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Grapes of Wrath
Grapes of Wrath
snaffles


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Classic Novels (Advanced Editing VII)
Collection: Arcangel
Camera: Nikon D7100
Lens: Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D
Location: Chateau Snaffles
Date: Oct 14, 2013
Aperture: f.5.0
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/15
Date Uploaded: Oct 14, 2013

 John Steinbeck's classic novel of the suffering that the drought brought with it, and man's inhumanity to man. A great read, if grim.

Originally I wanted to do William Golding's Lord of the Flies' pig's head on a stake, but due to difficulty getting a pig's head in time, had to rethink. I had some other ideas in mind but I can foresee them being quite popular.

So I was outside, rethinking, when I noticed that my pine tree had these odd black thingies hanging from it... to my surprise and delight, a grapevine had entwined itself around the outermost lower limbs of the pine and now there are small clusters of wild grapes hanging off the tree!

They seem to be Riverbank grapes, possibly aka Mustang grapes. They look like small Concord grapes, and smell like someone poured a jug of Welch's grape juice on the ground. Not the best to eat as they are quite tart - most of the flavour is in the skins than the pulp, with large seeds relative to their size, but I found a recipe for wild grape jelly.

Anyhow, now that I had ready access to some handy props, it wasn't long before Grapes of Wrath came to mind.

Found some loose dirt outside, rolled it around in and on hands, then washed the dirt off to some extent, knowing what was left would soon dry as a nice light mud layer :-) Made fake blood from simple syrup (1 cup white sugar, 2 cups water) and red food colouring. Dipped the bottom most grapes in the blood so it would drip convincingly.

Shot in studio with SB-910 and 50mm up. Tried to do it as a blackfield shot but didn't work; tried to snood my dumb slave to illuminate the drips more convincingly, but it was erratic at best.

pp: shot jpg, crop, brightness/contrast, minor cloning, dodge and burn, resize, sharpen, save for web

_______________________________________

Post-challenge: 7th place for the D7100...hope it doesn't become a pattern, I really want to ribbon and/or 7+ score with the 50mm.

Well, can't say I'm too disappointed with a TT finish, esp as this is only the 2nd challenge shot with the new kid. I plan to submit this to Alamy and see if it makes me some $$.

Re the *crooked* drops...I was gently giving the grapes a little shake to help dislodge more of the juice/blood drops, hence the angle. Had I tried to straighten it so the drops went straight down, the wrist would have appeared to be even more crooked!

Statistics
Place: 7 out of 86
Avg (all users): 6.6727
Avg (commenters): 6.4545
Avg (participants): 6.4651
Avg (non-participants): 6.8060
Views since voting: 1176
Views during voting: 220
Votes: 110
Comments: 31
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 11/13/2013 05:26:32 PM
You nailed it! This shot is fabulous. Congrats on the hi score.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/23/2013 11:33:40 AM
Excellent shot and well suited to the challenge. Using fake blood was a great idea -- the drops add much for me. Congrats on the top ten finish.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/23/2013 07:35:55 AM
WD Susan. Great image and live I love the backstory. The only Top Ten image actually done in a Portrait Orientation that is usable for a Novel Cover where any edit would harm the overall composition or feel. No one appeared to pick up on this small overlooked criterion in this challenge. Novels/Paperbacks are taller than wider!

Message edited by author 2013-10-23 07:37:17.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/23/2013 02:18:59 AM
Nice, Susan! Great image, great effort, excellent finish.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/23/2013 12:38:07 AM
OMG Susan, I thought this was DA BOMB Great Great Processing!!! Totally blown away with your perfectly round "Blood"

Congratulations on your TT!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/23/2013 12:06:16 AM
congrats on the top 10 finish Susan!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
10/22/2013 11:27:19 PM
tromp not squeeze. nice drops. 4
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2013 09:11:56 AM
One of my favorite books ever, and the movie is a classic too. Though a literal interpretation, I find this image compelling. I feel that courtroom in this grasp. Excellent.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2013 12:49:55 AM
I can see this in b/w
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2013 12:19:28 AM
Perfectly done. Very impressive.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2013 07:30:04 PM
6...it's technically sound, but it speaks nothing of the novel to me at all.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2013 06:54:22 PM
Too literal.

The novel wasn't at all about grapes, the title was simply from a battle hymn.

Now, despite the fact that I think you've failed entirely to deliver on the challenge, I do think you've delivered an excellent image...

What to do? I'll award a 5 for this, but it's really only for sheer image quality.

Bumped to 6 for astounding quality.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2013 01:40:57 PM
Love the drip!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2013 10:36:14 AM
I like the lighting and grit of the image.
Good DoF and the drops coming from the bottom add impact to the fist.
an 8 from me
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2013 07:42:38 AM
Whilst I don't feel that the image has necessarily much to do with the book, I really like it! The dirty hand, the nails, the grapes and the lighting are great. Best of all for me are the grape juice droplets which could be interpreted as blood, pain etc. It tells a story of its own. A 7 from me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/19/2013 08:55:59 PM
A 6 for the effort. Good light and composition.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/19/2013 11:46:35 AM
As an image its arresting and tells a story.As to the connection to the title a little literal but it does convey despair.6.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/18/2013 07:31:15 PM
I like the lighting and the concept. I almost did the same thing. I think yours turned out better than what I would have done.

Gave it a 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/18/2013 06:05:14 PM
Very well composed and executed image. I don't think it has much to do with the story though, and that is really what I was looking for. In another challenge I would have marked it higher. 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/18/2013 04:32:03 PM
Didn't even have to look at the title to know it. Well staged - visually effective. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/18/2013 12:55:17 AM
Great!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2013 06:11:22 PM
Making wine.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2013 09:38:44 AM
Initially I gave this photograph a 6.
But then when I came back to comment, I saw other things that draw me in... like the drops of juice coming from the grapes. The detail of the dirtiness of the hand. The shot is really good and more deserving than a 6, so I'm bumping to an 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2013 06:53:33 AM
Symbolically there, though the novel deals with drought, the feeling of anger and angst is clear and the grittiness of despair. A tough one to portray I must admit.5.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2013 05:53:32 AM
That bottom droplet makes this whole photo. Well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/16/2013 09:18:19 PM
A technically sharp photo combined with a clumsy, obvious idea is particularly unattractive. There is no charm to clumsiness when it is done so professionally. 2
 10/16/2013 08:51:11 PM
Quite timeless in its angriness
7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/16/2013 07:24:16 PM
Great capture, love the details in the hand and the dirt, and especially the drops of grape juice! Excellent timing!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/16/2013 02:35:44 PM
Very nicely done. It doesn't have that much to do with the novel, but I could still see it as a symbolic cover. One thing bothers me a tad -- it looks like the image is tilted... the drops aren't falling straight down, they're falling at an angle. It doesn't look quite right.

-7-
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/16/2013 10:17:43 AM
Great idea and well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/16/2013 08:30:16 AM
Nice dramatic execution. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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