My get-pushed partner this week - Thomas Toth @thomastoth made the following challenge:
Hi Richard. I am your Get Pushed partner this week. I've reviewed your portfolio and you have an amazing eye when it comes to pretty things. Your flower and nature photos, including Maple Blossom, are really wonderful - crisp, clean focal points, rich and wonderful colors. Beautiful.
Well...my challenge for you is to find and take a shot of the exact opposite. I did see some black and whites earlier this month, but I want you to go further. Find metal. Old gears. Rusted out autos. Something that is completely and 100% man made and take a shot. When you process, I'd like you to process in a high contrast, inky black and white. I want to be able to feel the dirt, grime and cold in the shot.
Have fun. Take your eye, which is highly trained for beauty, and find the shot in something metallic, discarded and grungy. :) Have fun!
@thomastoth Well Thomas, I certainly had fun with this and I hope I met the challenge you set me. Thank you for an interesting Get-Pushed - I hope you're having fun with yours.
Nice work on the mission! I admire the collection for its textures, shapes, lettering, etc. My eye is drawn to the top right corner,though, so the vignetting hides the sky a bit (it's rather dramatic and wonderful regardless!).
This is great. I like the way the b&w makes everything look so clear and sharp. Its amazing how ordinary"junk" can be made to look so interesting with the right treatment. Katharine
The best thing about this, as it is the exact opposite of what I associate with your work, is that I still I knew whose photo it had to be before ever seeing the name. There's a recognizable thread that runs through your compositional choices and taste for "punch," regardless of subject or color.
@louuncouth Wow Lou, that's quite some compliment, I hadn't realised that I have developed a 'style'; I just call it 'having the right feeling' about a shot before I post it.
Richard this is a wonderful B & w; has all the grayscale, tones and textures. Love the overall composition and the wide angle which included the sky on the right adding even more interest. fav
Richard, I am overjoyed that you joined the get=pushed challenge, though I am quaking in my boots thinking what you would challenge me if you were ever my partner. And this is fabulous. To think you weren't sure about it. Think I'm going to fav it.
