macro.jpg
by icu1965

Comment by Arcanist:
Yup. It's harsh/sharp/bright, but there are things you can do to resolve that.

If you have PS, take the original and duplicate the layer.
Set that duplicate to Filter/Highpass (3-9 px)
Set that layer to overlay
Edit/Fade to a point where there are no halos, but it still pops off the screen.

This type of sharp tends to have less of a piercing effect on metal and high contrast images.

macro5.jpg
by icu1965

Comment by Arcanist:
Great job of lighting this and not getting extreme hot spots all over the reflector! Nice focus/DOF. A square crop including the whole of the light might place more emphasis on the center bulb. This one would do well with a slight noise reduction and a boost on the bright to make it look like you used a higher exposure range.

macro6.jpg
by icu1965

Comment by Arcanist:
I like this a lot. Plenty of light and great exposure to prevent that red cast that is happening in the rest of your series. Like the differences in the sharpening. Would have been a mistake to resharpen them. This is a great capture of the essence of an artist. Would remove only the sticker from the pencil in the 3 o'clock position.

macro8.jpg
by icu1965

Comment by Arcanist:
Suffers slightly from red-shift due to low light. I like the setup here and would love to see this one shot again at just a slightly higher angle, from a tripod and slightly overexposed. DOF is great. Really want to see the color reproduction look pastel-ish.

macro9.jpg
by icu1965

Comment by Arcanist:
I like the concept of this image. The leading and diminishing perspective line here offers a lot of interest. Can you keep the same angle, fan these out a bit to enhance the far end's termination and place them on a contrasting color/colors background that is muted enough to not challenge the main subject? Maroon as opposed to red, amber instead of yellow. Sharp as heck focus on those unsharpened ends with fading DOF (f7 or 8) and a focused light that casts shadows just so slightly? Maybe even have one of them sharpened?

macro10.jpg
by icu1965

Comment by Arcanist:
Agree with JR. Shadow is the key here. Focus is a bit off, but I suspect this is due to a handheld long exposure. How can you place this loop in a classic macro position, still capture it as a focal point, use an f16 aperture and targeted light to show off that loop shadow? (Tripod, Penlight or reflector and something to support the tool while you frame the whole...)

macro11.jpg
by icu1965

Comment by Arcanist:
Hey Jess. Thanx for the shooting info on this one. Like that you left the shadow and shape of the mushroom cap. This image is suffering hard from 'low light' noise At 2.8, 320, and 1/15, I reach psychically into your image to see that you are handholding this shot with available light (I could be wrong, but I'm pretty sure that you are.) Give yourself two advantages. 1) Gorilla Tripod ($20-$30) for stability and 2) Tin foil reflector to create a spot light effect and gain that extra bit of light you want right where you want it.

Depending on your software, you can remove most of the 'yellow/red' haze that has appeared here (camera saw gold and thought that the surrounding light areas must equal white). The surface here if shifted to white or grey might help to redefine areas of soft focus in the tack.

The focal point in the low spot in the tack's head is subtle and unexpected. very nice! As a voted challenge entry , DPC members would clobber it. This is however a great practice tool and in a side challenge very worthy of study. Like to see you take this with a full white surface, targeted and reflected white light, and a more head on approach (tack off slightly so we are led into the mushroom cap)from the pointy end, but leaving the focal point exactly where it is now.

macro6.jpg
by icu1965

Comment by scwalsh:
good job the colors are sharp the dof is ideal and the focus is great. this shot brings me back to my child hood, laid down on the living room floor watching cartoons and coloring

macro6.jpg
by icu1965

Comment by hajeka:
Wonderful set of drawing stuff. Hope your dad is ok.

macro6.jpg
by icu1965

Comment by socalsteve:
I always loved pencil shots - nice one!