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I Put a Spell on You
I Put a Spell on You
tanguera


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Halloween Song Titles (Expert Editing)
Collection: 2010
Camera: Nikon D90
Lens: Tamron AF 18-270mm F/3,5-6,3 Di II VC LD Aspherical [IF] macro for Nikon
Location: Las Vegas, NV and Los Angeles, CA
Date: Oct 20, 2010
Galleries: Emotive, Digital Art
Date Uploaded: Oct 20, 2010

Without a doubt, my most ambitious editing to date.

I was in Las Vegas over the weekend for a friend's b-day, and shooting all sorts of things to use for some composite images I wanted to try, including a pumpkin display at the hotel. And I didn't even know about the Halloween theme until Saturday night! Both JulietNN and I were still giddy with all the cool things we'd learned during Brooke Shaden's workshop, and were hoping there'd be an expert challenge where we could use our newfound skills. And waddaya know...? Beware what you wish for Juliet! You've got some mighty powerful mojo!

So I had the pumpkins but I needed more background. I needed some fierce clouds, and if I was REALLY lucky, some lightning. But what are the odds of having severe clouds and lighting - in Vegas??? Well, it must be 'cause I hung out with Juliet too long, because the next morning there were these monster clouds (which I captured) and gobs of lighting (which I didn't).

For the model, I suddenly realized that on Monday I had two back-to-back photo sessions scheduled which could also provide me with a model for an idea that was shaping. The sessions were fabulous and I got exactly what I wanted from the first young girl - the wonderful Sarah de la Isla. Watch out for her: she's going places (and not just in my images).

Now the only thing that was missing was lightning. I knew I could probably get a decent entry without it, but the idea haunted me (much in keeping with the season), and I remembered we have a plasma ball. Voila! Lightning. NOT. After several shots it became quite clear this would never make good lighting and I started to despair. Until I Googled "Photoshop lightning effect", and found a tutorial. It took a lot longer than I had planned, but I think I created some pretty decent bolts. And the final product looks almost exactly as I imagined. I've been tinkering with it obsessively now, and am finally too tired to go on...

I hope you like it!

Editing:
Many, many, MANY things including:
converting from RAW
assembling the witch (using the usual blending/editing tools) then evening out with curves, color balance, etc.
Assembling the clouds (lots of cloning, blurring, smudging)
adding the pumpkin tableau (adjusting levels, color balance, and dodging
creating the bolt graphics
sharpening
NN
save for web.

Collapse.

[Oct. 22nd, 2010 03:47:11 AM]

Holy Cow - a few hours into voting and if keeps up, it's going to be my new PB:

Votes: 18
Views: 57
Avg Vote: 6.6667

I thought the score was interesting :-)

[post-challenge]
Thank you everyone for your generous comments and voting. And my new PB!!!

Statistics
Place: 7 out of 45
Avg (all users): 6.7581
Avg (commenters): 9.0000
Avg (participants): 6.6250
Avg (non-participants): 6.7900
Views since voting: 2852
Views during voting: 396
Votes: 124
Comments: 19
Favorites: 3 (view)


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AuthorThread
11/10/2010 02:41:35 AM
Congratulations on top ten! awesome shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
11/08/2010 02:21:15 AM
I didn't even look at this challenge and missed it by a mile as I got busy! I love how I get blamed for everything!!! LOLOLOL.

Way you to go girlfriend, I am so proud of you!!!! This is a great shot!!!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
11/04/2010 04:43:28 PM
Top 10! Congrats! I thought this was fantastic!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/31/2010 11:39:27 AM
Congratulations!!!! I just sooo LOVE this!!! What a great idea and how wonderful you found all that stuff in Vegas.. Clouds Whoa, talk about Luck (did you make some big bucks as well??) Any how wonderful soo happy for you on your PB (ssssh I think it still should've won the blue) :^)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/29/2010 04:56:29 PM
GF..!!!!! .. LOOK AT YOU .. THIS IS TOTALLY AWESOME .
MANY MANY CONGRATS ON SUCH AN AMAZING IMAGE AND PB..:)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/29/2010 11:30:31 AM
Great Job!!! Love it!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/29/2010 08:33:51 AM
Congrats!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/29/2010 07:53:12 AM
I totally loved your composition. I gave this an 8. How exciting for you - a new PB! And a top 10 too - congrats!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/29/2010 07:12:31 AM
Too fabulous...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/29/2010 04:13:10 AM
Girl, you rocked this one! Congrats on top ten and PB!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/29/2010 02:37:42 AM
End result is very pretty, and fits the challenge best of all IMHO. Well done! Forgot to give you a high-five on the PB!

Message edited by author 2010-10-29 04:35:14.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/29/2010 01:45:43 AM
Congratulations for this great work! It was one of my 2 highest votes in this challenge.

The only concern I have about it is technical: the light on the main subject, that doesn't seem totally consistent with the rest of the picture. For example, her left palm (right as we look) is lit by a frontal source that is not impacting the pumpkins, which contributes to this "not integrated" feeling. Also, the light on the red dress is probably a bit too strong.

Other than that, the composition, idea and humor are perfect :-) Oh, and the lightning bolts are awesome. Love it!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
10/28/2010 09:39:23 PM
No idea how you did this. Perfect for this challenge, i have nothing bad to say, it's just awesome. I already gave u a 10, just came back to comment.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/25/2010 05:36:09 PM
LOVE IT!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/25/2010 04:31:33 PM
Back to comment...

This took a lot of work! Fun processing, love the demon faces in the clouds (or is that just me seeing things?). Great job!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/24/2010 11:26:41 PM
Really Really Really Good... Can't wait to see how this was done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/24/2010 05:58:32 PM
Well done editing! Great job mixing the lighting of different subjects.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/22/2010 04:41:23 PM
Very striking photo. My only tiny critique would be lines around your witch are a little too sharp and it makes it a little hard to believe she is a part of the photo. Even so great idea and great execution, I can't help but give you a great score.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/22/2010 08:46:11 AM
This is a real stand out and should be in the top 5 or something's wrong.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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