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Searching For Signs Of Intelligent Life...
Searching For Signs Of Intelligent Life...
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Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Without the Hand of Man (Classic Editing)
Collection: Landscapes & Longshots
Camera: Olympus D-490Z
Location: Oakland, California, USA
Date: Dec 14, 2002
Aperture: 3.5
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/650
Galleries: Sky, Landscape
Date Uploaded: Dec 15, 2002

For the No Hand Of Man challenge I took a whole bunch of sunset pictures during the only break we were going to get during four days of rain. The foreground clouds have the same appearance as cumulus formations as seen when flying over them, so I flipped this to look as though it's taken from a UFO.
Caption:
Searching For Signs Of Intelligent Life...
Oakland, California • December 14, 2002 © Photo by Paul Marcus

Statistics
Place: 16 out of 60
Avg (all users): 6.2874
Avg (commenters): 8.0000
Avg (participants): 6.0741
Avg (non-participants): 6.6364
Views since voting: 6413
Votes: 87
Comments: 22
Favorites: 11 (view)


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AuthorThread
09/22/2012 03:00:37 PM
I had to check the timeline before commenting on this.
I don't know if you have seen the Cassini/Huygens images, but this looks like landing on Titan, and you made this before the Hand of Man got there. Unbelievable! Even the image format is a match :).
  Photographer found comment helpful.
09/01/2012 04:45:31 PM
Pure genius General.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/03/2008 08:29:17 PM
Ha...! Very good - I did not notice at first. But, it's something I've tried a time or two with good results like you've gotten - thanks for pointing it out to me. I was going for the Space Shuttle view...

&
  Photographer found comment helpful.
06/24/2006 01:01:44 PM
hee hee - I already commented on this.


Message edited by author 2006-06-24 13:02:21.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
06/11/2005 11:56:19 PM
Love the unusual golden tones. You're used to seeing so much blue or gray with clouds - this is a lovely different approach!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/02/2003 10:12:32 PM
Well, the stroke of genius was inverting the image. Makes it look like you are looking down from above on a dense planetary cloud cover. I would never have thought to do that :).
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/29/2002 01:58:56 AM
Thanks everyone for your wonderful comments!

I found it very amusing that, while the voting was going on, there was a forum thread regarding "saving" a photo by "funny" cropping. I so much wanted to use this image as an example...I don't think anyone has mentioned recognizing what otherwise might have been a pretty ordinary urban sunset photo...

For the curious, here is a link to the original frame from which I extracted my entry.
12/25/2002 12:47:16 PM
wow, paul, is this your highest placement ever??? i love it and the shape of the crop!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/24/2002 06:54:25 PM
Talya's Critique (critique club on break)
This is a really beautiful and striking photo. I really like it!
Composition - beautiful, it wouldn't be half as good if you didn't have the extra layer of clouds at the very top. I might have cropped a little more off the bottom as it seems to lose some of the detail that the rest of the photo has.

Lighting - really superb, I love the colors that the light allows here. The extra bright spot at the very top is slightly annoying but not terrible.

Focus - excellent the overall clarity is really nice.

Exposure - great job with this!

Fit the challenge - really well, it's obvious there is no hand of man, and it's beautiful also. Definitely the best cloud picture of the challenge!

Overall - I gave this a 9. I thought it was really lovely! Nice job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
12/20/2002 04:14:43 PM
challenge met. i like the format and the color here a lot. the title also adds a nice "angle" to this. makes me feel like floating above the clouds, but not too high because the sun is breaking through right at the top of the photo. made it into my top 6 this week. :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/20/2002 09:39:24 AM
Absolutely stunning! I love the tight crop on this. It's like a shaft of light. The clouds are just gorgeous. A 10 from me!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/19/2002 05:49:53 PM
Very nice picture, I like the format you chose.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/18/2002 05:44:42 PM
Beautiful!! Looks like a dream. Definately looks untouched by man. The tones are nice, and focus and clarity look good too. I actually like the bright bright light at the top, I think it adds a lot to the overall photo. Good luck in the challenge.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/18/2002 01:23:44 PM
Let me know if you find any (intelligent life forms)! An interesting composition/tint... I almost expect to see dudes playing harps in here somewhere.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/17/2002 07:51:21 PM
Wonderful above-the-clouds shot. I like the overall gold tone of your photo as well, especially appropriate with your title. Nice job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/17/2002 07:27:54 PM
Keep searching....(You might want to try a little lower!) Neat shot, nice sun rays, interesting clouds. Less than a total fan of sepia for this, but it's not horrible or anything. 8 Swash
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/16/2002 05:47:41 PM
so beautiful!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/16/2002 01:56:03 PM
WOW and then some......really good color, impact. Fine work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/16/2002 02:44:31 AM
Cool! Don't look to hard you might find it. Great idea!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/16/2002 01:48:44 AM
Great visual impact.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/16/2002 01:24:50 AM
Another great use of the new picture size rule. This looks great. I Also like the color tone you picked for hte picture, very nice.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/16/2002 12:53:16 AM
beautiful colors and I like the composition
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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