autofantasia's photos with the keyword: Challenge

For this week's Sunday Challenge , which had the theme of transition . This is a shot of some autumnally coloured peony leaves which I'd just added onto the top of our compost heap. In a few months they and everything else in that pile should have been transformed into lovely crumbly compost ready to use as a mulch around the garden. Also for Sight and Sound ... Pete Seeger (words by Lee Hays) with the short, but somewhat amusing "In Dead Earnest" - enjoy: youtu.be/0Op-OxfwsNg youtu.be/X6tJKfVyGbE

What I'd call a 'nearly ran' for this week's Sunday Challenge which had the very interesting theme of repeating patterns or items . Taken once again at Sam Turner's yard in Northallerton, but this time I have no idea what it was other than it was made from plastic and there were huge piles of it coiled up. The shot doesn't give an idea of scale, but I'd say each hose would have been about 6 inches in diameter. They just appealed to me and I thought they'd make for an interesting abstract. A big thank you to TimC and also Roger Dodger for confirming that this is indeed a land drainage pipe. Also for Sight and Sound from Jeff Wayne's musical version of War of the Worlds ... "Brave New World" - enjoy: youtu.be/Q4Ar6evQQ_w youtu.be/j-_k5sO2jqM youtu.be/hzJ9193bVPc

For this week's Sunday Challenge which had the very interesting theme of repeating patterns or items . When it came to getting some suitable shots I decided to go to Sam Turner's in Northallerton and have a wander around their yard to look for likely subjects. Sammy's, as it's fondly referred to by locals, offers a wide range of clothing, footwear, garden products, equestrian and farm supplies to both farmers and the general public alike. And as I suspected there were lots of interesting things to photograph, so much so that I spent about an hour wandering around and best of all not once did someone come up and say "what are you doing" - lol! Anyway, the shot I've decided to go with shows sections of ready made rounded timber Palisade fencing, often referred to as picket fencing, which was piled up ready for sale. Also for another of the best groups on ipernity, Sight and Sound ... it just had to be Amii Stewart with "Knock On Wood" - enjoy: Official Video Live Midnight Special 1979 French TV And just in case anyone is wondering if the lady still has it, check out this live performance from just a couple of years ago: Live in Ragusa 2015

This was a 'nearly ran' for this week's Sunday Challenge for which the theme was, as some of you might remember, metal . This was one of the shots I took from outside the fence at Allerton Steel, of Northallerton, which led to me being asked by staff what exactly I was up to.

For this week's Sunday Challenge for which the theme was metal . This was taken in the yard of Allerton Steel of Northallerton, who are specialists in structural and mechanical fabrication and was a shot I didn't think I would get given that the yard has a high fence all around it. However, my efforts at getting some shots through the fence led to two men coming out to ask what I was doing ... oh how I wish I had a pound for every time I've been asked that! Anyway, once I explained they seemed convinced I was harmless and agreed to me getting inside the yard to take some more photos for the challenge. Also for Sight and Sound . And with today's news that Walter Becker, co-founder and guitarist for the US band Steely Dan, has died aged 67, how about said band with "Reelin' in the Years" from 1973 - enjoy: youtu.be/wntRrR1TnOE youtu.be/ea3Bofkmwlc

A late entry due to the Bank Holiday for this week's Sunday Challenge for which the theme was inversion . This is a shot I took of some golden Japanese forest grass we have growing in our back garden. I then created an inverted layer from it, which I set to Hue (Legacy) before merging the two together. Next I copied this new layer and set the top copy to Multiply with the opacity on the lower one set to 40%. Once again I merged the two before oil painting this new final version to smooth it out and give it a more artistic feel. Normally I'd have added a copy of the original image into the Notes, but I can't currently do this as my Club membership has expired. However, for those that don't know the plant it's an elegant deciduous grass with arching stems, bearing narrow variegated leaves that have creamy-white, green and yellow stripes. I also wanted to add this to Sight and Sound , but was struggling to come up with anything until I came across a bluegrass barn dance cover of a song called "Blurred Lines" performed by Scott Bradlee's Postmodern Jukebox. It seems the original song and video by Robin Thicke proved to be quite controversial depending on how you interpreted his lyrics, but hopefully this bluegrass cover version will prove less so: youtu.be/Nz-OMn1o22Y youtu.be/aJnUP8uguh8 Incidentally, if you've not come across Postmodern Jukebox before it's well worth checking them out on YouTube or by following the link below to their website. They claim to provide "gramophone music in a smartphone world" by reworking popular modern music into different vintage genres, especially early 20th century forms such as swing and jazz: postmodernjukebox.com

For this week's Sunday Challenge for which the subject was polka dots . This particular challenge sounded pretty easy at least until I tried to find something that I could shoot which actually had polka dots on it. For a while it looked as if I might need to 'broaden' the definition to include something that say had spots on it like a set of dice or the spots on a ladybird poppy. However, at the last minute my wife dug this old blouse out from the back of the wardrobe and so I was able (for once) to stay within the terms of the actual brief. No doubt now that the challenge is over I'll find loads of suitable photo opportunities that feature polka dots ... such is the life of a "Sunday Challenger" ... groan! Also for Sight and Sound ... how about The Andrews Sisters (before my time - lol) with "Strip Polka" - enjoy: youtu.be/OyILRoOhvyQ youtu.be/U8ew-WY23mM BTW, my Club subscription expired today, which is why most of my images are no longer visible. I've already renewed once at Christophe's increased rates and had hoped by the time that 3 months was up the IMA would be in charge, but alas no. I'm very reluctant to do so again so will probably leave things as they are and keep my fingers crossed that the deal does eventually go through.

For this week's Sunday Challenge for which the subject was walls . This is a section of the outside wall on St. Andrew's in Starbeck, Harrogate, which had been decorated with hundreds, if not thousands, of these little crocheted flowers as part of this year's Starbeck In Bloom competition. Although I went relatively close so as to also capture the lovely old stonework there were as I've said many, many more of these flowers attached to large areas of the church exterior. And there were similar displays and beautifully crafted flowers attached to several other buildings along the town's High Street as well as to fences and railings. Starbeck in Bloom was formed 19 years ago after a spate of vandalism had reduced morale within the community and a small group of people and businesses got together determined to make improvements in the town. They decided initially to brighten the shopping environment by putting some flowering tubs along the High Street and then they entered the Yorkshire in Bloom gardening competition competing in the Urban Category. Within a couple of years of entering this regional competition they were starting to win awards for their efforts and that success has continued to grow as has support for the initiative. So much so that this year, after many years of winning Gold awards in Yorkshire in Bloom , they were asked to represent Yorkshire by competing within Britain in Bloom , the much respected community gardening competition organised by the Royal Horticultural Society. In addition to the efforts to brighten up the main shopping areas there are a wide range of events held throughout the town and the flowers you see here were created as part of the Starbeck is Special community art project which involved making flowers out of trash to decorate the High Street. www.starbeckinbloom.co.uk www.rhs.org.uk/communities/campaigns/britain-in-bloom Also for Sight and Sound ... how about Peter Gabriel and "Wallflower" - enjoy: youtu.be/D04KqzH8480 youtu.be/wOHBjpjDsio

For this week's Sunday Challenge which had the theme of green landscapes . As I've not been able to get out much with the camera this week I took a dip into the archives and came up with this shot, which was taken at Beamish Open Air Museum earlier in the year. The church you see here is, or at least was, St. Helen's the old Parish church of Eston, Middlesbrough, and it dates back to the 12th Century. However, by 1998, with the church having been disused for around 15 years and it having been partially demolished by local vandals it was in a very sorry state. So, despite it being a Grade II listed building, permission was granted for its demolition and it appeared then that its fate was sealed ... that was until Beamish stepped in at the last moment to rescue the church for preservation. They carefully deconstructed it stone by stone so that it could be rebuilt on the Museum site in County Durham next to Pockerley Old Hall, which can be seen behind the church high up on the hill. Some of the bricks still have numbers written on them, which I can only assume have been left to illustrate how the Beamish team were able to reconstruct the church exactly as it had been when it stood in Eston, albeit now fully refurbished and fitted out with replacement fittings including some beautiful Georgian pews. Please view on black for best effect. www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-21108837/church-moved-and-rebuilt-at-beamish-museum www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3315277/Vandalised-medieval-church-rebuilt-brick-brick-40-miles-away.html

For this week's Sunday Challenge for which the subject was straight lines . This piece of public art which reputedly cost around £760,000 was created by artist David Mach to celebrate the rich railway heritage of Darlington and is officially named "TRAIN", but it's more often than not referred to by locals as the brick train . Commissioned by Wm. Morrison Supermarkets PLC and Darlington Borough Council supported by the National Lottery through the Arts Council of England it can be found on the outskirts of the town adjacent to the A66 where it has stood since the summer of 1997. It's modelled as many of you will have spotted on Mallard , which in 1938 set the world speed record for steam locomotives at an astonishing 126 mph (203 km/h). A total of 185,000 bricks were used to create this amazing sculpture along with 170 cubic meters of concrete. The train weighs 15,000 tonnes; covers an area of 600sq meters; is of hollow construction; measures 23ft high by 130ft long; and took a team of 34 brick layers, labourers and apprentices 21 weeks to build. In addition, there are even 20 special ‘bat’ bricks built in at various places to encourage the nocturnal creatures to use it as their home, which might explain the whitish deposits that now cover much of the structure. It is now regarded by local officials as a much-loved local landmark despite concerns initially about its cost and is certainly an impressive sight. However, I have to say that I was somewhat disappointed by the surrounding area as it felt somewhat neglected and forgotten, which is a shame given that it has just celebrated its 20th anniversary. The planting around the site felt somewhat overgrown, signs were missing or damaged and the gravel path up to the supposed viewing platform was riven and rutted by rain meaning I doubt it would be easy to navigate with a pram or wheelchair. That said it's still worth a visit if you're ever in the area if only to marvel at how the artist has managed to recreate a speeding train complete with billowing clouds of steam from ordinary straight-lined rectangular house bricks. You might need to view this on black for best effect though to fully appreciate all those hundreds of straight lines.

Another 'nearly ran' for this week's Sunday Challenge , for which we were asked to create a Tilt-Shift image. Not sure if I'm getting any better at this, but I like it regardless of whether it works as a miniature. There's another 4 attempts to be found in the Notes, all taken on the same day.

A 'nearly ran' for this week's Sunday Challenge , for which we were asked to create a Tilt-Shift image. Perhaps best viewed large - no pun intended!

For this week's Sunday Challenge , for which we were asked to create a Tilt-Shift image, something I'd only tried a couple of times before. Essentially, it involves taking a photograph of a real-world scene and then editing it to make it look like a miniature scene, such as you might find in a model railway. As I found out there are several ways to achieve the effect and there's even a website that allows you to tilt-shift your own image. In the end though having looked at several online tutorials I opted to do mine in Photoshop which has a built in tilt-shift effect within the Blur Gallery, albeit I gave the original images a few tweaks before hand to increase the colour saturation and smooth things out. Once I'd decided which route to take and made a few notes to keep me right I quite enjoyed the process and actually ended up with several possible entries for this week's challenge, but I kept returning to this one. Oh, and in case you are wondering this was taken from Level 5 of a multi-storey car park in Darlington. Thankfully, it was completely deserted, but I did get a few strange looks from the office workers in an adjacent building as I leaned over to get my shots! tiltshiftmaker.com

For this week's Sunday Challenge , for which the subject was rain , which to be honest we've not had an awful lot of this summer. Thankfully, on the day my wife and I had planned to visit Thornton Hall Gardens on the outskirts of Darlington it was somewhat overcast and we did indeed get some rain. Nothing that heavy mind you, more drizzle than anything else, but sufficient to add some moisture to the plants. The garden in question was open for charity, something they do several times a year, and it is well worth visiting. So much so that we actually went twice this week as we found there was so much to see that the initial half-day we'd allocated wasn't sufficient to get around and do everything justice. In addition to the gardens they have a small tea room and sell a limited number of plants, many of which they themselves have grown. So, if you like your gardens, are ever in the area and fancy supporting a few good causes at the same time I can thoroughly recommend a visit. You will find a few more of the images that I took for this challenge in the Notes should you care to check them out and if you want to learn more about Thornton Hall Gardens please follow the link below: www.thorntonhallgardens.co.uk Please view on black for best effect.

For this week's Sunday Challenge , for which we were asked to go back to basics : Either use a non-zoom or set your lens to 35 or 50mm only, camera to ISO100, and lets see something SOOC, no crop, no post pro, just like in the old days of film, or even use ISO100 film, mono or colour. The only post processing allowed will be your watermark-signature. To meet the challenge I used the 18-105mm kit lens that came with my Nikon D90 set to 50mm. I couldn't select ISO 100 as such because the D90 only goes down to ISO 200, so I had to select Lo 1.0 , which apparently equates to ISO 100. For my subject I decided to go with this thought provoking and imposing piece of art called Eleven 'O' One (11:01) which can be found near the Terrace Green cenotaph in Seaham, Country Durham. Known locally as 'Tommy' the statue was built using special CorTen steel, an alloy material originally produced by United States Steel. This corrosion resistant steel when left uncoated develops an outer layer patina that protects the steel from additional corrosion and gives the statue its distinct appearance. Standing 9ft 5ins tall, it weighs 1.2 tonnes and was created to mark the centenary of the start of the Great War by artist Ray Lonsdale. Looking decidedly war-weary 'he' sits thoughtfully, head bowed, rifle in hand, as he reflects upon the sheer horror of World War One during the first minute after peace was declared in 1918, which is where the official name comes from. Apparently, the sculpture is also intended to represent Post Traumatic Stress Disorder which many of the returning soldiers endured even though at that time the condition was little understood and was simply referred to back then as "shell shock" as it was attributed to concussions caused by the impact of exploding shells. Shell shock was characterized by "the dazed, disoriented state many soldiers experienced during combat or shortly thereafter". And when soldiers who were not exposed to exploding shells were found to be experiencing similar symptoms it was assumed that these soldiers were cowardly and weak. Treatment was brief, consisting only of a few days of comfort, with the "firm expectation that the soldier return to duty" and because 65% of shell-shocked soldiers ultimately returned to the front lines, treatment was considered a success. Anyone who wants to know more about the installation and the artist behind it might like to read the following article, which was published in the local press shortly after the statue was put in place: www.thejournal.co.uk/news/news-opinion/sculptor-ray-lonsdale-reveals-story-7374302 A tricky challenge I found as I missed the flexibility that being able to change the SO can give you and it also made me realise how much I rely on post-processing to tweak my shots and supposedly bring out the best in them even down to the fine border that I always add, but which I've managed to resist doing here ... even if how the photo merges into the white background really, really annoys me!

For this week's Sunday Challenge , for which we were asked to take a photograph of a place you love . I was torn between RHS Harlow Carr and Fountains Abbey for this particular challenge, but in the end decided to take a shot of the latter if only because we had a trip to there already planned. This is the view as you walk down towards the ruins from the main Visitor Centre and I like it because I think it encapsulates what the place has to offer in addition to the abbey: peace, tranquillity, beautiful scenery, wildlife and a feeling of wellbeing. And in case anyone is wondering if the sheep and the solo bird were added or cloned in I can honestly say they were not, I was just lucky I guess when it came to getting my shot. Please view on black for best effect.

For this week's Sunday Challenge , for which the theme was metal . This is one of two metal 'bikes' attached onto the fence that surrounds the car park for The Royal George in Morton-on-Swale, North Yorkshire, which is a small village a few miles from Northallerton. I'm guessing they were put up to show support for the Tour de Yorkshire. Not real bikes, although from a distance you might think they were!