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05/22/2006 08:53:34 AM · #1
I was pleased with the finish of my Environmental Portrait entry...my oldest was a fairly willing model for about 30 seconds, anyway.


The shot was inspired by a shot I found on this site (amazing stuff if you like film noir). Click "shooting gallery" and keep hitting "next" at the end...lots of fun images! The actual image I was inspired by was this one.

Did any of your entries have an inspiration from somewhere/someone else?
05/22/2006 09:41:35 AM · #2
That was a nice one laurielblack!

Mine was not inspired by any site, but by this crypt that I have been "dying" to use in a challenge. Unfortunately, when I edited it, and from what I could see, the gate door was nearly totally darkened,and the darker areas were supposed to be much darker and the lighter areas to a medium darkness. The idea was to show a deep dark sepia look with overall, creepy, dark overtones.

Upon calibrating my monitor from some comments I have been receiving lately, I can see patches of burn and the photo it too light for my liking or from the mood I really wanted to give off. I am disappointed. Not in my score, but in how I missed the mark on calibrating and knowing of the tips and tricks before submitting - like taking it to a lighter gamma before processing. Hence, this is the disappointing result.

On the better side, I LOVE the comments I received, and from some of the commenters in particular I was quite flattered!

05/22/2006 09:44:53 AM · #3
espy, I think you're too hard on your photo. It doesn't have to be dark to be creepy. You successfully created a thirties-movie gothic sort of feel. Well, something between a thirties move and a 50's B-Movie! :) I love it.
05/22/2006 09:52:06 AM · #4
Originally posted by posthumous:

espy, I think you're too hard on your photo. It doesn't have to be dark to be creepy. You successfully created a thirties-movie gothic sort of feel. Well, something between a thirties move and a 50's B-Movie! :) I love it.


Thank you. I was just going for that living-dead kind of thing, and since the shot was taken at around 2pm, I really wanted to exude more drama with darkness. I'm a big fan of HMS and deep dark tones.

But thank you so much for your wonderful comment! I even had one person email me to say I got robbed. :) Many of the comments were wonderful, and I really appreciated that!!
05/22/2006 10:00:09 AM · #5


Mine was inspired by my husband asking the waitress if I could take her picture. lol. at that point i HAD to take it. I'm EXTREMELY shy and had struggled with asking people if i may take thier photo that whole week. so when he asked i was really freaked out and taken off guard, but his intentions were good. so i just took two quick shots of her and hoped when i we got home they'd look good. i think it was great for no real set-up or choice of shots( i usally take a LOT, and narrow them down to my favorites), but a coupel people said she looked scared. i thought she looked proud that we wanted her picture, but maybe she was scared. i hope not. poor lady. we tipped really well though. ;) lol
05/22/2006 11:35:22 AM · #6
Surely there are more of you who were inspired for this challenge... :)
05/22/2006 11:36:51 AM · #7
Yup, I was.
05/22/2006 11:42:08 AM · #8
Originally posted by BradP:

Yup, I was.


That was a both a nice story and a nice gesture regarding your subject.

Message edited by author 2006-05-22 11:42:29.
05/22/2006 11:55:52 AM · #9
In the clearing stands a boxer, and a fighter by his trade
And he carries the reminder of every glove that laid him down or cut him
'Til he cried out in his anger and his shame
I am leaving, I am leaving, but the fighter still remains
Yes, he still remains........................

Paul Simon

I was slightly dissappointed with my score and sadder that I asked people to kind of connect some simple dots..if even that. My subject "Bobby The Boxer" as he's know in my neighborhood, is long retired and hasn't seen a ring since his last fight, his 459th fight, many years ago. I thought of Simon and Garfunkles song, The Boxer as I set out to get this shot at the bar Bobby works at, as a bouncer/bar-back. He is by all means a Boxer and this is now his environment...I thought people might be able to put that together. Some did and I really do appreciate that.

Heavier PP, a little darker, more sepia toning and more grim.

Please, please look above at image 2. This is the version I wish I'd entered but did a "DPC panic edit" to show more of his eyes and some lighter detail because I couldn't bare getting any "too dark" comments even though that's exactly what I wanted.

Message edited by author 2006-05-22 16:41:15.
05/22/2006 11:59:10 AM · #10
whoa, I can't tell the difference between the two pictures. I guess that's why I'm on team suck.

I had no trouble putting it together, but my assumption was that the retired boxer became a barfly.
05/22/2006 12:01:11 PM · #11
Originally posted by jaded_youth:



Mine was inspired by my husband asking the waitress if I could take her picture. lol. at that point i HAD to take it.


I am pretty shy too and got up the nerve to ask this lady and ended up not being able to ask the person I wanted to photograph:( so then I decided to take a picture of our daughter last minute, but Jaded beat me with the lady I asked:(

my entry

Anyway This is not the exact picture I wanted to take but I was swayed at things people were saying about the challenge. I got some comments about her not having the right expression for getting a shot and I agree but People were saying that a Portrait had to be looking at the camera so I had her do it. People also commented that I should have left off the part in the title about her getting an injection (which she is not really doing) but I felt that most people wouldn't get it because she doesn't use syringes. I wanted the desat to highlight her medic alert bracelet but at the last minute decided to include her hello kitty bandaid because I felt it gave a very child like feel.

I was inspired by the fact that Diabetes really is her enviroment. there are not many other people I know that are dominated so much by something. It effects every decesion she or we make. It determins what time we can go to the store or whether or not she can go to bed when she is tired ( it sucks telling a 5 year old that she can't go to slepp even though she is about to pass out because her blood sugar is too low) or a hundred other things. we have been told that people diagnosed at her age(diagnosed at 3) don't live much past thier early 30's and most of the time either can't or are encouraged to not have children. It is impossible to really convey how much it effects her life. I wanted to make people talk because when people hear that she has diabetes many think that she is overwieght or that we did something wrong. many people don't know that there are two differnt kinds of diabetes. unfortunatly I am not a very good photographer and could not convey what I really wanted to.

Message edited by author 2006-05-22 12:04:01.
05/22/2006 12:43:27 PM · #12
I wanted to reproduce an amazing shot (which of course I can't find anymore) of a driver in his helmet. A simple B&W, 3/4 front shot which really isolated the eyes and gave them so much power.

Unfortunately, without media credentials it's near impossible to get near the drivers when they're suited up and ready to go. The closest I could get was behind a wire mesh fence by the assembly area, and the drivers near me were facing the wrong way!

These 2 were the closest I could get to the desired effect ...



and I was quite keen on this one (one of Nigel Mansell's sons btw) ...

but bottled it because of the processing.
I am pleased with my result, and some very good comments. I didn't expect a not-so-technically-great shot (1/200s at 300mm handheld ... d'oh!) to fare so well.

More of my 'people' shots from the weekend can be seen here:
BTCC Paddock & Pits
Including the added attraction of "The RAC Girl" : )

*wibble*
05/22/2006 12:48:02 PM · #13


My entry was inspired by my sister who graduated last weekend. And by inspired, I mean I was there taking pictures of the graduation and then got home and thought hey, this is kind of portraity...maybe I'll enter it! :)
05/22/2006 01:21:21 PM · #14
I knew I would be hit by the DNMC folks. It's their right to give me 1's and 2's.


I had outtakes that met the challenge perfectly but they didn't convey the feeling I wanted to and that is what the art of falconry means to me and the bond the falconer has with the raptor. How his hand is ungloved, gently giving the saker his reward. It's a personal interpretation.

Here are some of the outtakes




and just for fun, here is my favourite
:)
(not my shot)
05/22/2006 01:44:28 PM · #15
I was inspired by a shot Dan O'Brien did of Eva Herzigova for the Pirelli Calendar in April 1998. I decided not to enter the topless photo cos I know how it would have fared here in DPC compared to the one I entered :)

(Nude warning for the second thumbnail by the way!)



The second photo is the shot by Dan O'Brien of Eva Herzigova.

Message edited by author 2006-05-22 14:16:47.
05/22/2006 01:58:29 PM · #16
Originally posted by kiwiness:

I was inspired by a shot Dan O'Brien did of Eva Herzigova for the Pirelli Calendar in April 1998. I decided not to enter the topless photo cos I know how it would have fared here in DPC compared to the one I entered :)


I am totally neutral on the topless thing, but seriously I like your outake better in every way. Very cool shot.

Liza
05/22/2006 02:48:51 PM · #17
Originally posted by elru21:

Originally posted by kiwiness:

I was inspired by a shot Dan O'Brien did of Eva Herzigova for the Pirelli Calendar in April 1998. I decided not to enter the topless photo cos I know how it would have fared here in DPC compared to the one I entered :)


I am totally neutral on the topless thing

I'm totally neutral on the topless thing too *innocent face* ... so where's your version of it G?
05/22/2006 02:50:34 PM · #18


The moment I read the description I knew I wanted Melissa in the middle of either her siblings or peers at school surrounded by the pressures she faces every day. We talked about what we wanted to do and then I talked to her homeroom teacher to use the classroom. It came out exactly like I wanted it. The ironic part was not a couple of hours later she was in the hospital after threatening to kill herself. I asked her if she wanted me to pull the picture and she said no. But as usual Melissa is my inspiration and my muse at times.

Deannda
She may be coming home today or tomorrow, yeah! ;)

Message edited by author 2006-05-22 14:50:50.
05/22/2006 03:02:55 PM · #19
Originally posted by Neuferland:


Deannda
She may be coming home today or tomorrow, yeah! ;)


Great to hear!
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