Nailed Image
by insteps

Comment by strangeghost:
I like it alot. The deep black background and lighting angle are perfect!

Nailed Image
by insteps

Comment by jenesis:
Fantastic details, excellent focus, perfect lighting and raw subject matter (thanks for leaving out the bugs) :) Really, this is an awesome shot. Your choice of the black background really makes this pop. I applaud you!

egg-scape
by insteps

Comment by Cantique:
Very fine! I was away on vacation and could neither submit nor vote, but this is wonderuful. Congratulations on a well-deserved win.

egg-scape
by insteps

Comment by FatWillie:
Eggs are noisy. Look like paper cut outs...almost like they aren't real. Too fuzzy ..sorry.

egg-scape
by insteps

Comment by kiwiness:
Congrats on your first ribbon!

egg-scape
by insteps

Comment by insteps:
Thanks for the ideas on how to improve this image. I'm planning to redo the post processing on this photograph. I'll publish the new version in my portfolio soon. It's great getting all this feedback.

Message edited by author 2004-07-27 14:05:26.

egg-scape
by insteps

Comment by sdeutsch:
Or try 'local contrast' sharpening:
Unsharp mask
20%
40 pixels
0 threshold

egg-scape
by insteps

Comment by jmsetzler:
In addition to what graphicfunk said, I believe that this photo is a great candidate for soft focus also. The lighting here and the darker overall theme would lend itself well to that... Make a duplicate layer of the original image... add a hefty amount of gaussian blur, and then change the opacity of that layer until you are satisfied with the look/feel of the effect... This would completely eliminate the sharpening artifacts... The image may not need any sharpening at all. I would try the soft focus before you sharpen to see what looks good :)

egg-scape
by insteps

Comment by graphicfunk:
This image should have taken first place because of its strong visual impact and subtle tones. When I first looked at it I accepted it as the winner. It lost this glory by a small percentage, much like those nose to nose horse races. I will tell you what is good about this image and what is bad and how to fix it for a dpc print or simply a good print.
The strenght of this composition is more on the shades of the colors. The green ceramic bowl and the brown egg tones are just too lovely and soothing to look at. I have come back to it over and over again to reach the depth of satisfaction that one seeks from a masterpiece. I still come back and each time I simply stare at it in admiration.
What is wrong: the only minor imperfection is the overshapenning...but outside of the halos, I would let it stand. To correct this will require a little well spent time. Here is the way I would do it. Make a copy and set your clone to about 40 percent opacity. Go to all halos with a small brush, 10 pixels or so and clone from the adjascent area so as to reduce the halo in those areas. Do not do multiple dabs in same area. Work at actual pixel size. This will retain the grit texture of the eggs.

egg-scape
by insteps

Comment by Margot Tenenbaum:
I wonder how you did this!