Five in a row - Simon Arron

Deep breath... Right, here goes. I shall endeavour to be as diverse as possible over the next day or five (but can't promise that motor sport will wholly be absent)...

#1 - Where on earth?


I haven't posted this on here before, although I've uploaded something adjacent (link). It was taken in August 2012 with K-5 and Sigma 10-20. I was pleased with the vibrant colours, but like it mostly because people are surprised when they learn where it was taken. It looks very rural, yet Heathrow Airport is only a few miles to the west and the City of London is similarly close to the east. That's the beauty of the WWT centre in Barnes - a welcome tranche of countryside on the capital's fringe. The Sigma 10-20 isn't an obvious choice for wildlife reserves, but sometimes...

Really like the 'in your face' quality of the sunflower Simon (am hoping it is a sunflower - hopeless with plants).

Works really well with the smattering of contrasting colors around it.

Carl

Simon

A great start - lovely use of an UWA to isolate the subject; super colours as well.

Phil

Looking forward to your five shots Simon, I've always been a fan of your work. The first one certainly hits the viewer between the eyes, the sharpness of the Sunflower works really well, colours are great too. Personally, I would have liked to see the background more blurred, this is not a criticism, just my personal taste.

Regards
David

Great stuff. An "in your face" sunflower. The DOF control works very well here.

Best regards

A great start to your Five Simon! Bold and effective, it's an eye catching shot with good colour and space to explore.

Very nice, I like it

That's an eye grabbing start to your five-in-a-row Simon. I love the vibrant colour, bold composition and the wide ranging colour palette.
David

PPG: http://www.pentaxphotogallery.com/artists/davidtrout

Thats a stand out.

It's a very small quibble, but I feel that the picture balances better if the space to the left of the flower is the same as the space to the bottom of the frame. It shifts the position of the flower very slightly, but I feel it then clicks into balance.

The colour and DOF choice are spot on and I wish I'd been there to shoot this scene.

I like this and I think the DOF separates the subject from the background but leaves enough detail for the viewer to wander round and find other interest.

Johns suggestion of a crop would but the flower on a diagonal from the corner. Maybe there is something in these composition rules!!

Thanks, all, for the feedback thus far.

@ David Storm: nowadays, I would probably take the same shot with a variety of different apertures, to experiment with DOF, but two years ago I was still discovering new buttons, functions and techniques almost every time I went out (as, indeed, I still am - partly because I refuse to read instruction manuals for anything, ever, and learn mostly by trial and error).

@ John Riley: that's a fair point about compositional adjustment, but if memory serves the head of the flower was poking over the top of a fence that I wanted to keep out of the shot, for obvious reasons. When i have time, I'll see if I can find the original image (it should be backed up somewhere). There might be scope for a small tweak.

Episode two will follow as soon as work stops getting in the way...

#2 - A glance into the past


I wanted to include a portrait among the five, but in my case that mostly means grand prix drivers and/or grid girls. So... This is the result of rummaging among my pre-digital output, a shot taken in 1981 with K1000 and, I suspect, whichever 50mm prime was current at the time. I was probably using a roll of Tri-X pilfered from my dad's stock. There is a motor racing connection - it was taken amid the cocktail of woodworm-rich planks and scaffold poles that passed for a grandstand at Lodge Corner, Oulton Park. The subject is Rachel, a friend from Sheffield University. She was curious about the car-related nonsense with which I was involved - even though I was still a student, I'd already started to supply words and pictures to a couple of publications.

Plus ça change...

Super portrait of a lovely girl Like the smile and laughter in the eyes

The look in her eye there makes it clear she was only there for all those fast cars Simon Very interesting to be transported back to those days ... The 80's and film! It has a spontaneity to it, you've just caught that moment beautifully.