Scratch
by gyaban

Comment:

Originally posted by mqnaufal: Fantastic one and well deserved crown! I would love to read Post-processing tutorial on this. I know I am asking for too much. :) Congrats buddy!

Thank you very much :-)
A complete tutorial would be very long to write and I unfortunately can't afford that time, but I made the PSD file available (added the link at the end of my notes). Just disable all the groups, then enable them one by one to see how that was constructed. It should be quite easy to follow, but you can always PM me for some information if needed.

Kind hearts are the gardens...
by gyaban

Comment:

Originally posted by eschelar: I for one would love to understand a bit better how you were able to 'shop your wife's proportions to look like a little girl. That's some seriously l337 ski11z!

It's not that hard once you know what you want to do. When you think about it, the differences between the body of a child and the one of a grown-up lady are quite obvious: legs are a bit shorter, arms and shoulder are a bit thinner, hips are narrower, breasts are smaller (less "shapes", overall). From there, it's simply a matter of using the appropriate tools in your favorite editing software. For example in Photoshop, the "Puppet warp" and "Liquify" tool are handy for such work.

Kind hearts are the gardens...
by gyaban

Comment:

Originally posted by sjhuls: it sort of crossed the line into looking more like an illustration than a photograph. Usually your shots have a bit more of a photographic quality to them

Thanks for your comment Jennifer. You may be mistaken about my goal, though: I don't really try to stay in a given category. It's nothing I think of in advance: what I want is transfer my ideas and thoughts on the screen, in order to share them and hopefully use them as a way to communicate with people. Since I'm awful at drawing or painting, I use a camera instead of a brush, but that's the whole story. Sometimes it looks more like a photography, sometimes much less, but it's not a problem to me since I'm not trying to document reality. Many do that much better than I would ever do anyway! Everyone can express himself in a personal way, I suppose.

Jack and the Beanstalk
by Samantha_T

Comment:
Congratulations Samantha!

Despite the comments saying it could have been one of my pictures, let me tell you they are wrong. There are many things I would have done differently: you definitely do have a style of your own, no discussion about that! I am also very glad that you, Judi, Jen, Lydia, Alex, Minso, and many others are really pulling DPC up, towards better processing skills: while I personally don't care much about the website old interface, I do believe that good photos can only benefit from good post-processing (see 1X, 500px, DeviantArt, etc.), which implies mastering the tools of the trade. DPC was lacking in that regard in my opinion, and this wave of change is for the best!

So thanks for your hard work, please continue! And to the next challenge! I can't refuse the invitation you sent me in your comment ;-)

Kind hearts are the gardens...
by gyaban

Comment:

Originally posted by MinsoPhoto: Originally posted by Alexkc: I just can't understand how you didn't win. I was sure you were about to do your personal best with this one... no kidding this was by far the best of the lot.

Thanks a lot guys, much appreciated. I suppose some don't like dragons, and prefer lamb with beans ;)

The Dream Catcher
by jagar

Comment:
I'm pretty sure that's the first time I ever see a car used that way. Unusual to say the least! Great entry, perfectly fitting the challenge. Congratulations on the nice finish.

Perhaps tomorrow Is just a belief
by MinsoPhoto

Comment:
I love your experiments, and frankly, this score is disappointing given how interesting your entry is. I hope we'll see more of your creativity soon.

My Little Teapot
by Judi

Comment:
Great work Judi, I really like this one. Great concept. It's a shame challenges are still limited to 800 pixels, I hope this will be raised soon so that entries with that much details could benefit from it. Congratulations on your ribbon.

How Many Everyday Objects Does it Take to Change a Lightbulb?
by Samantha_T

Comment:
Congratulations Samantha on both your win and PB! I always like your work, you really have a great sense of composition and harmony. This one is also very fun, it was my favorite of the challenge.

la giaconda
by tanguera

Comment:
Johanna, this is one of the most impressive photo I ever saw on DPC. The work you put in it is astounding, and it really shows. The processing is top notch and succeeds in rendering an oily aspect that immediately catches the eye. The backdrop is also very convincing (even if I can spot a few folds near the castle), and so is the outfit, especially the dress. I probably wouldn't have resisted to alter a little bit the left of her smile using 'liquify', just to mimic the original one, but proposing your own version of it is probably more interesting.

What can I add? A fantastic photo. And of course, this is the winner of the contest by a large margin in my opinion.