Challenge 1: Wheels within Wheels- Open to Interesting Ideas

[David Kilpatrick]

Photo Challenge no 1:

'Wheels within wheels'

Suggestions: remember that you can frame a view through an object, you can use perspective to fit more distant objects within closer ones, you can superimpose images. For non-English speakers, this phrase has a meaning. It can mean any kind of working which goes on within something else. Political complications, machinations, plots, red tape, bureauracy, processes happening behind the scenes when something is set in motion. I guess it comes from the way clock and watch mechanisms work, with small wheels turning inside big wheels. But you would have to be very clever to express that meaning in a photo! Fire away, or hunt through your archives!

David

[MFS]

I wait for some examples, as for a non English speaker, I'm not quite sure what you mean. Not even after the exta explain. (sorry David)

[Hawk]

I'd love a rule that everyone must include PP info. It will give an idea how much photo was achieved by actual composition and shooting and how much of it was done in PP.

[01af]

... as for a non English speaker, I'm not quite sure what you mean. Not even after the extra explain.

Being a non-native English speaker, too, I find David's explanation clear and straightforward. I heard that expression before---in the song "Windmills of Your Mind" which is the title song of the motion picture "The Thomas Crown Affair" with Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway---but wasn't aware that's a common expression with a certain meaning. So I've learned something new today.

Question regarding the challenge: Are the submissions supposed to be entered here, in this thread? And is there a certain deadline? I think it would make sense to keep it open-eneded ...

-- Olaf

[David Kilpatrick]

The idea is to post within this thread. Each new challenge will get a new thread.

David

[stevecim]

Hi All, I'll go first

[stevecim]

I didn't think my photo was that bad, that no one else wants to post one

[Dr. Harout]

Need some time.

[David Kilpatrick]

It's not that bad! You are just the only one to have come up with a shot so far. The idea of the challenge is to be slightly challenging, I know that this is not easy. It's so far from easy that I do not have anything in my library which fits it straight off - not that I can remember. But I have a few ideas of where to find subjects which do fit and might make a shot.

I'll put up an easier challenge subject shortly, as well. It is possible to have as many challenge threads as we want. Also, anyone can start a challenge thread. It's not my prerogative! But it should not be too simple, the idea is to encourage new photographs and more creative thinking.

David

[01af]

Here's my contribution to this challenge:



Okay, to shoot the innards of a watch movement may be not the most creative idea, as it's so obvious. But I think I still got a nice and somewhat unusual picture which even kind of catches the metaphoric sense of the motto. Just note how the subdial looks like a small wheel which rotates the second hand inside the larger 'wheel' of the primary dial. And then there's the lid which magically reflects the complexity of what's going on behind the scenes in order to make the hands move across the face and tell the time.

Originally I planned an overlay of the watch's face and movement ... but that turned out blunt and boring. Then all of sudden this idea occurred to me.

It's a composition of no less than six shots---one for the crown, three for the face, one for the outer golden lid, and one for the inner brass lid with the mirror image of the movement which in reality of course is on the backside. The six raw captures where shot in plain sunlight on the window sill with an SAL 100 mm 1:2.8 Macro lens on a Dynax 7D at f/11, 1/50 s, ISO 100/21° from a tripod and brought together in Photoshop via layers and layer masks. Even at f/11, depth-of-field was way too narrow to cover the whole depth of the watch in one single capture. To shift the plane of focus from front to back, I refocused the lens rather than shifting the whole set-up with a focusing rail. This resulted in slightly different magnifications which Photoshop admirably took care for automagically via Auto-Align. The layer masks were created manually.

-- Olaf

[pakodominguez]

'Wheels within wheels'
It can mean any kind of working which goes on within something else. Political complications, machinations, plots, red tape, bureauracy, processes happening behind the scenes when something is set in motion. I guess it comes from the way clock and watch mechanisms work...

I think people didn't get the mataphor yet...

[Hawk]

Below is my shot for this challenge, propably not good but what to expect from beginner. It would be much better I think after removing front plate, but when one will do so springs will go loose and everthing will come to bits.

Sony A200, Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 DG Macro, 15 sec, f 18, ISO 100, 200 mm, macro mode enabled on lens.

Image has full original exif included.

PP during RAW import: WB heavily corrected (my fault, I shot it at auto WB and realized that too late), small saturation and contrast adjustement, minor selective channel saturation/luminance adjustements, lightened a bit.

PP after RAW import: yet again saturation and contrast adjusted this time with levels, sharpened (USM), resized, added border.

Gears and wheels

[Hawk]

I think people didn't get the mataphor yet...

Oh, I got it but decided to go with inside of a clock

[pakodominguez]

I saw it more like this:

[bossel]

I think people didn't get the mataphor yet...

Like in 'All in all you're just another wheel in the wall' - leave them pics alone