or even some earth.

Thank you very much Frank.

[Goldcoastgolfer]

Well, for someone really new to photography, I have to say that I think you have a fantastic eye for architecture style shots. I am actually a fan of both photos because of the perspective you've used - but I also have an engineering background so that probably accounts for my attraction to your shots. I think they both have some great lines and combine elements of simplicity and subtle complexity.

Nothing to offer for your first photo - the symmetry and bold red colour just work. The second one I probably would have shot with a greater depth of field. In the distance as well there is an object sticking out from the edge of the building that I would be inclined to clone out.

Looking forward to seeing more of you work Vicente and welcome to Project 52!

[Vicente]

Thank very much Mal.

I used clonning with the flower photo to remove the object in the roof and now i think looks much better. I forgot to create a virtual copy in Lightroom so I ended up updating flicker instead of adding a new photo. XD.

[Vicente]

Well this last week was a mess. I didn't have much time to go out and take photos and the ones I got are pretty bad. This is the best I could salvage for this week.

I hope i can get something to do in PP.

This is part of a fountain in front of a public building in the center of Mexico City (Centro Historico).

[FrankMi]

Hi Vicente. Now that's a really nice pattern, great textures and interesting ripples on the watter. The only things that break the flow of the image is the white spot (an underwater light?) on the left and the text on the right.

[Vicente]

Yeah its an under water light i would love to get rid of it but I don't really know how to aproach that in PP. I don't think the clone tool would be good in this case but i m going to give it a try. Any suggestions?.

Thanks Frank =).

[FrankMi]

Yeah its an under water light i would love to get rid of it but I don't really know how to aproach that in PP. I don't think the clone tool would be good in this case but i m going to give it a try. Any suggestions?.

Thanks Frank =).

Given the nature of the composition and where the light is located, you should be able to get away with a slight croping of the image. If you can use the clone tool then that should work as well but save a copy first. Might be a good exercise to play with!

[Vicente]

Well it was easier than i thought to clone the underwater lighting =).

Thank you very much Frank.

[Vicente]

This week has been hard to find a good subject and I have been making so many technical mistakes like: Not enough DoF ins some good subjects, bad exposures and bad compositions. Seems like I am always in the rush to take the picture that i forget everything .

[Vicente]

Well I need to go to buy some plants next month. The Amazing Coleus I saw in Frank's Project 52 Post and a Ceiba a relly amazing tree. This one is a very young one. I found it while walking to a meeting. Since I don't have a fast lense I though i would be fun to play with the lens blur filter in PP to fake a shallower DoF.

Here is the original:


After Lightroom:


And the final one after PP:

[Vicente]

I didn't have time to go out to take photos this week.

[Maritimer1]

Vincente, I just took a quick look through your project 52. Your use of colour and different perspectives is intriguing. I would never have thought of photographing the fountain the way you did, and the placement of the bike, windows, rail, stairs and bird just works! It couldn't have been staged any better had you placed each item by hand. For someone who just got a camera a few months ago, you're certainly a fast learner

[FrankMi]

Hi Vicente! I like what you were able to do with the Week 14 with the color and texture in the trunk of the Ceiba. Nice work!

[Vicente]

Vincente, I just took a quick look through your project 52. Your use of colour and different perspectives is intriguing. I would never have thought of photographing the fountain the way you did, and the placement of the bike, windows, rail, stairs and bird just works! It couldn't have been staged any better had you placed each item by hand. For someone who just got a camera a few months ago, you're certainly a fast learner

Thank you very much Myra. I have been trying to read as much as I can about composition and these shots are just an experiment. For example the Week 15 i made a bad composition on camera and had to crop the image a looooot. This is the original shot, I was trying to include the holes in the upper part without succes .



And about the foutain i was just trying to find the spot where the patern was stronger. This is the place were I took the photo.

[Vicente]

Hi Vicente! I like what you were able to do with the Week 14 with the color and texture in the trunk of the Ceiba. Nice work!

Thank you Frank. I have been watching ur project 52 and I have to admit I was compeled to try selective sharpening and some focus stacking, but I haven't got time to do it.