Ten Minutes From Home

ziggy53

I was really frustrated today and decided to give myself an assignment:

Shoot whatever I could find within 10 minutes of my home, and I wanted to be able to frame without cropping in post.

This is what I came up with, between a couple of small parks and the river.












These were shot with the old Sigma 70-210mm, f2.8 APO, and I think all were with a Tamron 1.4x "F" series telextender. All are at f2.8, because the lens goes ape at any other f setting. (This is a very old lens, designed for Canon film cameras.)


ziggy53

ronphoto

This is a nice job. The photos are very interesting because of the way you have presented them to the viewer. Great composition and use of color.
Ron

W.W. Webster

ziggy53 wrote:

I was really frustrated today and decided to give myself an assignment: Shoot whatever I could find within 10 minutes of my home, and I wanted to be able to frame without cropping in post.

Ziggy, I love this one! I'd like to see what cropping and (further?) pp could do for it.

ziggy53

ronphoto wrote:

This is a nice job. The photos are very interesting because of the way you have presented them to the viewer. Great composition and use of color.
Ron

Thanks Ron!

ziggy53

leebase

Good idea. I'm vacationing in the Rockies this week -- so I have all kinds of amazing beauty to photograph. But I need to learn how to see the beauty near me as well.

Lee

ziggy53

W.W. Webster wrote:

Ziggy, I love this one! I'd like to see what cropping and (further?) pp could do for it.

Thanks WWW! I am planning on printing this one fairly large, and I think it can stand on its own in the proper picture frame. I am also reworking the image to affect the water to give "harder" crests, and then I might apply a cross-star effect. 16:9 aspect is possible.

Thanks,

ziggy53

ziggy53

leebase wrote:

Good idea. I'm vacationing in the Rockies this week -- so I have all kinds of amazing beauty to photograph. But I need to learn how to see the beauty near me as well.

Lee

Lee,

That was my frustration. I was sure there were images and subjects that I just wasn't seeing, partly because I see them everyday so they blend in, partly because of my attitude, I just couldn't think of my little area of the world as interesting.

The truth is, there is great beauty all around us, all the time.

The seeing is there for the looking. Photographic opportunity is not limited to any part of the country or piece of equipment, it is more limited by artificial boundaries we place on our selves and our situations.

Thanks,

ziggy53

wxwax

That's a good assignment, Ziggy.

ziggy53

ziggy53 wrote:

Thanks WWW! I am planning on printing this one fairly large, and I think it can stand on its own in the proper picture frame. I am also reworking the image to affect the water to give "harder" crests, and then I might apply a cross-star effect. 16:9 aspect is possible.

Thanks,

ziggy53

This is one treatment I kinda like. Unfortunately, because of the rather strong processing used, I doubt that it would hold up at large size.



ziggy53

ziggy53

wxwax wrote:

That's a good assignment, Ziggy.

Thanks Sid. I'm fairly pleased, and I think I may try to sell some of these as prints to local businesses. I have more shots planned too. :

ziggy53

Nikolai

Nice one, Ziggy!

ziggy53 wrote:

I was really frustrated today and decided to give myself an assignment:
Shoot whatever I could find within 10 minutes of my home, and I wanted to be able to frame without cropping in post.

I was actually thinking about almost the same topic (30 min instead of 10 was the difference:-) for one of the next classes, so when I saw your post I was like "damn, now I'll get accused of stealing and get sued" :
Hope you don't mind

ziggy53

Nikolai wrote:

I was actually thinking about almost the same topic (30 min instead of 10 was the difference:-) for one of the next classes, so when I saw your post I was like "damn, now I'll get accused of stealing and get sued" :
Hope you don't mind

Nik,

I'm looking forward to seeing your images.

Thanks,

ziggy53

arroyoshark

ziggy53 wrote:

ziggy53

I really like the shapes in this one. If I were to even critique the image in the slightest, I would have included the tops of the trees (or some of the trees) in the bacground. But then, I am usually critiqued for not cropping tight enough. Still it treats the eyes very well.

W.W. Webster

ziggy53 wrote:

I am also reworking the image to affect the water to give "harder" crests, and then I might apply a cross-star effect. 16:9 aspect is possible.

I look forward to seeing it!

Edit - Sorry, I hadn't seen you had already given it some attention further down - looks good.

Nikolai

Now, how'd you do that?

ziggy53 wrote:

...I think I may try to sell some of these as prints to local businesses....

This is probably more like "MYOB" question, but I'm all ...

Do you just waltz in without an appointment and bring a bunch of already framed 20x30s, all tagged at $$$?

Hope you don't mind my asking...:):

ziggy53

Nikolai wrote:

This is probably more like "MYOB" question, but I'm all ...

Do you just waltz in without an appointment and bring a bunch of already framed 20x30s, all tagged at $$$?

Hope you don't mind my asking...:):

My situation is a little unique in that this is a small community, and I know just about all the significant business owners. It's sometimes an advantage to volunteer for United Way, and work with the Jaycees, American Legion, VFW, Chambers of Commerce, law enforcement, a whole bunch of churches, Boy Scouts (My face just got in the local paper last Sunday for a Boy Scout activity), etc.

I also used to work for the local paper as the night and weekend photographer, I still submit stuff from time to time and I get a "byline", and my father taught at the local junior college and has a small printing business.

Anyway, I have a pretty good people networking setup and I can probably sell some prints if I charge my cost, ... if I watch my costs.:D

I am not deluded into thinking this is a money making venture, and I probably won't get more than a couple of 8" x 12"s or so worth of sales. Still, it keeps my juices flowing knowing that some of my images are floating around.

If nothing else, it'll give me a chance to talk to some people I haven't talked to in a while. In the past I've given stuff away, this time I'll ask for money.

Also, I'm not showing everything I shot to you. There is more topical/local stuff that I will try to sell.

As far as how I'll do it, I'll use a different approach for different people. I'll probably use a "pride" angle of some sort for most. There are also some charity auctions I might be able to leverage.

Then again, maybe nothing will happen and I won't sell a thing. I'll still have a portfolio of prints that "I" like.

Life is a trip!

ziggy53

ziggy53

arroyoshark wrote:

I really like the shapes in this one. If I were to even critique the image in the slightest, I would have included the tops of the trees (or some of the trees) in the bacground. But then, I am usually critiqued for not cropping tight enough. Still it treats the eyes very well.

Thanks for your comments! I view the trees as part of the background, not part of the subject. The subject, in this case the "bridge" structure, stands out against the green, but the scene doesn't need the trees to work.

I liked how lines seem to break, and then continue, at several different places in the scene. There is also a kind of "face" in the image, if you look for it.

Shapes, color, texture and placement are what guided my eye and my lens in this image.

Thanks,

ziggy53

Nikolai

I see...

ziggy53 wrote:

My situation is a little unique in that this is a small community...

Thank you for the details!