RECENT NEWS
The heady aromas of garlic proved popular!
COMMENTS ON ICM CHALLENGE
Freedom from always producing pin sharp images!
08/05/2020
This challenge was hugely popular and brought into the gallery some really amazing images, the like of which we rarely see from so many members! it's good we are all trying new stuff and hopefully learning along the way.
The Zoom Thursday meet ups are really popular and bringing them forward to 7pm is a great idea However, it is still not enough time for all to have a say in 40 mins, so for Thursday 14th I propose we do 35 mins from 7 pm then a second meeting for 25 mins that will be over by 8pm. This will allow us to slow down (a bit) and also makes sure everyone gets a fair crack of the whip.I will send TWO invites to reflect this.
It seems a good idea to continue chatting about the week's challenge at this time. When you see this week's CHALLENGE on FOOD you will note I am giving you the task to take three pictures on the theme, (all of which will go into the Gallery as usual) but the first two techniques will be as prescribed, and the third will be a technique , still within the theme of FOOD, that you choose to explore yourself. Then can you be prepared to talk about, and present to the Thursday group, just ONE of those three?
Now for the feedback on the ICM CHALLENGE. Jane L got her comments in very quickly, commenting on an aspect of one of mine I had not noticed (wonky horizon!) so I hastily changed it. See how easy it is to miss the obvious when concentrating on abstractions ??? See her comment below and my reply !!
Jane L says :
Didn’t consider all images successful but intrigued by each one all the same.
Graham
Enjoyed the colours and abstract nature of Fuschia. Primulas growing on me. Reminds me of a watercolour. Crop a tad at the bottom?
Suzanne
Great colour spectrum and nearly abstract nature of Bottles. The Graveyard is atmospheric, almost spooky. The rhs is a little harsh (because of the light?) but that’s picky. Wonder what Washing might have looked like with diagonal ICM? Good subject!
Bill
Like the precision and simplicity of all three pics
Pamela
The symmetry and green & white limited colour made this my favorite of the three although couldn’t relate to the title of Secret World 2 – it’s clearly wild garlic after all!
Jenny
Like the zig zag nature of the different elements in Tree Line and the “movement” of the trees. Found the slope of the Tor skyline disconcerting as this is a Levels view isn't it? Jenny replies : you are absolutely right Jane and I have now corrected that so thank you !
Geoff
Like the composition, graded colours and distant detail in Sunset. The ICM is nicely subtle. Don’t feel ICM added anything to the Duchy cottages.
Jill
Very successful zoom in to the church imv
Jane R
Nice light and abstract feel in Trees
[
b]Jenny says :
Bill: Like the apple tree washing machine effect -bit of blown highlight maybe needs dulling down?
The other two are fascinating How did you do that and what are they?
Jill: I like the nice sharp middle in the clematis with the whirlpool effect. My favouriite is the Church with the zoom effect on it Think it would look good with people in the churchyard too. Was Harptree Combe taken with a wide angle lens? Wondered how the bendy angle got there?
Graham: I see you got hooked on the horizontal movement with flowers! Fuschia colours are lovely I think that is my favourite. The Viburnum looks like a sort of stampede!
Jane R: I like the grasses and you got the whirlpool nailed My favourite is the trees which is very abstract- possibly move slightly slower but nice effect.
Suzanne: I know the subject suited you and the washing is so typically you especially the flash of red! I think I would have cropped both sides in a bit and lost the house which is a bit distracting.The Graveyard is quite spooky especially the dark against the white bits. My favourite is the bottles but like you I see two separate pics there – the bluey ones and the rest.
Pamela: You really took to this didn’t you? My favourite is #1 it is so subtle and I love the wispy feel to the foliage. Garlic is a nice balanced exposure and I like the strong blue of the last picture.
Geoff: not sure about the treatment on either the cottage or the radio but the sunset is truly stunning Love the Turneresque strength of the colours !
Tony: Sorry it took me time to get the three up! I love all three of these The sirally path is similar to some I got hooked on and the Wooden Gate looks really overgrown and embedded in the wood there Great subject well handled. Best for me is Charlton Wood- just abstracted enough but lovely colours.
Diana: How abstract are those Azaleas!! I love the colour -especially the first one which for me is best. Good that you tried all three techniques too.
Janice: Sorry yours went up late too! The Wood has used the zoom really well but the other Blue Wood is the one I love It is totally abstract and the colour is amazing. I love how elongated the bluebells are Great technique! The effect in post production on the golfing picture is highly effective. Wonder if you could do it in camera as well???
Jane L : Your poor cat ! neither of these really “pop” with colour for me. I like the skyline one though. it’s interesting with the vertical movement and I wonder what it would be like with a horizontal movement?
Graham says:
I thought all of the pics were excellent and most made for good abstracts. It was interesting that no one did the same as others with the variation in up & down, spinning like a top, dashing from one end to the other etc Congrats everyone.
Pamela says :
Bill. Out of the three my favourite is circles. I think it's dramatic and intriguing. I like coloured patterns. It's balanced and eye-catching.
Jill. I think WH Church is excellent. It is different and everything about it works. The colours in Clematis appeal to me.
Graham. I really like the top part of primula but I would crop most of the green base. Fuchsia has lovely colours.
Jane R. I love the tunnel effect in grasses. Perhaps the white is a bit distracting but the rest is lovely. Trees appeals to me too. Shooting stars. I would call this dandelions with attitude!
Suzanne. I like bottles but my eye keeps going to the black bit in the centre. Knowing that it is a graveyard I find this photo tells a story; darkness and angels rising? Without the title I would find so much white intrusive but I love it. I also like colour wash.
Jane L. I like in a spin 2. It's original. I hope puss got a treat for modelling.
Jenny. These, and the ones you showed on zoom, are brilliant and inspirational. Out of these three my favourites are Tor and The Line. They are subtle and full of atmosphere.
Janice. I think bluebell wood is lovely. The colours work so well. Golf swing. Excellent. I wouldn't know how to attempt something like this. A lesson perhaps??
Tony. I think swinging path is clever but my favourite is gate - because of the gate. My eye is taken straight to it. The whole composition works so well.
Diana.I love the colours in Azalia but out of the two my favourite is Azalea. I like the composition. I would like a bit more definition in white iris.
Geoff. The cottages and radio don't work for me but I think sunset is lovely; all those colours and layers.
PS Jane L. My titles Secret World 1,2,3. We are inclined to see one view and I was suggesting if we look further, what we see might be different.
Jill says :
I personally prefer the ones where you can guess or see what is being photographed, rather than just an abstract of colour eg. Jane's Grasses, Suzanne's Washday or Pamela's Secret World.
There were lots of good images but my favourites were Janice's Bluebell Woods and Into the Woods. Both had lovely vibrant colours and were pleasing to look at and Tony's Chewton Woods was also lovely.
Woodland lends itself to ICM but landscape, I found difficult, and there weren't may of those submitted. Jenny's Towards the Tor was a good attempt as it had a definite feature for the eye to go to.
Suzanne Part 1 says ;
PAMELA- Out of the three of your creative SECRET WORLD PICS, I like no. 1 the best as it pulls me into the centre and leads me to the dark patch/circle on the right. Is it someone looking out at me? The movement, and light on the irregular pattern of the leaves makes me think, a home for the small people perhaps! A picture from a children's book and I love it.
JANICE- I would have enjoyed your woodland walk but especially so with a camera. Great pics but BLUEBELL WOOD is my favourite. Just enough movement and great lighting with patches of pale blue sky to turn this well composed picture into a great one.
JANE R- TREES is spot on for me. No overblown white, lovely light especially on the greens which for me highlights the slender trunks in this movement picture. SHOOTING STARS made me smile ... well spotted.
JANE L - Best of all I like CATCAN as the dark centre of your circular swirl encourages me to follow the can handle down to the base beneath your ever watching cat and up into the swirl again. I could get dizzy! The cat and can seem drawn together by this movement.
JILL- Out of your great pictures with various movements, W.H.CHURCH is my favourite because it's a beautiful building and this movement doesn't detract from that. The spire is on the third of this composition and all in all everything leads to the church. I m sure it would make a great postcard.
and in part 2 :
[b]JENNY- Difficult choice re my favourite as I do love woodland shots and zooms as in BEACON WOODS but I think the angle of trees in TREE LINE makes that picture and was well seen. I wonder if more of the sky was cropped out whether that tree line would stand out even more. On my screen, TOWARDS THE TOR has a small black patch leading along from the bottom l.h corner so if the picture was cropped just above it making it even more of a letterbox I reckon the tor would stand out even more. A moody, layered image which suits the Levels/Tor setting and probably my favourite.
GRAHAM- My favourite of your lovely flower images is PRIMULAS because the amount of ICM you selected, the strength of the upright red flowers, highlighted by the many shades and bands of green which range from light to dark make this picture easily my favorite.
BILL- CIRCLES, is my favourite of your creative three images and I would like to ask you: "Did the camera stay still and just the subject move?" No matter, I like its pattern and simplicity. Perhaps you could tell us how you created your intriguing COLOURED PATTERN too.
TONY- A lovely walk with all those woodland scenes and zooms you captured so well. CHEWTON WOOD, with the ICM you gave it, along with the natural light and shade at the time plus the bonus of a pale blue sky makes this image look a bit tropical and my favourite.
Janice says:
A great selection of varied images and techniques. The majority of them worked really well. Although I enjoyed the abstracts I prefered the images where the subject was obvious. I particularly liked,
Suzanne's Washday
Jill's Trees & garlic
Jenny's Tree Line
Jane R's Shooting Stars (great title)
Graham's Primulas
Pamela's Secret World 2
The Zoom Thursday meet ups are really popular and bringing them forward to 7pm is a great idea However, it is still not enough time for all to have a say in 40 mins, so for Thursday 14th I propose we do 35 mins from 7 pm then a second meeting for 25 mins that will be over by 8pm. This will allow us to slow down (a bit) and also makes sure everyone gets a fair crack of the whip.I will send TWO invites to reflect this.
It seems a good idea to continue chatting about the week's challenge at this time. When you see this week's CHALLENGE on FOOD you will note I am giving you the task to take three pictures on the theme, (all of which will go into the Gallery as usual) but the first two techniques will be as prescribed, and the third will be a technique , still within the theme of FOOD, that you choose to explore yourself. Then can you be prepared to talk about, and present to the Thursday group, just ONE of those three?
Now for the feedback on the ICM CHALLENGE. Jane L got her comments in very quickly, commenting on an aspect of one of mine I had not noticed (wonky horizon!) so I hastily changed it. See how easy it is to miss the obvious when concentrating on abstractions ??? See her comment below and my reply !!
Jane L says :
Didn’t consider all images successful but intrigued by each one all the same.
Graham
Enjoyed the colours and abstract nature of Fuschia. Primulas growing on me. Reminds me of a watercolour. Crop a tad at the bottom?
Suzanne
Great colour spectrum and nearly abstract nature of Bottles. The Graveyard is atmospheric, almost spooky. The rhs is a little harsh (because of the light?) but that’s picky. Wonder what Washing might have looked like with diagonal ICM? Good subject!
Bill
Like the precision and simplicity of all three pics
Pamela
The symmetry and green & white limited colour made this my favorite of the three although couldn’t relate to the title of Secret World 2 – it’s clearly wild garlic after all!
Jenny
Like the zig zag nature of the different elements in Tree Line and the “movement” of the trees. Found the slope of the Tor skyline disconcerting as this is a Levels view isn't it? Jenny replies : you are absolutely right Jane and I have now corrected that so thank you !
Geoff
Like the composition, graded colours and distant detail in Sunset. The ICM is nicely subtle. Don’t feel ICM added anything to the Duchy cottages.
Jill
Very successful zoom in to the church imv
Jane R
Nice light and abstract feel in Trees
[
b]Jenny says :
Bill: Like the apple tree washing machine effect -bit of blown highlight maybe needs dulling down?
The other two are fascinating How did you do that and what are they?
Jill: I like the nice sharp middle in the clematis with the whirlpool effect. My favouriite is the Church with the zoom effect on it Think it would look good with people in the churchyard too. Was Harptree Combe taken with a wide angle lens? Wondered how the bendy angle got there?
Graham: I see you got hooked on the horizontal movement with flowers! Fuschia colours are lovely I think that is my favourite. The Viburnum looks like a sort of stampede!
Jane R: I like the grasses and you got the whirlpool nailed My favourite is the trees which is very abstract- possibly move slightly slower but nice effect.
Suzanne: I know the subject suited you and the washing is so typically you especially the flash of red! I think I would have cropped both sides in a bit and lost the house which is a bit distracting.The Graveyard is quite spooky especially the dark against the white bits. My favourite is the bottles but like you I see two separate pics there – the bluey ones and the rest.
Pamela: You really took to this didn’t you? My favourite is #1 it is so subtle and I love the wispy feel to the foliage. Garlic is a nice balanced exposure and I like the strong blue of the last picture.
Geoff: not sure about the treatment on either the cottage or the radio but the sunset is truly stunning Love the Turneresque strength of the colours !
Tony: Sorry it took me time to get the three up! I love all three of these The sirally path is similar to some I got hooked on and the Wooden Gate looks really overgrown and embedded in the wood there Great subject well handled. Best for me is Charlton Wood- just abstracted enough but lovely colours.
Diana: How abstract are those Azaleas!! I love the colour -especially the first one which for me is best. Good that you tried all three techniques too.
Janice: Sorry yours went up late too! The Wood has used the zoom really well but the other Blue Wood is the one I love It is totally abstract and the colour is amazing. I love how elongated the bluebells are Great technique! The effect in post production on the golfing picture is highly effective. Wonder if you could do it in camera as well???
Jane L : Your poor cat ! neither of these really “pop” with colour for me. I like the skyline one though. it’s interesting with the vertical movement and I wonder what it would be like with a horizontal movement?
Graham says:
I thought all of the pics were excellent and most made for good abstracts. It was interesting that no one did the same as others with the variation in up & down, spinning like a top, dashing from one end to the other etc Congrats everyone.
Pamela says :
Bill. Out of the three my favourite is circles. I think it's dramatic and intriguing. I like coloured patterns. It's balanced and eye-catching.
Jill. I think WH Church is excellent. It is different and everything about it works. The colours in Clematis appeal to me.
Graham. I really like the top part of primula but I would crop most of the green base. Fuchsia has lovely colours.
Jane R. I love the tunnel effect in grasses. Perhaps the white is a bit distracting but the rest is lovely. Trees appeals to me too. Shooting stars. I would call this dandelions with attitude!
Suzanne. I like bottles but my eye keeps going to the black bit in the centre. Knowing that it is a graveyard I find this photo tells a story; darkness and angels rising? Without the title I would find so much white intrusive but I love it. I also like colour wash.
Jane L. I like in a spin 2. It's original. I hope puss got a treat for modelling.
Jenny. These, and the ones you showed on zoom, are brilliant and inspirational. Out of these three my favourites are Tor and The Line. They are subtle and full of atmosphere.
Janice. I think bluebell wood is lovely. The colours work so well. Golf swing. Excellent. I wouldn't know how to attempt something like this. A lesson perhaps??
Tony. I think swinging path is clever but my favourite is gate - because of the gate. My eye is taken straight to it. The whole composition works so well.
Diana.I love the colours in Azalia but out of the two my favourite is Azalea. I like the composition. I would like a bit more definition in white iris.
Geoff. The cottages and radio don't work for me but I think sunset is lovely; all those colours and layers.
PS Jane L. My titles Secret World 1,2,3. We are inclined to see one view and I was suggesting if we look further, what we see might be different.
Jill says :
I personally prefer the ones where you can guess or see what is being photographed, rather than just an abstract of colour eg. Jane's Grasses, Suzanne's Washday or Pamela's Secret World.
There were lots of good images but my favourites were Janice's Bluebell Woods and Into the Woods. Both had lovely vibrant colours and were pleasing to look at and Tony's Chewton Woods was also lovely.
Woodland lends itself to ICM but landscape, I found difficult, and there weren't may of those submitted. Jenny's Towards the Tor was a good attempt as it had a definite feature for the eye to go to.
Suzanne Part 1 says ;
PAMELA- Out of the three of your creative SECRET WORLD PICS, I like no. 1 the best as it pulls me into the centre and leads me to the dark patch/circle on the right. Is it someone looking out at me? The movement, and light on the irregular pattern of the leaves makes me think, a home for the small people perhaps! A picture from a children's book and I love it.
JANICE- I would have enjoyed your woodland walk but especially so with a camera. Great pics but BLUEBELL WOOD is my favourite. Just enough movement and great lighting with patches of pale blue sky to turn this well composed picture into a great one.
JANE R- TREES is spot on for me. No overblown white, lovely light especially on the greens which for me highlights the slender trunks in this movement picture. SHOOTING STARS made me smile ... well spotted.
JANE L - Best of all I like CATCAN as the dark centre of your circular swirl encourages me to follow the can handle down to the base beneath your ever watching cat and up into the swirl again. I could get dizzy! The cat and can seem drawn together by this movement.
JILL- Out of your great pictures with various movements, W.H.CHURCH is my favourite because it's a beautiful building and this movement doesn't detract from that. The spire is on the third of this composition and all in all everything leads to the church. I m sure it would make a great postcard.
and in part 2 :
[b]JENNY- Difficult choice re my favourite as I do love woodland shots and zooms as in BEACON WOODS but I think the angle of trees in TREE LINE makes that picture and was well seen. I wonder if more of the sky was cropped out whether that tree line would stand out even more. On my screen, TOWARDS THE TOR has a small black patch leading along from the bottom l.h corner so if the picture was cropped just above it making it even more of a letterbox I reckon the tor would stand out even more. A moody, layered image which suits the Levels/Tor setting and probably my favourite.
GRAHAM- My favourite of your lovely flower images is PRIMULAS because the amount of ICM you selected, the strength of the upright red flowers, highlighted by the many shades and bands of green which range from light to dark make this picture easily my favorite.
BILL- CIRCLES, is my favourite of your creative three images and I would like to ask you: "Did the camera stay still and just the subject move?" No matter, I like its pattern and simplicity. Perhaps you could tell us how you created your intriguing COLOURED PATTERN too.
TONY- A lovely walk with all those woodland scenes and zooms you captured so well. CHEWTON WOOD, with the ICM you gave it, along with the natural light and shade at the time plus the bonus of a pale blue sky makes this image look a bit tropical and my favourite.
Janice says:
A great selection of varied images and techniques. The majority of them worked really well. Although I enjoyed the abstracts I prefered the images where the subject was obvious. I particularly liked,
Suzanne's Washday
Jill's Trees & garlic
Jenny's Tree Line
Jane R's Shooting Stars (great title)
Graham's Primulas
Pamela's Secret World 2