Frozen
by gyaban

Comment by kenskid:
I hope you make you living doing this kind of stuff.

Frozen
by gyaban

Comment by tome:
Very dynamic, strong and beautiful, probably my favorite of gyaban fantasyland :). Congrats on the ribbon!
I thought this one would divide the voters more, in terms of challenge topic... obviously everyone had their jaws dropped :).

Frozen
by gyaban

Comment by LevT:
great composition and editing, as usual, Christophe! Congratulations!

Frozen
by gyaban

Comment by Lydia:
Lovely ribbon for your lovely job of editing, Christophe! Congrats!

Frozen
by gyaban

Comment by AllenP:

Originally posted by gyaban: Originally posted by AllenP: Technically amazing and everything comes together extremely well! Love the mood and the tones too. I was one of the ones who thought it may not have been strange-looking enough, especially after going through all the super-strange looking entries, but I find this to be one of your best creations regardless of the challenge theme. The only thing I would have done differently was to make sure her hair extensions (in black) which seems like they were added in photoshop match the color of her actual hair (I am looking at the roots) which seems to be brown. I pick out these things because I usually zoom as much as possible in order to study a photograph more precisely (ctr-mouse wheel on mac as you know). Did I notice that correctly? Your dedication to your work is inspiring, Christophe. Oh, and of course when I offer an opinion on your images, I always consider what you are capable of so my critiques are based on gyaban-standards which are extremely high! Thanks a lot Allen. Don't worry about saying what you really think about my images, critiques are always welcome, especially when they come from talented persons, and when they are not gratuitous (i.e. I tend to ignore "this is not photography" comments, since I am obviously not going to change what I like to do to suit everyone's tastes). About her hair, it actually comes from a single photo, but I also noticed that color problem. I applied a darkening filter on it: I suppose I may have moved its mask inadvertently. Will check and correct when time permits. Thanks again!

Amazing that the hair is from a single photo. Impressive! Oh, and of course this is photography. It is an art and camera is just a tool you use which allows you to get to wherever you want to get. As long as you have to use a camera to create your final product, then there is photography involved. In this case, it is not only photography but a lot more.

Frozen
by gyaban

Comment by gyaban:

Originally posted by AllenP: Technically amazing and everything comes together extremely well! Love the mood and the tones too. I was one of the ones who thought it may not have been strange-looking enough, especially after going through all the super-strange looking entries, but I find this to be one of your best creations regardless of the challenge theme. The only thing I would have done differently was to make sure her hair extensions (in black) which seems like they were added in photoshop match the color of her actual hair (I am looking at the roots) which seems to be brown. I pick out these things because I usually zoom as much as possible in order to study a photograph more precisely (ctr-mouse wheel on mac as you know). Did I notice that correctly? Your dedication to your work is inspiring, Christophe. Oh, and of course when I offer an opinion on your images, I always consider what you are capable of so my critiques are based on gyaban-standards which are extremely high!

Thanks a lot Allen. Don't worry about saying what you really think about my images, critiques are always welcome, especially when they come from talented persons, and when they are not gratuitous (i.e. I tend to ignore "this is not photography" comments, since I am obviously not going to change what I like to do to suit everyone's tastes). About her hair, it actually comes from a single photo, but I also noticed that color problem. I applied a darkening filter on it: I suppose I may have moved its mask inadvertently. Will check and correct when time permits. Thanks again!

Frozen
by gyaban

Comment by lawrysimm:
As ever, a masterclass. There was only going to be 1 blue in this challenge. Congrats on becoming a class of 1.

Frozen
by gyaban

Comment by AllenP:
Technically amazing and everything comes together extremely well! Love the mood and the tones too. I was one of the ones who thought it may not have been strange-looking enough, especially after going through all the super-strange looking entries, but I find this to be one of your best creations regardless of the challenge theme. The only thing I would have done differently was to make sure her hair extensions (in black) which seems like they were added in photoshop match the color of her actual hair (I am looking at the roots) which seems to be brown. I pick out these things because I usually zoom as much as possible in order to study a photograph more precisely (ctr-mouse wheel on mac as you know). Did I notice that correctly? Your dedication to your work is inspiring, Christophe. Oh, and of course when I offer an opinion on your images, I always consider what you are capable of so my critiques are based on gyaban-standards which are extremely high!

Frozen
by gyaban

Comment by blindjustice:
Great inclusion of the distant trees, like graveyard fence posts. The vignetting with trees is also great, as is the icy lake telling the story.

Its kind of funny to see you field questions about light sources and shadows. As well as anyone ever could, you have attention to detail, and the images are fantasy- don't people know about faerie light?

Frozen
by gyaban

Comment by senor_kasper:

Originally posted by gyaban: Originally posted by senor_kasper: The light on her right appears to be backwards, but that is irrelevant given the overall quality of the result. Amazing! Congratulations!! Thanks a lot! In fact the sun being right behind her, she should theoretically be quite dark. As a consequence, I decided to deliberately add (virtual) frontal light sources (mainly from her right). And since the sun's reflection appears right between her 2 feet, I went for that choice, which looks strange from an analytical point of view, but was what worked the best in my eye. Choices, choices...

Sorry, I meant to say her RIGHT LEG (only) but I omitted the word 'leg'. I think the overall lighting is perfectly coherent except for her right leg. Again, major nitpicking here as the photo is spectacular.