Be Excellent To Each Other

Hell, yeah! Cracking stuff, Z!

Here's an experement for you

NEF/Lightroom/PS/jpg


Lightroom by Learnin' Curve, on Flickr

NEF converted to jpg


View NX 2 by Learnin' Curve, on Flickr

Both had high pass sharpening in CS5.

Much more colour pop in the top one.

What is that spray painted on the ground?

It rather appears to be a cock lacking in a tip.

Excellent photos on the last two pages everyone!

So I heard you guys like insects?







^_^

Excellent! My eyes are really drawn to that middle one in particular.

The middle one is my favourite certainly.

I seem to have some sort of butterfly colony at the end of my garden, I counted 50 caterpillars then gave up. This may be a sign that I suck at gardening.

I used to worry about the declining numbers of butterflies and what-not in the UK until you guys started posting pics.

For me the middle one is the weakest, oddly enough. The first and third are superb, however. Especially the first one! Love the transluscent light and rich colour of the wings. Bravo Decca!

The butterfly is better in the first pic, but it's the background in the second pic that wins it for me.

The first one is the best for me. Great light showing the translucency of the wings. The second looks a little lost, I'd have cropped in tighter I think.

Here's the first of no doubt many, many pics taken from my week at Hawkeye Lake (I had 830 to upload when I got home!) Dabbled in some astrophotography, and I think the results are pretty good, considering it was basically one, big learning experience! Obviously, best viewed big to see more detail.


Milky Way 1

[EDIT]It's Cassiopeia, Cepheus, Lacerta and Cygnus, amongst other constellations. The Andromeda Galaxy is visible bottom centre as a diffuse, yellowish patch of light.

Another couple - a buggy one, and a birdie one.


Raggedy



Follow Mummy Everyone!

Okay, last one for the night. Apologies for the crotch-shot, but when a dragonfly decides to use your leg as a feeding post, you tend to just grab your camera and not ask questions. Yes, he's scoffing an unfortunate little green beetle in the picture.


Om nom nom

Autistic kids, photogenic kids - they just don't give a fuck about the camera being there.


swing2 by Learnin' Curve, on Flickr


swing BW by Learnin' Curve, on Flickr


thought by Learnin' Curve, on Flickr


floor Bw by Learnin' Curve, on Flickr

So, we've chosen bugs as our battlefield in this thread, eh?

A couple from this afternoon at Sevenoaks Wildlife Reserve

I went to the Bristol Harbour Festival today and took a few pics. Not sure any of them are really thread worthy, although you're welcome to boost my ego by disagreeing!

Fake edit -- although I do like the colours in this one:


Untitled by PenLlawen, on Flickr

Thought I'd get in before Zardoz posts his pics. We went for a walk today up Farleton Knott. It's a hill near the Lakes that I've looked at from the M6 every time I've driven past and always wanted to check out. It's quite an amazing landscape which still has loads of limestone paving despite much of it being blasted away for a quarry.


Holme Park Quarry by Loopdreams, on Flickr


Farleton Knott by Loopdreams, on Flickr


Farleton Knott 2 by Loopdreams, on Flickr

Loving that last one. Looks like a bonsai sitting up on that bluff.

That bug looks enormous, also not quite real.

Fantastic stuff, Markg! Last one in particular is stunning! Really like Craster's damselfly and bee wasp hornet hoverfly insect closeup too.

More amazing bug pics on this page. Not that they're making me want to buy a proper macro lens or anything.


Really like this one:


Untitled by PenLlawen, on Flickr

I'm quietly eyeing the Canon 100mm f2.8 Macro lens. It'll set me back US$600 and a trip across the border to pick it up, mind.
I mentioned it to my wife, who made vaguely encouraging sounds.*


*Didn't try to kill or divorce me immediately, so I reckon that counts as permission to buy it.

Everyone's going macro-crazy on Beex! Reckon as a bloody-minded contrarian that'll be the last lens I buy, then.

Quality stuff from everyone. I especially like DocG's sweets shot. The blue and the red really leap out and work together superbly, and I love the little beady texture. Malc, that dragonfly looks like some sort of Ornihopter. Might be worthwhile upping contrast and clarity on it and going B&W to really give it an armoured feel. Decca, lovely portraits once again, I do like the first one - real unconcious grace in his movement. Craster, stunning insect shots there. I very much like Zardoz's abandoned trolly shot, as it's kinda different and I like the three receding elements composition - large wirey trolley on cracked earth at bottom, medium sized tyre with cubed treads on glistening mud centre and small black stick jutting out against onrushing water on top. There's a very slight diagonal line on them too, and in all it makes a very pleasing composition.

I think MarkG's Farleton Knott 2 wins it though. Love the muted colours and the framing, and the oppressive clouds.

Just the one from me. Went to the Brecon Beacons on Saturday but the light was a little disappointing and what I thought looked good on the LCD didn't look quite as exciting at home. Think I was repeating myself a bit too.

At least I got this:



Deeper and deeper...

That would sell very very well as a door transfer in germany. Trust me on this one. There are companies in the UK selling them but the Germans love themselves these huge ass forest wall murals especially in the rhineland, there are uk sellers but they all import from a company called scandecor, I am assuming it's http://www.scandecor.se/

google.de gives me:
http://www.unilith.com/ and http://www.komar.de/ as seperate manufacturers as well. I would try zee germans first.

I would like to point out that I had to use google.co.uk to check my spelling of manufacturers and got it wrong but I got Wandgemälde right first time. I fucking fail at my own first language man.

Just one for today, I think. Sunset at Hawkeye Lake...


Red Sunset

I love that shot from the Breacon beacons, Pete. The light and framing are superb.

Some excellent bugs indeed, that's great having the dragonfly actually on you Malc, do your pants smell 'marshy' or something?

Was great to get out on that walk, Mark. Not looked at my pics yet as I ended up with a cracking headache last night and went to bed early. I'll sort through them tonight.

An abandoned building project near the Mersey

Progress by MrDavPaz, on Flickr

A simple, but striking installation at the Tate Modern

Tate Modern Flourescent Lights by MrDavPaz, on Flickr

The Church of Consumerism

Liverpool One Metropolis by MrDavPaz, on Flickr

Not a common sight on City Streets

Owl by MrDavPaz, on Flickr

Welted Thistle from above.



... and from the side.

Those rocks still look fake btw, Mark.

Really odd colour and texture to that limestone. We'll have to go back up in Autumn/Winter like you say.

Yes that light thing is a much better use of Tate space than anything by Landseer

and now, for A Rant. Now I don't care how old the art is, but if at any point the words "concept" "visualize" "exiting new" "a modern take" "tracey emin" or "what the fuck is that?" are used then it's probably just horse shit.

I did work out all the figures for Tate art in storage at one point and it was fucking insulting how much Britan had in storage Vs how much Modern did especially when you calculate what's on display and how much space it takes up. I would do it again but the raw data has been removed from the Tate's website. Move the Photography back the national gallery and put that modern shit back on display in university galleries where it belongs.
An entire room for a light bulb, when there are 6 John William Waterhouse's not on display* there are no word other than fuck everything about the Turner prize.

You can remove the damn stuff from Chatsworth and put it back to how it was as well - have you seen Chatsworth now? Jesuschrist they closed a lot of the historical rooms down for it so you go in expecting the awesome bedrooms and whatnot and end up with the new Duke's modern art collection.


* http://www.tate.org.uk/servlet/ArtistWo ... 583&page=1

I like it.

Likewise, although it's hard to work out what it actually is.

It's almost like art is subjective, or something ridiculous.

Plus, MrPSB's bisected cow in Pazland is amazing.

Decca, I think that latest batch of portraits are your nicest ones yet.

More Smith Rock from the archives - I like the apocalyptic dreamy vibe of this one, view it big if you can... http://www.flickr.com/photos/nervouspet ... /lightbox/





Incoming

Wow, you get a great sense of scale in that shot. Looks like the rock has been flipped up from that hole.

That is just stunning pete, you really need to sign up to some stock photography sites or start selling your stuff.

"This week, oi aaahve been mostly takin' pictures of butterflies..."


Sunbathing Pair

Oh, and I just ordered the Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro lens. To the Excite-O-Tron!

Oh, and Pete - that's an awesome shot! It's like some enormous, geological behemoth is about to claw its way out of the Stygian Underworld, or something.

Oh that's a beaut, Malc!

I love those delicate oranges and pinks, the light and the smooth, creamy bokeh - the contrast of the patterns, the placement, so though the butterfly is dominant centre the flower buds lead it into the two-thirds side, whilst the open space above and to the right allow it all to breathe. Admirably close to perfect!

And ta for the nice comments!

Ooh now that's another special one malc and should be awarded top hats.

Amazing work Malc and Pete.

I've been faffing around with all the sliders in Lightroom like a chimp at the controls of an airliner:


Farleton Knott 3 by Loopdreams, on Flickr

Not normally a fan of blatant tweaks like this and I don't think it's the sort of thing I'll be doing again but I decided to keep this one as I just liked the resultant blues/browns.

Wow, that's verging on the "teal and orange" colour palette! Can you turn it up any more?

Heh, I think it reminds me of old family pics shot with my dad's Agfamatic 110.

That's a beaut, Malc. Lovely warm colours and the light shows the patterning really well.

I'd crop out that one stray leaf in the bottom left so it's all buds and butterfly.


I don't remember seeing Jason Statham on that walk, Mark. Well caught.


Here are a few of mine from Sunday:

My highest view from yesterday, which is random.


chesterfield bw by Learnin' Curve, on Flickr

edit: forgot to add that it was meant to be viewed in original, I don't think it works in medium. http://www.flickr.com/photos/learnin_cu ... otostream/

I created a new black and white preset for lightroom.


it's hot mrawmmm by Learnin' Curve, on Flickr


Daisy again by Learnin' Curve, on Flickr

Butterflys are soooo in the future.


caterpillar by Learnin' Curve, on Flickr

That's a moth caterpillar.