'Til I'm Blue in the Face
by nards656

Comment by nards656:
Just for clarity in the world... :)

This WAS a bounced flash, I was just very close to the camera and that's why the dark eyes.

Thanks for the feedback! Very much appreciated.

Time of Death II
by nards656

Comment by madcrabber:
there appears to be some loss of focus on the front of the watch. if all were in focus it would be stronger, keep up the good work.

Time of Death II
by nards656

Comment by Ben:
The dop just needs to be slightly larger as some of the face is out of focus.

Time of Death II
by nards656

Comment by pineapple:
The symbolism is flawed, surely? If the watch was damaged by the cause of death stopping at that most significant time, so be it. But the photo does not seem to show any damage. Hard, therefore, to suspend disbelief.

'Til I'm Blue in the Face
by nards656

Comment by DanSig:
[[tradingpost]]

as a portrait there are a few flaws... the eyes are too dark but still you have washed out spots in them, the lighting is bad, a straight flash from the camera is never good, try using a reflector or bouncer, even just a diffuser would help.

as for the challenge.. the saying you used " 'Til I'm Blue in the Face " a different makeupstyle would have scored much higher, the saying refers to pushing it so hard that you stop breathing and you need oxygen because your skin is turning blue.

a white powder on your face and a light blue lipstick would have been great, then adjust whitebalance too make the white powder turn slightly blue. that would make you look like "blue in the face"

'Til I'm Blue in the Face
by nards656

Comment by tngrndream:
hello again,

i think you got robbed dude. i didn t vote in this one. but i would have scored it well.

the only thing that maybe would have been a drastic improvement would be ifn the guy was totally blue instead of just a few marks.

everything else is good that i can see.

Priorities
by nards656

Comment by rasdub:
Hell yeah, go Tar Heels!!! I've got that exact same hat, among others, and its got just as much good luck grime on it :). With the 2006 recruiting class coming in, the Heels are gonna be tough next year.

Check out the fisheye shot that I have in my portfolio of the Dean Dome if you get a chance.

Go Heels!

'Til I'm Blue in the Face
by nards656

Comment by ericwoo:
--Trading Post--
The lighting looks a little flat here. I do like the composition and the square crop, but I'm not sure that it fits snugly in the challenge. I do like the creativity, but I think more blue would have helped. Great focus. I hate doing self-portraits.

'Til I'm Blue in the Face
by nards656

Comment by nards656:
The entire face being blue seemed too "cliche" in itself. We've seen that. Besides, I only had washable markers, not body paint.

Ever tried to draw on your own face in the mirror? Besides, I SUCK as an artist :)

Thanks so much for the comments.

'Til I'm Blue in the Face
by nards656

Comment by kirsty_mcn:
~trading post~
The composition and format work well here, but the lighting doesn;t seem all that interesting imho. I definitely think you should have gone for all-blue, so it looked less haphazard and more comical.
But yeah, I think the lighting is the main thing that needs improvement - its just all very flat and this makes it more snapshot-ey.
Also, it could have benefitted from a deeper dof - the focus is fine, but narrow dof makes some features (eg eyes) soft.

The idea is great though, and if you had gone all blue I think it would have done much better. You beat your prediction though! lol

Actually, now I look at it more I'd personally suggest a slightly lower crop, so your chin isn't cut off.