Nudes - entries i truly admired....

08/29/2005 09:46:40 PM · #1

The following were nudes that i truly admired and thought I'd just give the artists a little kudos (the following were all entries i voted equivalent to the winning entries - all of which i liked and congrats to all three):

- the first i found to be one of my favorites. I love water and I felt the use of it here and the addition of the reflections were astounding. The feel and tones of the skin were mesmerizing. The model, indeed beautiful. The only downsides were a bit of washed out feel. However, the model and more particularly, her face were well preserved. The tree/piling shadowed. So that the model was still the strongest element. The only aspect which took my eyes off her was as I approached the water. However, the subtleness of skintones combined with the reflection turn this potential distraction into a well executed transition. Nice job....!!!

- shadows shots can be hit or miss, i really felt this was a hit. The post processing is apparent in the clouds but I did not feel it to be over-done. The shadowed silhouette is very well defined, with clear outline of the face and the breast, the evidence of a defined nipple shows this was indeed a well focused shot. The capture of the movement of her hair combined with the dynamic highlight all adds to the shot IMHO. The muted greyed clouds provide for a good background while the outlines of the grain help support the silhouette of the model. All in all, i found this to be a well executed composition and an excellent silhouette foto.

- this shot was also one of my favorites, although one of the lower rated at 34th place. I felt that this shot captured a unique beauty and expression. I believe it was hurt in voting by a seeming lack of expression in the model's face. But the more i looked at the facial poise the more it worked with me. It began to develop in me a feeling of "pause", like a calm before the storm. I loved the flesh tones and how the background was blurred. I felt that is was clear that it was a natural setting but that the focus was on "Eve". Anyways, I just wanted to give this photo the due i felt it deserved.

- Okay, this was clearly a humorous entry. And some might take issue with the model seemingly hanging in emptiness (would be curious to know how the fotographer achieved such a white state). But i felt the look and expression was such a great capture. And although a very white leaning photo. The detail of the model does not seem to be really lost in any areas. Good humorous entry...

- first off, if this was a self-portrait - than more power to you!!! I found this a fascinating and creative take. I did feel it could use a bit more dynamics in the color (perhaps someone who's good at dodge and burn could bring out more). But the lighting did truly make for the feel of a sunset. I came away wanting to see this same shot done in the sand on a beach with the sunsetting in the background. Definitely a unique shot and fun composition. Kudos...

- WoW....what a shot...this truly calls out to me. (Was this done with a IR filter, it almost has that over-white feel of an infrared shot but not quite). I love the composition...

This is one of the best distance nudes I've seen. This feels so much of fantasy that I nearly expect to see wings attached to the model. I would contemplate the purchase of this one as a print. And believe there may be good marketability for it for cover art of a fantasy novel. What a beautiful scenic shot that is just full of fantasy and imagination.

- this was another shot that caught the fantastical aspect of my imagination. Once again, it is hard, IMHO, to capture well a nude from a distance. And although, i believe the capture of the nude was a touch lacking I felt the composition (though i think this shot would have benefit if it cropped much of the right portion out as it adds the least) and conceptualization was great. The lighting is quite brilliant (literally) in this photo from the wet glimmer of light upon the rocks, to the illuminate staff that gives an wizard like quality, to the whitened illuminated masculine form that gives a majestic feel. But when all is combined there is almost an "underworldly" feel. Like I am looking at the guide to the underworld.

So those were just a few in addition to our three winners that I truly admired.

And lastly, I have got to give kudos to the other fellow model willing to boldy pose nude with rubber duckies... *cheers* to a kindred spirit

- The Saj

mesmeraj

08/29/2005 09:59:40 PM · #2

Wow, thanks TheSaj!!!

To answer your question, nope it was shot in colour, do special filters for this gal.
This was not the most difficult self portrait i have done (i am after all a self portrait queen) but it was tricky. I was just out of the infrared beam distance so i had to roll around in the dirt trying to strecth my arm far enough to set of the timer, then had 10 sections to brush all the leaves and crap off my body and strike a pose.

Oh and for those who thought it would look better is colour - it looks awful in colour - trust me!!!

edit to add pic since not everyone is pyschic!!

Message edited by author 2005-08-29 22:02:06.

pidge

Canon EOS-7D Mark II

08/29/2005 10:39:35 PM · #3

Saj,
It's an honor to have my picture mentioned. Thanks for the comments and critiques. I am hoping to be able to go back reshoot this one at some point.

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II

08/29/2005 10:48:08 PM · #4

could you share how you how you composed this shot pidge?

lynnesite

Canon EOS-1D X

08/29/2005 10:57:41 PM · #5

Originally posted by mesmeraj:

To answer your question, nope it was shot in colour, do special filters for this gal.
This was not the most difficult self portrait i have done (i am after all a self portrait queen) but it was tricky.

I gave ya a 7, really liked it.

pidge

Canon EOS-7D Mark II

08/29/2005 10:57:47 PM · #6

This is shot from the shore of a small river. The model is standing on a rock near the middle of the river, and there are other smaller rocks and such leading up to the rock, which is what's reflecting in the picture. This was taken on a dark night with the torch being the only light. It's actually one of those bamboo tiki torches. Had a hard time with the focus because it was so dark. This was a 30 second exposure as well, which is why the focus on the model is soft. You can see some other pictures taken from the rock he was standing on here. facing the river.

Some of the outakes you could see a small outline of the trees against the night sky as well, but I felt they didn't add enough to the picture to justify leaving them in, so they were cropped out. The reason I didn't crop it more was because I knew the model wasn't as sharp as I'd like it to be.

Hope this was answers your question, saj
Cheers

kyebosh

Canon EF 80-200mm f/2.8L

08/30/2005 01:03:20 AM · #7

Originally posted by theSaj:

Thanks, really appreciate your comments :-)

The reasons for the "hanging in emptiness" feeling is that I was literally in mid air during the shot. I was trying to get the "I'm so scarred I jumped into space" kinda deal. The shot is cropped ( I know *gasp* I cropped a shot =-O ) just above the floor. The model and the backround were edited independantly to control the contrast better. The backround and hard shadows on the wall were removed and the soft shadows left. The motion was stopped with the strobe lights firing at 2nd curtain sync.

Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED

08/30/2005 09:50:00 AM · #8

Originally posted by kyebosh:

Thanks, really appreciate your comments :-)

The reasons for the "hanging in emptiness" feeling is that I was literally in mid air during the shot.

In that case, more kudos to you....if you actually were in the air, that makes it an even more natural foto and worthy of more respect.

:)

Ennil

Nikon D200

08/30/2005 09:58:07 AM · #9

Kudos to you for making such great comments as well ;) Why not put them on the images?

Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6

08/30/2005 10:08:40 AM · #10

Originally posted by Ennil:

Kudos to you for making such great comments as well ;) Why not put them on the images?

They're actually expansions on comments I made during the challenge. And I wanted to give these shots some extra kudos...

smilebig4me1x

Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi

08/30/2005 10:56:11 AM · #11

- Both I and my fiance found this one to be a beautiful shot. I've seen similar work done before but a few aspects made me really like this one in particular. First off, is the choice of navel ring...very classy, almost has that 30's feel. The rose's (a feather rose i believe) purple hue is a very appealing color to the eyes and in wonderful contrast to the hue and skin tones provided. I do in part wonder if this shot might have benefit from a slight alteration in cropping, none-the-less a most wonderful fotograph.

ok...i just nearly fell outta muh chair when i found my photo posted as one admired! Thanks thesaj.
after all the comments about cropping the shirt out and using a BG other than the carpet(my model was laying on the floor) I am thinking of doing a retake with a black BG. at first i thought the carpet gave the photo some texture but after looking at it a week i see now that it doesnt. I learn something new with each challenge and I am having a blast here and with my photography. I wanted a romantic sensual feel to my photo without really "showing" anything...give the impression of nude and i think i accomplished my vision very well...just have to notice the small details both during the shoot and during processing. i tried to darken the carpet out but it gave too sharp a line for my model and took the photo's depth completly out.
thanks again for both the post here and the comment...what an honor

edit to add the photo....

Message edited by author 2005-08-30 10:57:17.

08/30/2005 11:06:57 PM · #12

looking forward to seeing you re-shoot...

:)

BeeGee

Canon EF 28-70mm f/2.8L USM

08/31/2005 12:59:03 AM · #13

hey theSaj,

some GREAT stuff you wrote there! Have you always been this verbal or is that a development stemming from your recent engagement? - I know from my own experience that that can do funny (good funny!) things to you ;-P

here are my 8, 9 and 10 rated shots from the challenge that I also commented on (all during, some again after the challenge):

my absolute favorite was this one:

followed closely by the actual winner

for the rest of the pack, I'll only post those that theSaj doesn't already have among his picks:

My kudos to these folks!

Greetings from Switzerland,
Bruno

PS: please vote highly on my shoes shot, everyone!

PPS: darn, you don't know which is mine ;-D

BeeGee

Canon EF 28-70mm f/2.8L USM

08/31/2005 01:29:43 AM · #14

anyone got more of their own favorites to add? Would love to see what other people thought was underrated in the nude III challenge.

Bruno

Judi

Canon EOS-5D Mark III

Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0L USM

08/31/2005 02:54:35 AM · #15

Originally posted by BeeGee:

anyone got more of their own favorites to add? Would love to see what other people thought was underrated in the nude III challenge.

Bruno

These were my top three picks.

First

Second

Third

I don't think I was too far off the mark. LOL!!

Judi

docpjv

Fujifilm X-E1

Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS

08/31/2005 05:55:40 AM · #16

I really admired these 3, in this order..;-)

nsbca7

Mattel Barbie Photo Designer Digital Camera

08/31/2005 05:58:56 AM · #17

Originally posted by gibun:

I really admired these 3, in this order..;-)

Those three were at the top of my list.

08/31/2005 07:07:50 PM · #18

Originally posted by "BeeGee":

Have you always been this verbal or is that a development stemming from your recent engagement?"

Try to be, but I've probably become a bit more confident in my "commenting/critiquing" since BobsterLobster's "Gig/photography" thread had me comment even more.

I did like the pregnent shot as well, but there seemed to be something funky with the border. I think it could have benefited slightly from a better crop. The hair on his arm was kind of distracting, just how the light hit it. But I did give it a 7.

The one with the light cast on it was another i gave a 7 too.

Gibus, you're entry needed some leather... *lol*

rex

Canon PowerShot SD780

08/31/2005 07:31:29 PM · #19

One shot that hasn't been mentioned that is my fav of all the entries:

08/31/2005 08:09:48 PM · #20

Funny you should say that, it was originally in my include list as I scored it a 9.

I must have lost it when i copy/pasted....was definitely a great shot.

Message edited by author 2005-08-31 20:10:03.

glad2badad

Apple iPhone 16 Pro

Lensbaby Sweet 35 Optic

08/31/2005 09:19:52 PM · #21

Hey - what about this one? I had it picked to ribbon for sure. ;-/

The image and the title 'On the Prowl' work so well together. Perhaps it wasn't revealing enough? Still did very well, 12th I think.

08/31/2005 09:35:09 PM · #22

I much preferred Todd's outtakes from this. I think a lot of people are more inclined toward sensual. This is very racy....the expression looks akin to Sport's Illustrated's Swimsuit edition. And I think a lot of people prefer a more innoncent look.

I definitely preferred the more innoncent version he took.

kyebosh