Single In Single in July (SiJy) 2022 - discussion

[gordo]

Sitting here trying to think of inside shots for today.

Delivery didn't happen yesterday. So, another day waiting for delivery dude. Item is a bit temp sensitive, and there have been some packages go missing here at the complex. Not comfortable just letting packages being dropped at the door.

 

[JensM]

I will be retro-posting on Monday for tomorrow and Sunday, due to being on the road over the weekend.

 

[theoldsmithy]

Coming toward the end of the month now - I'd like my post on the 31st to be a collage. What do people use for doing these? I can't find anything suitable, unless I faff around with a custom print in Lightroom, which would be a pain.

 

[MoonMind]

View attachment 321062

Argh!

(Long version: Lost the focus lock ... Even though I noticed it pretty quickly and was able to correctly guess where, the only part I was able to find was the front knob )

M.

Following on from this post ... it may sound unbelievable, but I actually found the screw today.

Join to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

I was in the same area and thought, well, why not look in the place where I first noticed the lock missing - and there it was, in a little crack, thankfully, so the cars that may have passed haven't left any traces. It fits, too, so it's definitely not just some random find. So, two out of four parts ... I'm not too hopeful I'll be able to recover the spring and distancer, though. But this is very encouraging all the same.

M.

 

[davidzvi]

Coming toward the end of the month now - I'd like my post on the 31st to be a collage. What do people use for doing these? I can't find anything suitable, unless I faff around with a custom print in Lightroom, which would be a pain.

Sadly I will be on vacation the 29th - first week in August (even getting things posted on the day might be a challenge) or I would offer to create it for you. The SW I have is a retired product that still works, it's available somewhere I'm sure. But it's really only easy for me since I've been using for 10-15 years now.

If you want to post a 31st picture and a collage later I can help with that. I'm going to try and get the group collage done the weekend of the 5th/6th when I get back.

 

[MiguelATF]

Following on from this post ... it may sound unbelievable, but I actually found the screw today.

View attachment 325173

I was in the same area and thought, well, why not look in the place where I first noticed the lock missing - and there it was, in a little crack, thankfully, so the cars that may have passed haven't left any traces. It fits, too, so it's definitely not just some random find. So, two out of four parts ... I'm not too hopeful I'll be able to recover the spring and distancer, though. But this is very encouraging all the same.

M.

That is simply an astoundingly cool bit of news, Matt.
Congratulations on (impossibly though it might seem) actually FINDING it again! (and where you lost it, too...!!!)
And thanks for posting this update, with pictures.

 

[theoldsmithy]

Sadly I will be on vacation the 29th - first week in August (even getting things posted on the day might be a challenge) or I would offer to create it for you. The SW I have is a retired product that still works, it's available somewhere I'm sure. But it's really only easy for me since I've been using for 10-15 years now.

If you want to post a 31st picture and a collage later I can help with that. I'm going to try and get the group collage done the weekend of the 5th/6th when I get back.

Thank you for the offer, David. However, I'd like to do this for my submission on the 31st. Which software do you use? I'll try to find it.

 

[davidzvi]

Thank you for the offer, David. However, I'd like to do this for my submission on the 31st. Which software do you use? I'll try to find it.

Fotofusion by Lumapix, it's not an online service mementopix.

 

[MoonMind]

Coming toward the end of the month now - I'd like my post on the 31st to be a collage. What do people use for doing these? I can't find anything suitable, unless I faff around with a custom print in Lightroom, which would be a pain.

Well ...

There has been some back and forth behind the scenes, so I think I have to bring it up: "Single in" challenges have at their heart: one image per day. So, there are several people who're not too pleased about the idea to sort of skip the last image and work with previous ones. This is why, in spite of the effort involved and the really appealing results we've seen from @marlof and @Hanneke over the years (it was Marlof who came up with this IIRC), I think we shouldn't encourage last-day collages to become the norm or even to remain an option.

The challenge is meant to be completed *before* we do something with the results: If you take only 30 images, you basically haven't taken 31.

However, it *is* true that a collage is a very nice and rewarding way of finishing and visualising the results. We've seen this not only in the aforementioned contributions by Marlof and Hanneke, but also in our "favourites" collage in October 2021.

So, here's the proposal: We'll open a "favourites and member collages" thread this year, and David (@davidzvi) has kindly agreed to assist with producing collages from *your* images as well, apart from the "best of all contributers" one ("favourites"). Of course, you're highly welcome to do them yourselves, and if this sparks an exchanges as to what is the best software or platform to use, all the better.

FYI, I have found one app that will making a fast attempt at creating a collage super-simple: Adobe Express. Now, I'm not a fan of several of the restrictions and automations this online service comes with (and not a fan of Adobe in general), but it makes a first go ridiculously easy. And furthermore, people with existing Adobe subscriptions should be able to use more and better functionalities. FWIW, you can work with the free version (but you need to register).

Again, all this is not meant to be a go at anyone, specifically not Marlof or Hanneke: It's been their style and way of doing things, and it would have been up to the moderator's team, especially yours truely, to step in and act upon it if it had been a severe case of violating the rules. That's certainly not the case. What we're trying to do is take things a step further while at the same time holding up the rules.

What do you say?

M.

 

[marlof]

I use Single In to work on a project, working towards a themed collage. For my kind of collages, I need an even number of images. Which are all vertical or horizontal. In months with an odd total of days, I’ll use the last day for my collage. In months with an even number of days, I’ll use them all. I understand that I play with the rules a bit, and thought these months were all in good fun. If you would like to take it a step further, that’s fine by me. Your game, your rules. I’ll see if that step will still be attractive to me in future. Says the one who dropped out this month.

 

[theoldsmithy]

Well, I developed my theme this month specifically around the idea of a grid of 5 repeating rows of 6 colours each, and the final grid was intended to be as much an image in its own right as each individual image. With 31 days in the month, a grid of all the images just doesn't work. I can add a 31st individual image but it would break the theme too. I'll have to stick with the grid this time but I'll avoid that in future, promise!

 

[marlof]

Just take a picture of a screen with your collage. Rules upheld!

I use the print function in Lightroom for my collages, by just making a grid. That works best when all images are either vertical or horizontal.

Love your theme by the way!

 

[agentlossing]

Maybe for those who need an even number of frames, the 31st frame could either stand in its own, for the sake of the challenge, or else function as a replacement for an image you took for the collage which you don't care for? I know I like to put together the images I take during one of these challenges, usually into a couple of Facebook posts or the like, but I will switch out a few of the ones I like the least for others which I took as part of the challenge, but which didn't originally make the cut.

 

[MoonMind]

@marlof, @theoldsmithy Marlof, Martin, thanks for making your points clear - it's not about preventing you from following through with a plan, just to clarify expectations all around. Since yours are aesthetic and/or conceptual decisions, I think we can respect them, now and in the future. But I still think that *shooting* (and posting) daily throughout the entire month should be at the core of it all; Andrew has offered at least one angle on handling the "excess" image. However, good point about the 31 days thing - our current rhythm will always end up in us using "long" months - maybe we should tweak it to cover a different set of months occasionally (after all, we established the nine-month rhythm to get some variety into the results). That's certainly worth a thought; actually, a seven or five month rhythm would end up covering all months eventually (but five months - boy, that's one tough offer ...).

Again, nothing against collages in general, anyway - the idea to create a thread of participants' collages still stands. I'm with Andrew: Usually, not all images are worth showing and viewing again ... However, at the moment, I'm leaning towards pulling the lot together anyway - it's what you've achieved that counts as a whole, after all.

M.

 

[davidzvi]

Maybe for those who need an even number of frames, the 31st frame could either stand in its own, for the sake of the challenge, or else function as a replacement for an image you took for the collage which you don't care for? I know I like to put together the images I take during one of these challenges, usually into a couple of Facebook posts or the like, but I will switch out a few of the ones I like the least for others which I took as part of the challenge, but which didn't originally make the cut.

I haven't done a personal collage, but I will this year. What I do though is post 10-20 images in a gallery on my site.

For those that weren't here or are looking for help check out this thread from the last Vision shoot:

Challenge! - Vision 2022 - the Finale

POST UPDATED! The Vision 2022 Challenge is almost completed - but we're not quite there yet. While all images should by now have been posted, the final result remains to be put together: the Vision 2022 Collage. How to proceed: Of your contributions to the challenge, pick one to three...

cameraderie.org

Getting the images on my system really takes about as long as generating the collage. I just need the images, the canvas size, and the style (see post 21 in the thread, file names note style).

 

[JensM]

Having had that feeling of this being Saturday the whole day, I came to realize that I have two more shots with the 9 mm. I was somewhat looking forward to the challenge being over tomorrow.

I have liked the 9 mm, but it is somewhat of a beast to harness with its oddities. Given that I joined late and in practice have shot half (plus a bit) of the challenge, I think I could have hit the wall going the whole month.

On the upside, I think I may have grown in the wide end of things, I have always had a preference towards the tele end of photography, but now I feel like I have broken some sort of threshold in the wide bit.

 

[William Lewis]

After I posted todays image (7/29) I was unhappy with the exposure. I had to go back to that side of town any way and tried again, metering a couple of different places and also using my recently acquired Elmar. I found myself much happier with the results:

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I think I am not metering properly to start with (especially with the Nikkor) and then the "freeware" I was using to process was also just not working well for me. I broke down and renewed CaptureOne today as well.

We'll see what the last two days brings me.

 

[MoonMind]

Well, here we are, one day to go - as far as I could make out, even though a couple of us had to call it quits, this went quite well.

I thoroughly enjoyed most of the contributions - we had a good level of participation as well as a nice level of quality throughout, which is rewarding in its own right; I wish I had been in a somewhat more talkative and relaxed frame of mind, but life doesn't ask for permission before it puts your feelings through the wringer (don't worry, I'm just talking about grief - which is unavoidable if you live long enough). The "Single in" challenge ticking over nicely made things more bearable and helped me get my thoughts off all the worries bearing down on.

On a personal note, I've absolutely enjoyed using the Canon 35mm f/2.8 - which made the challenge a little less demanding than usual; it certainly wasn't as thrilling as in earlier installations when I couldn't be sure I would get a usable shot at all on some days. I actually think this little Canon lens brings up the best middle ground I've found so far between a modern and a vintage lens - while it is old enough to be considered thoroughly vintage, it's good enough wide open not to make you suffer for it, nor does its character dominate most shots in an obvious manner, and if it shines through, it's in an engaging way. It's also interesting that the two modern lenses that compare best are both considered quirky - the Canon lens doesn't feel quirky at any time because you somehow expect it to be, only to discover it isn't (much): The 7Artisans 35mm f/2 renders slightly bolder, but otherwise very similar images - sharpness is comparable - and the Voigtländer Ultron 35mm f/2 is much contrastier and crisper, but has the same visible amount of vignetting and slightly rough (I wouldn't call it harsh) bokeh. In short: If you get a chance to acquire this Canon lens for a fair price (mine came in at about the same amount as the 7Artisans), I'd highly recommend you get it - it can hold its own against current glass, is small, light, well made and reliable without being boring or overly finnicky (well, apart from mine losing its infinity lock - but that's a different story and could probably have been prevented).

Onto the last round - I'm already saying thank you to everyone participating!

M.

 

[Iron]

Well, well, well. I enjoyed this challenge, as well as what the other members posted. Their posts are more like a visual diary/journal of their daily lives.

This challenge gave me a good bonding time with the 18-55mm WR kit lens and I can say that It's still a good substitute for the 20-40mm, it doesn't cost a lot and it's WR. It's relatively light at 230g and the build is proper. I won't mind if I would bring this lens only on a tour.

I enjoyed the magenta-toned, desharpened and muted custom Satobi-like profile I used as it fits the nature of our current climate. I noticed that, even though the colours we muted/desaturated, the profile doesn't skimp on colour separation. I don't mind using the profile again/more. I should get in-tune with the custom profiles of Pentax.

I noticed that around the midpoint of the challenge, I thought the lens was so-so until I remembered I toned down the sharpness by -2 at Standard sharpness (There's Fine and Extra Sharpness, by the way.). I find that the Extra Sharpness mode that the camera has just represents how the lens actually resolves images on the sensor and it's not applying any post-processing sharpness at all because when I compared the JPEG with the Extra Sharpness mode at 0/default, it's close to the resolution of the RAW file (No Scientific Method applied). That means that Fine and Standard Sharpness are de-sharpened or somewhat blurred. I am with with @agentlossing as to why the other two modes are included but maybe some photographers do not want to be too sharp. I am not sure, haha.

I didn't have a problem carrying it around and shooting with it around many people. The ergonomics helped with carrying it around, especially because I can balance the camera on just one finger. Many times, I don't get noticed even when the camera is right up their faces. It became a topic starter 3 times during the SiJy challenge

Now, I have silly thoughts about what theme I should be going with on the next Single-In challenge, but I don't plan my life that far.

 

[MoonMind]

Done

To keep it short after yesterday's preliminary summary: This one was a smooth and rewarding one - thanks to everyone for participating and sharing inspiring images!

To see what's next (if you like), see this thread.

I'd also be grateful for some opinions as to a slight adjustment of the "Single in" rhythm - either by adjusting it just occasionally (every three years or so, by one month) or adopting a rhythm that, over time, will have us do all months. The latter could be achieved by seven or eleven month rhythms - or five, but that'd mean overdoing it; truth be told, I'm a bit wary of seven as well ... Eleven, on the other hand, seems a bit slow: It'd mean basically one challenge a year - which would meet the former yearly rhythm; yes, there were once only "Single in January" and "Oktoberfest" (German spelling!) challenges. As far as I am concerned, hitting all seasons over the course of three years is already nice. A seven month rhythm, on the other hand, would lead to quite an interesting pattern, plus it would have as walk through all of the months comparatively quickly:

July 22 -> February 23 -> September 23 -> April 24 -> November 24 -> June 25 -> January 26 -> August 26 -> March 27 -> October 27 -> May 28 -> December 28 (-> July 29)

Seven years for a complete cycle, two of which would contain only one "Single in" challenges ...

What's your take?

M.

P.S. Of course, there's one last thing I want to say about my chosen gear: I had to charge up the battery *once* - and had I started out with a charged battery, it would have lasted me the whole month. Not a small feat for a seven year old camera (though I only shot an average of maybe a dozen images a day and did very little chimping)