Learning to use Canon 20d and CS

Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D

12/27/2004 09:06:03 PM · #1

Ok, What do you think?

//www.dpchallenge.com/image.php?IMAGE_ID=131020

Thanks

Steve

deapee

Kodak V803

12/27/2004 09:06:39 PM · #2

for those of us who are lazy

Canon EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM

12/27/2004 09:09:54 PM · #3

Hey Deapea.... sorry butI didnt know how to post the pic on there. A little help was appreciated but definitely not lazy.

BikeRacer

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

12/27/2004 09:11:35 PM · #4

deapee wasn't calling you lazy, he was calling the rest of us lazy. :)

Pentax DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AF

12/27/2004 09:13:34 PM · #5

ok so how do you copy a pic to the forum?

faidoi

Pentax K10D

12/27/2004 09:17:05 PM · #6

Originally posted by shamel:

ok so how do you copy a pic to the forum?

Message edited by author 2004-12-27 21:17:15.

BikeRacer

Canon EOS-300D Rebel

Canon EF 28-135mm F/3.5-5.6 IS USM

12/27/2004 09:18:23 PM · #7

well, the easy way is to figure out what the image ID is (it's right there in the URL) then, in the compose window click on the rightmost icon right under your username. that inserts a live thumbnail to your shot. or you can type in the {thumb}131020{/thumb} modifers yourself (use square brackets instead of curly ones)

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

12/27/2004 09:27:40 PM · #8

ok now that we are all past that, what about the photo?

Bran-O-Rama

Canon EOS-5D

12/28/2004 12:22:30 AM · #9

OK, what about it? What were your intents with this photo or the thread? Were your questions more towards hardware (the 20D) or a question in how to achieve an effect using software (PS8)?

What specifically are you asking/looking for? A little more info is needed to be helpful. Your title offers a little insight to your approach. Now we just to know what you would like to do.

Other than that, I find the shadow on the right half of the photo on the table to be a little much. The shadows on the upper and lower left corners could've easily been patched/cloned out. The composition is simple. Simple is good, but I find this boring.

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

12/28/2004 06:28:08 AM · #10

Originally posted by Bran-O-Rama:

I am trying to achieve something simple but in the same instance have an interesting photo that is not boring. I did notice the shadows in the left corners but they didnt distract me as much until you said something about them. I want something simple but when you look at this you think to yourself ok nice pic but boring. what can be done to make someone stop and say to themself "wow interesting" without compromising the simplicity of the photo.

Bran-O-Rama

Canon EOS-5D

12/28/2004 06:59:58 AM · #11

That I don't know.

Does this look any better? Hope it didn't stray too far from your original vision. Maybe you liked it dark?

Removed the vignetting with the healing brush, tweaked the levels to soften the shadows. Burned some contrast back into the egg then sharpened the edges.

KevinRiggs

Canon EOS-1Ds

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

12/28/2004 07:09:12 AM · #12

I, too, don't care for the vignetting around the left edge. I grabbed a copy of this just to try some things on it and see. What I came up with that looked better to me was (Step 1) to remove the color cast (looks like you used a hot light and you picked up a lot of color from that). Perhaps you intended to have the color; just cut down on what I found interesting in the photo.

For my $0.02 I like the interplay between Reflection and Occlusion. The egg serves as a secondary subject for me when I view the image. The interesting concept here is the light that is reflected off the eggshell back towards the source (on the left of the photo) and the varying degrees of darkness produced by the occlusion that the egg becomes to the righthand side of the image. I then (Step 2) cropped the photo so that the egg sits more towards the left 1/3 line. I did this because I felt like you had more of an element of mystique with the shadows plus the 20D has a better ability to capture tones so I thought that with your title perhaps it would be a nice demonstration of the dynamic range of the hardware to show how it captured the shadows. Next (Step 3) increase the contrast ever so slightly but don't completely blow out the details of the eggshell or lose the range of shadows. I finished with a touch of USM to sharpen up the egg. I'm still not sure that its the most interesting treatment of that subject but it looked like it fit the elements (light and shadow) that you used and it seemed to stay in your thread of discussing the 20D hardware capabilities and PhotoShop CS.

I sent a copy of the image with my edits to you via e-mail.

Kev

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

12/28/2004 03:55:43 PM · #13

Originally posted by Bran-O-Rama:

That is more along the lines of what I am looking for. I appreciate you taking the time to review this pic. I like the centerdness of the subject and was actually thinking about moving it more to a 1/3 position with more depth in the shadows. Still not sure if I should leave the warm glow of the hot light or totally desaturate. Thanks again.

Beetle

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

12/28/2004 04:10:23 PM · #14

Originally posted by KevinRiggs:

I sent a copy of the image with my edits to you via e-mail.

Kev

Kevin, how could you DO that to me?
I read your explanation, all along mentally following your steps as best as I could, trying to imagine the outcome, and all along expecting to find a link to the finish product at the end.
Instead, you left me with this cliffhanger.
I am traumatized :-(

Bran-O-Rama

Canon EOS-5D

Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM

12/28/2004 04:34:44 PM · #15

Yes, I was hoping Kevin would share as well.. Maybe Steve will be gracious enough to show the emailed work.

I kind of like the warm glow to the photo. It's subtle. Having it grayscale would make it look somewhat sterile and fall back into the boring category for me. Personal preference I guess.

KevinRiggs

Canon EOS-1Ds

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

12/28/2004 05:28:32 PM · #16

Here's a copy of the image. As I said before (A) it is not necessarily what Steve wanted and (B) this is my interpretation of what I found interesting in the photo. The interplay of light/dark, reflection/shadow was what I thought was in the image.

PS - I'm interested to know what surface you shot it on, Steve.

Kev

Message edited by author 2004-12-28 17:29:14.

Beetle

Canon EOS-5D Mark II

Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0L IS

12/28/2004 05:41:47 PM · #17

Kevin, thanks for posting it.

I like your composition and cropping, but agree with Brandon - the color version is warmer, I much prefer it to the black&white.

However, no matter what is done to it, in my opinion it will remain just an egg, and I'm having a hard time finding it exciting.