Activity for User 69 - Tom Pickering - info@photopicks.net

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1437 Comments / 1341 Replies Posted

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Group Round C/R Comment Date Image
53 Mar 22 Reply Brrr! Mar 24th
53 Mar 22 Reply Well, it's obviously paying off! d:¬{D Mar 23rd
53 Mar 22 Comment Amazing! Even the original is exceptional, but your finished work really tells a great story in simple lines. No suggestions from me. Mar 22nd
53 Mar 22 Comment Wow! Great story here, with the focus exactly where it should be on the maker and their intense concentration. As others have indicated, cropping out the left area of the image helps the viewer understand the story of the image without distractions. Mar 22nd
53 Mar 22 Reply Your crop really strengthened the composition and focused the viewer's attention on the story. Nice edit! Mar 22nd
53 Mar 22 Comment One of these months, you're going to post an image we can make helpful suggestions about and we'll probably not believe it's yours. d;¬{D Mar 22nd
53 Mar 22 Comment What an amazing subject you discovered! You found a great angle, with the reflection becoming the star. I did find the buildings in the background were a bit busy and distracting, so cloned them out in Affinity Photo. Thoughts? Mar 22nd
53 Mar 22 Comment I think the contrast between the blue sculpture pieces and the cacti makes for an in interesting study. I did find some of the elements on the sides and bottom of the image distracting, so tried a different crop and played around with warming up the cacti. Thoughts? Mar 22nd
53 Mar 22 Comment You captured incredible detail in the support cables of this bridge. Love the golden hour lighting especially.

I almost wish the vehicles showed some motion blur rather than being frozen in place. The lack of movement almost makes it seem they are parked or stuck in bad traffic.		 Mar 22nd
53 Mar 22 Reply This took a total of about 2 hours, 30 minutes of which was figuring out how to put the rotors in motion.

I am nearly done developing an Introduction to Affinity Photo class for PSA, that will be available for free to PSA members. If you would like to be a beta tester for the course, let me know.		 Mar 22nd
53 Mar 22 Reply As I indicated to Rusty, the tail rotors keep the helicopter from spinning. And, yes, they are vertical.

The reflection you added makes it look to me as though the helicopter is diving into a body of water - not something recommended I would think. d;¬{D		 Mar 22nd
53 Mar 22 Reply Yes, all helicopters have tail rotors, which keep them from spinning in place. Most images of helicopters in flight that I've seen have rotors that look like this. I will try to blur the 'X' a bit more. Mar 22nd
6 comments - 6 replies for Group 53
95 Mar 22 Reply Bees are fascinating indeed, but I have an innate fear of them linking back to an early childhood incident where a bee sting caused a bad allergic reaction. Over 60 years later and I still get rattled when buzzed. Mar 23rd
95 Mar 22 Reply It's a minor distraction that pulls attention away from the subject. Mar 23rd
95 Mar 22 Comment Wonderful piece of art, Carol! It takes a lot of study to find tiny things to change, but I really wouldn't change a thing here. I say print it and let everyone enjoy it! d:¬{D Mar 22nd
95 Mar 22 Reply I think it would take away too much detail to try and lighten the shadows you're perceiving. You're working too hard to find something to critique, my friend! d;¬{D Mar 22nd
95 Mar 22 Comment Well done, Pat. The narrow band of in-focus weaving really works well and gives dimensionality to the image. I think this is wall-worthy. Bravo! Mar 22nd
95 Mar 22 Reply Here's what Stuart was suggesting: Mar 22nd
95 Mar 22 Comment Although you do have a few specular highlights (feel better now that I've mentioned it?), but they don't distract and actually help to bring out detail in the wings - which are amazing, BTW!

I think the blend of bee and flower presents a lot of great detail, to the point where the soft half of the bee's head and the right front leg are barely noticeable. I like this a lot!		 Mar 22nd
95 Mar 22 Reply This takes a good image and helps the viewer really focus on the subject. Yes, a smaller aperture would have yielded more DOF, but I think this re-work has made that a moot point. Mar 22nd
95 Mar 22 Comment You have created a marvelous blend of high key and macro. Can you share what type of flower this was and whether this was a 1:1 shot? Mar 22nd
95 Mar 22 Reply I've yet to use a weight to offset the camera, but I can well imagine that it would make it difficult to tighten down the friction clamp. Be sure to use just enough flour to equal the weight of the camera, etc. or it will be that much harder to tighten down. You might consider getting a vice-grip to attach to the tightener, which might give you a bit more leverage. Mar 20th
95 Mar 22 Reply No, I didn't stack this one. Been a little too busy to do a stack lately, but I just found a pill bug that might be a good subject for stacking. I also just received a gift of an Adaptalux lighting system ( https://adaptalux.com/product/adaptalux-studio-starter-pack-white/ ), including an extra arm and a mini tripod to add to my rig and this will be great for experimenting with. Mar 20th
95 Mar 22 Reply I did. d;¬{D Mar 14th
95 Mar 22 Reply It's a Newer version: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07N8S4HNX/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Mar 14th
95 Mar 22 Reply I actually have an extension arm for my tripod that I used for overhead shots, but it did not provide the stability I was needing. While that got the subject stable, the camera was still subject to more vibration than I liked. Mar 14th
95 Mar 22 Reply Whatever solution you look into putting together, it's vitally important that it be as stable as possible. As you get more involved in macro, you'll begin to explore focus stacks and the slightest movement of the subject can ruin a stack. Stuart Ord has an impressive rig he's concocted. Mar 14th
95 Mar 22 Reply You're right, of course, about the seeds that are cut off. I should edit them out. Thanks for seeing what I didn't. d;¬{D Mar 13th
95 Mar 22 Reply Bernie, here's a pic of my rig. It has a 2x6 board as its base. I have a Platypod Ultra attached, a Benro ball-head attached to that, a Nisi focus rail atop that, and my Nikon D5000 attached to that. I have a right-angle viewfinder so I can focus from the side. I have 2 LED reading lamps that are completely adjustable for lighting, and an adjustable table for positioning my subjects. Mar 12th
4 comments - 13 replies for Group 95
10 comments - 19 replies Total

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