Maybe next year...
by zolika13

Comment:

Originally posted by Yo_Spiff: I gave it an 8. I really liked the story you were conveying with this.

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it!

By the Lake
by zolika13

Comment:

Originally posted by bjoern: Thanks for the explanation of how the light effect comes about. I wonder - is it a live model or one of the sculptures in the park?

It is a statue.
They have many interesting small and very large statues around the park.

By the Lake
by zolika13

Comment:
For those who are interested, this lake setup is at the Grounds for Sculpture in NJ, which is a 42-acre sculpture park and museum. It's like a huge garden and outdoor museum with large art installations.
Such a fun place to spend the day!

Regarding the photo, I didn't do much to it, mostly just dodge and burn.
The cool effect is created by the steam which sits on the top of lake, and the sunrays coming down and being reflected back by the water.
Have to see it in person! :)

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My biggest challenge with this image was finding a good composition.
I would've liked to make the model bigger, but with a tighter crop the sunrays would just become white stains.

After a few tries I ended up with this.
At the end my wife said: "It's good. Not great, it's just good." lol

The Choir
by zolika13

Comment:
Happy to see that some people enjoyed the photo! :)

Unfortunately I only had about 20 minutes for after-processing, and in those 20 minutes I also had to learn how to focus stack pictures in Photoshop lol

Apart from the yellow cast, I'm pretty happy with the photo. I kept the cans, will try to find a better composition / setup.

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The idea is not mine, btw. If you're curious, just google "beer cans singing" :)

Enchanted
by roz

Comment:
Those tones... masterfully done!

inside
by NiallOTuama

Comment:
The more I look at this, the more I love it.

The kitty approves
by zolika13

Comment:
Thanks guys!

This project was so much fun and such a struggle at the same time!
All those who ever tried to take a photo of a cat, know that the real challenge here is simply the fact that you're dealing with a cat :)

Cats don't care. One moment they're in the most photogenic pose you can ever imagine, but by the time you pull out a camera, they're carelessly walking away and the moment is gone.
You can't tell them to sit in a particular place and stay still until you find a good angle and create some kind of lighting, compose, crop (because it's minimal) and press the shutter button. Also you can't ask them to be patient until you try 20 more times, because most photos will just not turn out the way you want them to be.

This is how I ended up crouching by the couch for like 30 minutes with a reading lamp in my left hand, constantly looking for a decent angle for lighting, phone in my right hand following the cat's head and trying to compose a shot, while psst-psst-ing the entire time and gently poking her to turn the way I need her to be... As I said, a lot of fun :)

When this photo finally happened, I jumped up and screamed of joy and ran to my wife to share the picture with her. We both loved it!

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Once again, thanks for the comments and looking forward to the next fun challenge!

Message edited by author 2022-04-16 12:18:02.

Dripping
by zolika13

Comment:

Originally posted by oldbimmercoupe: Always hard to score a pic of someone else’s art. Incredible colors and concept here of course. GL.

So true.
I loved this artwork so much that I just wanted to share the best version of it, not even realizing that I am not adding any value to it, it's just a snapshot of someone else's work.

Meantime I've been looking at the original picture and I think I could have submitted something like this:



This crop gives the mural some valuable context, and I think the composition is quite good.
Anyway, next time :)

For those who enjoyed the colors in this mural, I encourage you to look up the artist's work, he has a very large and very impressive body of work.

Utah
by zolika13

Comment:
Thanks everyone for all the kind comments and great votes!

I always felt very passionate about photography and for the past 13 years I would enter a challenge every couple of years or so, with more or less disappointing results... Even though these were the best photos that I could produce, they would mostly fail in the challenges :)

Thankfully, despite the frustration of not understanding why the photos were not performing well, I never lost my enthusiasm for learning and trying to get better.

It is a very rewarding feeling to get a Blue, because I always had so much respect for this community. I do not interact much on the forums, but it's always a great pleasure to open the Weekly Update email, and it's very inspiring to admire all the great creations that you guys post!

Once again, thank you all!
All this is very exciting, I'm looking forward to join more and more challenges!

2 nude ladies try to catch a ride
by mshonak

Comment:
I think the idea has great potential, but the execution could have been better.

To me the girls look naked, not nude.
Maybe some accessories (e.g. luggage, hats, scarfs) could've added more to the story as well.

I'd love to see a better version of this, good luck!