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Soft Radiance
Soft Radiance
Neil


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Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Breaking New Ground (Basic Editing III)
Collection: A+ Prints
Camera: Canon EOS-300D Rebel
Lens: Sigma 18-125mm f/3.5-5.6 DC for Four Thirds
Location: Niskayuna, NY
Date: Jan 18, 2005
Aperture: 24
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/4
Galleries: Abstract, Floral
Date Uploaded: Jan 18, 2005

This is a sunflower in front of my solarium window. There are a few keys to achieving this effect:
1) Shutter speed 1/8 or longer
2) A good background--either dark or light
3) Shoot something with vivid colors and/or good color contrasts
4) Take lots of shots and experiment with different kinds of movement.

It's the movement that's key!

Lens: Sigma 18-125mm, polarizer
ISO 100, Canon RAW
1/4 second exposure, F24

Processed in Bibble:
White balance by clicking
Saturation Boost: 51
Sharpening: 294
Slight curves adjustment
Cropped

Reduced in PS, because it seemed to lose something when I reduced it in Bibble (plus I was going to frame it but the framing didn't look good.)

Statistics
Place: 70 out of 191
Avg (all users): 5.4543
Avg (commenters): 7.7143
Avg (participants): 5.3297
Avg (non-participants): 5.5000
Views since voting: 3031
Views during voting: 448
Votes: 339
Comments: 24
Favorites: 10 (view)


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AuthorThread
07/24/2007 07:16:36 AM
thanks for the tips-nice thing about most days of shooting flowers close up, you can count on a breeze to move the bloom just as you're ready to shoot! Scott Kelby says the same thing as you-use the wind (movement)& a sloooow shutter to capture a different floral image..
nice abstract feel to this & sweet color!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/23/2007 11:04:23 PM
I also love the refreasing abstract impressionistic style of this on and gee is almost looks like a apinting..... Totally cool thats for sure.....
  Photographer found comment helpful.
07/23/2007 10:58:55 PM
This is a photograph of wind. This is a make-me-excited-about-photography photograph.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
04/24/2007 04:29:23 PM
This is great! Very nice job!!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
02/25/2007 08:26:34 PM
I love this process....
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/29/2005 08:35:38 PM
i gave this shot a 9. It wasn't a ten as although i love the shot it just didn't have that extra point. Can't say what that extra 'thing' is. A very good shot, and certainly breaking ground. Keep up the good work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/29/2005 02:51:54 PM
Nice entry. I gave it a 6, but in retrospect I may have bumped this up to a 7. It is brave to experiment with focus and blur. This shot works but to some people it is important to have focus in an image as a reference (and maybe to convince them the shot was not blurred due to error!) e.g. a shot of blurred water over a waterfall is set off against pin sharp rocks.

  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/29/2005 02:43:55 PM
quite a fine image. it all works well - though coming from your camera not sure it fits in the breaking new ground theme.
i didn't enter or vote here - but it would have scored highly from me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/29/2005 12:51:12 PM
I didn't vote on this challenge. But this is a BEAUTIFUL image, and I think it's been voted far too low. Looks like you go for the impressionistic, and go for it well too :).
Keep them coming!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/26/2005 01:53:18 PM
i gave this a ten. I know people always vote abstracty images down so I always give them 10 in an effort to promote them. This image would have gotten a 9 or ten even without the affirmative action.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/26/2005 08:11:18 AM
This is a great shot. The color is very subtle and not over saturated, and the scratchy quality of movement in the yellow is fantastic!
Nice job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/26/2005 06:36:56 AM
You really do like this impressionistic stuff, don't you :). I'm really surprised this didn't at least push six, it's really a beautiful image, and a very good example of what it seems is your favourite style of photography.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/26/2005 05:11:42 AM
How did this miss out on a ribbon ??
A lovely example of a technique you`ve mastered beautifully.

Gordon
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/26/2005 02:08:36 AM
Greetings from the critique club.

Firstly I'll start by saying that the score you received is WAY too low. There were many shots that scored above this in the challenge which IMHO didn't break new ground in any way and weren't even as pretty to look at.

This shot is a beauty, it has that impressionist feel to it (it may have done better in the Impressionist challenge for that reason as someone else suggested). I love the way blue in the background contrasts with the yellow of the flower and the sense of movement created by the motion blur.

The cropping is spot on, it is so easy on the eye I could look at it all day.

The only thing I can think to say that I don't like is the title which doesn't seem to go too well with the image. Maybe something related to movement would have been better.

Perhaps some viewers didn't consider this to be 'breaking new ground' which might explain the low score. A lot of people probably thought, 'Big deal, he's just waving a flower around' without actually trying the technique for themselves and realising just what a great capture this is.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/26/2005 02:03:51 AM
Hey Niel, I was one of 8 people to give this 9. Awsome job!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
01/25/2005 11:57:47 PM
Nice sense of movement- I like the way that the entire surroundings have blurred away to silhouette the flower. Unfortunately, it looks like a lot of people took a motion blur approach, which could impact your score. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/24/2005 10:42:23 PM
A cool soothing effect with tender colors. Bumping up.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/22/2005 03:14:59 PM
very soft, very pretty
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/22/2005 05:02:19 AM
I dig this soft blurred effect. Baby blue background looks great against this complimentary colored flower.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/21/2005 04:18:10 AM
See, someone who understands the challenge! Full marks to you. 10

Great image BTW, very original.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/20/2005 11:21:41 PM
Lovely abstract pastel. Perhaps this could have worked quite well in the impressionist challenge a few months back. Well done. Bumping up.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/20/2005 11:51:34 AM
fantastic
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/19/2005 05:46:12 PM
How gratifying it is to come across truly marvellous photographs like this one! It turns the tedium of a few hundred shots into a hunt for the Holy Grail. :-)

I have no reservations about any aspects of this impressionistic creation. I am elated and inspired by it. -M'excuse, I got carried away: the title 'describes' an all too obvious attribute -and this, perhaps, too mildly. One would expect the strong visual charge to be conducted by the title. (?)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/19/2005 01:24:09 PM
very artistic! Nice work
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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