Merry Christmas 2012
by kgeary

Comment:
@mike -- it's just subject to background distance. the 50mm 1.4 produces beautiful bokeh anyway, but it's certainly helped a lot by the distance between subject and background.

In the BTS shot, she's closer to the lights than she was when I actually took the image. For the real shot she was slightly passed the halfway point on the other side of the bed -- the side I shot from.

Message edited by author 2012-12-19 21:33:10.

Merry Christmas 2012
by kgeary

Comment:
Thank you all for the kind words. To answer Ryan's question, the lights are a combination of net lights and string lights. Here's a BTS shot:


Behind the Scenes of Christmas Card Shoot by kevingeary, on Flickr

Family wishes
by primabarbara

Comment:
//www.dpchallenge.com/challenge_vote_image.php?IMAGE_ID=1044530#

Feeling Groovy
by Kelli

Comment:
Is it me or is this oversharpened to hell and back?

Miss
by imantas

Comment:
Love this. Beautiful portrait. 9.

Fur hat
by imantas

Comment:
Love it. Ribbon-worthy.

Free as a Bird
by digifotojo

Comment:
Notice the photographer hasn't been back to explain the discrepancies in the image. The false accused are generally pretty loud. The silence around here is telling.

Free as a Bird
by digifotojo

Comment:

Originally posted by J-Me: Jo, I'm so sorry that there's a couple of self-proclaimed "know-it-alls" in here, disrupting your enjoyment of having just won this ribbon. Perhaps, they do need some help in learning etiquette. (A statement, not a question). Dudski and Kgeary...neither of you have any idea of what it is that you're talking about. There have been PLENTY of photos gracing the front pages of this site that I have had to head scratch, wondering why they are there. However, they are there. Enough people found merit and beauty in the shot to put it there. The same holds true with this one. Accept it...your particular tastes or not. As for looking "fishy"...there are all kinds of forms of editing techniques. Just because YOU can't figure out how they're done "legally" doesn't mean that they ARE illegal. Too bad neither one of you could censor yourselves enough to either not comment if you had nothing good to say about a winning entry...or...simply refrained from commenting (as I do when I don't agree with a ribboner) and waited to see if it was validated. Both of you will look like fools when this ribbon sticks. I hope your photos receive the same curteousness as what you've shown here on this one.

And if it's shown to be not valid, I'll accept your apology.

Free as a Bird
by digifotojo

Comment:
I agree with Dudski...this image can't be legit. There's an obvious paintbrush stroke on the right side just above the tree line that extends nearly all the way across the frame with a color shift between what is above the stroke and what is below. This image needs to be checked out.

Free as a Bird
by digifotojo

Comment:
I'm not sure how an out of focus image with a less than pleasing black border gets third place, but whatever.