This week has been one of those that I'd rather forget. Libby and I have both had colds, as have Tabitha and Finley (our two youngest), and while neither of them have been particularly unwell, both have needed a lot of attention. Tabitha won't be put down, even for a minute or two, and Finley, in addition to waking us both up for the last few nights, hasn't been in an especially good mood the rest of the time.
And the hard drive in my laptop died which, given that it's only a few months old, is really annoying. What's worse is that I lost a fair bit of work too. I didn't lose any images, but I did lose the latest bit of the Tonal Range and Curves Tool tutorial and some writing I was doing for a client. I've also lost around the last six weeks of emails, so if you emailed me recently and I haven't got back to you, please send it again.
As for this shot: I know it won't be to everyone's taste, but I still find this sort of material appealing. I think that what draws me to this sort of scene is the way in which the various scrawls, scratches and letters build up over time, such that what was once a clear perspex window becomes a mess of unintentional colour and abstraction.
captured camera lens focal length aperture shutter speed shooting mode exposure bias metering mode ISO flash image quality RAW converter cropped?
1.41pm on 2/5/07
Canon 5D
EF 24-70 f/2.8L USM
62mm
f/2.8
1/1600
aperture priority
+0.0
evaluative
100
no
RAW
C1 Pro
no
Thanks Joe, I'm sure your thoughtful critique will improve my photography beyond all recognition. And I did say that I didn't think this would be to everyone's taste ;-)
comment byKatherine at 09:29 PM (GMT) on 9 May, 2007
Well I like it, especially the colours, and the scratched surface almost looks like a painting.
comment by Jennifer at 09:33 PM (GMT) on 9 May, 2007
Nice one - your comment I mean ;-) I see the appeal, Verity loves photographing grafitti too. Better days ahead I hope.
comment byHitesh Sawlani at 09:47 PM (GMT) on 9 May, 2007
yaaay not a beach shot !
comment by Richard Trim at 09:55 PM (GMT) on 9 May, 2007
Well as they say Dave, it's been ''A bad day at black rock'' ... or should I say ''a bad week''! Spencer Tracey eat your heart out. Joe's skill at word management is pretty minimilist.
About the bus shelter art... I blame the National Curriculum for making artistic development less than important in children's lives. Too much time spent on revision and practising SAT's past papers.
comment byChris DoL at 09:57 PM (GMT) on 9 May, 2007
I like this one a lot. The different layers of graffiti/scratches/dirt and the different hues of the background light together lend the picture an abstract painterly quality and depth.
comment by jkm at 10:17 PM (GMT) on 9 May, 2007
I can see this on a wall in a warehouse / loft conversion in Manhattan. It's differnt and it works! Btw, the tutorial is looking great, shame you had yet another set-back...
The colors are really nice of this one but the whole pic is not as creative as your other ones. Just a reproduction of a grafity. Maybe the glass makes it a bit boring. Your other grafity shots are more interesting because of the textures behind them.
great contrast. I love the "gradient" of color in it. very cool.
comment bystefan hartwig at 11:18 PM (GMT) on 9 May, 2007
As a graphic designer, I love this shot. I think it is especially fitting to have something gritty posted, considering the week you've had.
comment by Pauline at 11:33 PM (GMT) on 9 May, 2007
Changing to the black background really altered my opinion of this shot. I went from blah to ooh with the click of a button!
comment by RD at 01:20 AM (GMT) on 10 May, 2007
Oh, yes, the black background makes it pop. I like it very much. The colors are wonderful, and the look of shock on the "O" seals it. You've got a great eye.
comment bynavin harish at 03:34 AM (GMT) on 10 May, 2007
Nice shot. I like the colours here. Is this the colour of glass/plastic or it it something behind it.
comment by Aaron at 04:41 AM (GMT) on 10 May, 2007
Quite the John Washington shot. I'm enjoying it.
comment byarmeen at 05:13 AM (GMT) on 10 May, 2007
i really like the color combination in here. the graphic elements of the shot are very abstract and funky which i'm enjoying.
When looking at it from a distance, there's a face in the "o". :)
comment by cy at 08:31 AM (GMT) on 10 May, 2007
love the image. the coloring is esp nicce. looks a bit like stain glass. the urban effect is intereesting.
sorry to hear about the laptop; hopefully, it is still under warranty. i can not image how hard it would be to go through everything and not to mention a new baby and her siblings adjusting. best wishes your karma to come full circle and balance out.
Hi David. I know that what happened isn't entirely your fault. However since you are stepping into this field as a professional (and no longer a hobbyist), the risks and stakes have somewhat increased. I would suggest that you have multiple backup solutions. With a company producing tutorials, workshops, image licensing, etc, I would recommend these backups on a regular basis using externals, DVDs, etc. You just can't afford losing time anymore since it's bad business practice, regardless of the reasons. My comment was intended to help, not scold.
I like the picture btw. And I hope your Canon flashes are still exposing correctly. ;-)
Nice shot, David. It's a different departure from your usual stuff, but I like it. I think it's important for us all to do something different at times. Sorry to hear about your data loss/computer crash. That sucks. Hope your computer is fixed and you're all feeling better and getting well. Take care.
As for the shot, I think I'm one of those for whom this doesn't quite work, I'm afraid. Not sure I can put my finger on exactly why, just a bit too messy, I think.
Hmm....interesting that Joe's comment of 'rubbish' is frowned upon. Dave, you sarcastically put it down, "thoughtful critique", but why is a comment like that any different from the countless you get reading 'Wow, awesome!'? Just wondering like.. ;)
my reaction to reading the notes for this shot was also 'rubbish!'- in a kind of, 'aww, that's rubbish man, what a sucky week!'
Maybe that's what he meant. If not, it's a cheap way of him to get traffic.
Commiserations David; I lost 4000 photos a while back. In reference to Tin's comment; because I'm not at professional, it wasn't work I lost- it was memories of my holidays, friends just chilling out, my first adventures with the camera- which is in my opinion worse. :( Sucky in any case.
Alex - that's true, could well have been that :) If not, maybe it's simply what he thinks about the photograph. I don't know about everybody else but when I comment on sites (not that I do very often) I don't actually consider the potential traffic to my site to be honest.
Anyway...it's a pointless debate I guess. My point was generally questioning this whole discrepancy between what people write, positive v. negative
I was critical of some of Dave's recent stuff a few posts back and noticed that someone had pulled me on it, using the argument that it's all subjective. Erm...well exactly! It's the opinions that are subjective, not the work itself, I think I'm right in saying. Yet when someone does criticise it seems to get frowned upon. In that case I think some people are missing the point on what subjectivity actually is. I guess though that because most comment boxes consist of pat, throwaway plaudits more often than not, it's the negative ones that actually stand out - and that upsets some people.
comment byRene Skrodzki at 04:06 PM (GMT) on 11 May, 2007
I happen to like images of this type, I think it takes some stones for people to photograph the less than attractive and put themselves out there for critique as well. It's also nice to see you breaking away a little from the kids and going with a little urban. Interesting choice of colour gradient as well. Beats the heck out of my urban shots for sure :)
comment by m at 04:35 PM (GMT) on 11 May, 2007
No matter how professional and how much money you spend there are no guarantees. We spend £millions and still we lose data.
Data technicians proverb: "Back up everything and anything and there'll still be something you lose"
Of course M. But my nightly backups allow me to lose 1 day's worth of work (photography and non-photography), instead of 1 week's worth of work. I have two external firewire hard drives that I alternate each night. All I need to do is press a button (or click) before I sleep, then my entire system is backed up on the drive. The previous backup image is replaced by the new backup, which is why I always switch between drives every night. When I travel, I bring only one external backup drive. I should note that I use these two drives purely for backing up purposes, not for storage.
Saludos desde mexico, lo invito a visitar mi fotolog, a mi me encanta la fotografia que usted muestra, y la sensibilidad que imprime en sus colores y formas, a tal grado que me he animado a publicar mis pobres fotos de mexico y lo invito a conocerlas
The graduation from warmth to cool echoes a beach scene so fits neatly within your recent work. Funky.
comment bypierre at 02:08 PM (GMT) on 12 May, 2007
nice stuff dave, the colors are beautiful
comment by Richard Trim at 02:53 PM (GMT) on 12 May, 2007
I forgot to comment on the image Dave... No probs on your count ... lovely hues.... and Jackson Pollock aint got to worry in his grave about the ability of these Blackpoolian youths.. they've got loads of improvement available to them. Must be plenty more bus shelters that are available to be abused.
Tin: normally, I run a backup to a 1.3TB NAS running X-Raid, but we've been having some building work done and I've not had access to my office. I could have run my regular backup over our wireless network, but I figured I'd leave it a few days until I could run it over Ethernet instead. As it happens, that was a big mistake, and one I won't be making again.
This week has been one of those that I'd rather forget. Libby and I have both had colds, as have Tabitha and Finley (our two youngest), and while neither of them have been particularly unwell, both have needed a lot of attention. Tabitha won't be put down, even for a minute or two, and Finley, in addition to waking us both up for the last few nights, hasn't been in an especially good mood the rest of the time.
And the hard drive in my laptop died which, given that it's only a few months old, is really annoying. What's worse is that I lost a fair bit of work too. I didn't lose any images, but I did lose the latest bit of the Tonal Range and Curves Tool tutorial and some writing I was doing for a client. I've also lost around the last six weeks of emails, so if you emailed me recently and I haven't got back to you, please send it again.
As for this shot: I know it won't be to everyone's taste, but I still find this sort of material appealing. I think that what draws me to this sort of scene is the way in which the various scrawls, scratches and letters build up over time, such that what was once a clear perspex window becomes a mess of unintentional colour and abstraction.
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
cropped?
Canon 5D
EF 24-70 f/2.8L USM
62mm
f/2.8
1/1600
aperture priority
+0.0
evaluative
100
no
RAW
C1 Pro
no
rubbish
Thanks Joe, I'm sure your thoughtful critique will improve my photography beyond all recognition. And I did say that I didn't think this would be to everyone's taste ;-)
Well I like it, especially the colours, and the scratched surface almost looks like a painting.
A real paint, bravo !
Nice one - your comment I mean ;-) I see the appeal, Verity loves photographing grafitti too. Better days ahead I hope.
yaaay not a beach shot !
Well as they say Dave, it's been ''A bad day at black rock'' ... or should I say ''a bad week''! Spencer Tracey eat your heart out. Joe's skill at word management is pretty minimilist.
About the bus shelter art... I blame the National Curriculum for making artistic development less than important in children's lives. Too much time spent on revision and practising SAT's past papers.
I like this one a lot. The different layers of graffiti/scratches/dirt and the different hues of the background light together lend the picture an abstract painterly quality and depth.
I can see this on a wall in a warehouse / loft conversion in Manhattan. It's differnt and it works! Btw, the tutorial is looking great, shame you had yet another set-back...
The colors are really nice of this one but the whole pic is not as creative as your other ones. Just a reproduction of a grafity. Maybe the glass makes it a bit boring. Your other grafity shots are more interesting because of the textures behind them.
Love it, really, awesome colors. Have you done much post-processing on this one or do the colors match the original closely?
Either way, I love your work David!
great contrast. I love the "gradient" of color in it. very cool.
As a graphic designer, I love this shot. I think it is especially fitting to have something gritty posted, considering the week you've had.
Changing to the black background really altered my opinion of this shot. I went from blah to ooh with the click of a button!
Oh, yes, the black background makes it pop. I like it very much. The colors are wonderful, and the look of shock on the "O" seals it. You've got a great eye.
Nice shot. I like the colours here. Is this the colour of glass/plastic or it it something behind it.
Quite the John Washington shot. I'm enjoying it.
i really like the color combination in here. the graphic elements of the shot are very abstract and funky which i'm enjoying.
When looking at it from a distance, there's a face in the "o". :)
love the image. the coloring is esp nicce. looks a bit like stain glass. the urban effect is intereesting.
sorry to hear about the laptop; hopefully, it is still under warranty. i can not image how hard it would be to go through everything and not to mention a new baby and her siblings adjusting. best wishes your karma to come full circle and balance out.
Marvelous colors and forms!
I like how it is illuminated from behind. Really brings it to life.
Hi David. I know that what happened isn't entirely your fault. However since you are stepping into this field as a professional (and no longer a hobbyist), the risks and stakes have somewhat increased. I would suggest that you have multiple backup solutions. With a company producing tutorials, workshops, image licensing, etc, I would recommend these backups on a regular basis using externals, DVDs, etc. You just can't afford losing time anymore since it's bad business practice, regardless of the reasons. My comment was intended to help, not scold.
I like the picture btw. And I hope your Canon flashes are still exposing correctly. ;-)
Nice shot, David. It's a different departure from your usual stuff, but I like it. I think it's important for us all to do something different at times. Sorry to hear about your data loss/computer crash. That sucks. Hope your computer is fixed and you're all feeling better and getting well. Take care.
I like this, it's diferent and the colors are fantastic!
Mess is right. Still I guess it's a bus stop in your neck of the woods and so it'll be your tax £ that pays for the eventual clean up.
Nicely framed, an interesting mix of colours, textures and marks.
Bonsoir,
Well done "graphic" shot..Nice composition..Bravo!
"Tabitha won't be put down"
I should jolly well hope not, it's only a cold!
As for the shot, I think I'm one of those for whom this doesn't quite work, I'm afraid. Not sure I can put my finger on exactly why, just a bit too messy, I think.
你好像很喜欢涂鸦啊。
Hmm....interesting that Joe's comment of 'rubbish' is frowned upon. Dave, you sarcastically put it down, "thoughtful critique", but why is a comment like that any different from the countless you get reading 'Wow, awesome!'? Just wondering like.. ;)
my reaction to reading the notes for this shot was also 'rubbish!'- in a kind of, 'aww, that's rubbish man, what a sucky week!'
Maybe that's what he meant. If not, it's a cheap way of him to get traffic.
Commiserations David; I lost 4000 photos a while back. In reference to Tin's comment; because I'm not at professional, it wasn't work I lost- it was memories of my holidays, friends just chilling out, my first adventures with the camera- which is in my opinion worse. :( Sucky in any case.
Raid array anyone?
Alex - that's true, could well have been that :) If not, maybe it's simply what he thinks about the photograph. I don't know about everybody else but when I comment on sites (not that I do very often) I don't actually consider the potential traffic to my site to be honest.
Anyway...it's a pointless debate I guess. My point was generally questioning this whole discrepancy between what people write, positive v. negative
I was critical of some of Dave's recent stuff a few posts back and noticed that someone had pulled me on it, using the argument that it's all subjective. Erm...well exactly! It's the opinions that are subjective, not the work itself, I think I'm right in saying. Yet when someone does criticise it seems to get frowned upon. In that case I think some people are missing the point on what subjectivity actually is. I guess though that because most comment boxes consist of pat, throwaway plaudits more often than not, it's the negative ones that actually stand out - and that upsets some people.
I happen to like images of this type, I think it takes some stones for people to photograph the less than attractive and put themselves out there for critique as well. It's also nice to see you breaking away a little from the kids and going with a little urban. Interesting choice of colour gradient as well. Beats the heck out of my urban shots for sure :)
No matter how professional and how much money you spend there are no guarantees. We spend £millions and still we lose data.
Data technicians proverb: "Back up everything and anything and there'll still be something you lose"
Of course M. But my nightly backups allow me to lose 1 day's worth of work (photography and non-photography), instead of 1 week's worth of work. I have two external firewire hard drives that I alternate each night. All I need to do is press a button (or click) before I sleep, then my entire system is backed up on the drive. The previous backup image is replaced by the new backup, which is why I always switch between drives every night. When I travel, I bring only one external backup drive. I should note that I use these two drives purely for backing up purposes, not for storage.
Saludos desde mexico, lo invito a visitar mi fotolog, a mi me encanta la fotografia que usted muestra, y la sensibilidad que imprime en sus colores y formas, a tal grado que me he animado a publicar mis pobres fotos de mexico y lo invito a conocerlas
http://www.contenidoneto.com
The graduation from warmth to cool echoes a beach scene so fits neatly within your recent work. Funky.
nice stuff dave, the colors are beautiful
I forgot to comment on the image Dave... No probs on your count ... lovely hues.... and Jackson Pollock aint got to worry in his grave about the ability of these Blackpoolian youths.. they've got loads of improvement available to them. Must be plenty more bus shelters that are available to be abused.
Dave
Send me the laptop drive, and I'll do a recovery for you FOC, its the least I could do.
Craig
Thanks all.
Tin: normally, I run a backup to a 1.3TB NAS running X-Raid, but we've been having some building work done and I've not had access to my office. I could have run my regular backup over our wireless network, but I figured I'd leave it a few days until I could run it over Ethernet instead. As it happens, that was a big mistake, and one I won't be making again.
Craig: thanks, but the drive's already gone.
lol @ some of the comments you get Dave!
the tones are lovely in the image. Did someone say this was not a beach shot? Looks like the beach through the window to me! mal