Fantasia
by Gordon

Comment:

Originally posted by flip89: Congratulations also for being a finalist at betterphoto.com! This really rocks!

Thanks! It was cool that I won second place over there!

Free your mind.
by dinn

Comment:
but, but, but - he's still holding on! Great capture, excellent image - congratulations on the win.

Fantasia
by Gordon

Comment:

Originally posted by jmsetzler: Gordon, I have to ask about the 'snood'? Is this something you fabricated to control the beam of light from the maglite? Something maybe to concentrate the beam?

First, its a small maglite - lens end is probably about 1 - 2cm across. I used a 3 inch square piece of aluminium foil and wrapped it around the end of the maglite, so you have a tube leading away from the bulb, projecting out about 2 inches. Then you can scrunch and flatten the foil in any way you like. I used this to create a oval 'brush' that was thin and wide, and some of the back scatter from the foil also gives the harder edges on the brush strokes.

It takes a bit of playing to get used to the 'brush' stroke you need to use, this is where the digital feedback is invaluable - try something, check how it looks, try again.

If it isn't exposed enough, use the brush more 'heavily' (linger, go over areas multiple times, change the lens focus, open up the foil) or increase the exposure/ decrease the aperture/ change the ISO

Message edited by author 2004-02-06 08:52:39.

Fantasia
by Gordon

Comment:
Thanks again for all the comments! Here's some more info on how it was done.

It was a 30 second shot, in a dark room. I used a mag-lite (flashlight/ torch in Europe) to draw the light trails in, moving the light around against the white background where I wanted it. I flicked the light across the paintbrush a few times and stroked around under the edges to highlight those too, and stuck it into the bristles from behind to add the glow.

I used a aluminium/ aluminum/ tin (call it what you will!) foil cover on the end of the light to help me shape it appropriately - you can see the effect of that in the edge 'swirls' that have texture to them. Easy to bend/shape the end of the light by squishing the foil.

I figured I wanted more paint/light at the tip of the brush so I concentrated it a bit more heavily there.

The blue colour comes from setting a custom white balance using a reference card prior to the shot, then tuning it slightly in Photoshop.

I did a small amount of cloning to remove some small light flares and dust - also there was a pencil line on the back board where I'd traced out and planned the shot ahead of times which was blurred out of the final shot. The light trails and everything else you see are as shot - nothing was added, only cleaned up or removed - and even then not much at all.

Took about 15 minutes to do the whole thing from concept to finished result.

Message edited by author 2004-02-06 08:47:44.

Sign of Old
by Rgarcia

Comment:
I like the old, sepia feel of this that you've added - it works well with the crumbling buildings and weather worn sign.

The wires through the scene jar it back to reality though and break the mood that you were building I think.

Fantasia
by Gordon

Comment:
Thank you to everyone who commented! Took me a long time to win again, 82 challenges and almost 2 years ago!

Aura
by nsoroma79

Comment:
Congrats - very subtle

Sparkling personality
by timmi

Comment:
Congrats on the ribbon!

Electric Laces
by Geo_Griffin

Comment:
looks very much like you just ran a filter on this with find edges or something. Curious to know if that was how it was achieved

Sydney Harbour Bridge at Sunrise
by andrewlr

Comment:
Wow - this is beautiful. Almost looks rendered!