I cut most of the stem off of the daisy (left about 3/4\"). I cut a hole in a pop bottle lid and put the daisy stem through it. I then put the daisy in a glass bowl and put some water in it. I put the whole works on a blue piece of poster board. I then covered the bowl with Saran-wrap. Once that was done I put drops of water on the saran wrap using a straw. A long exposure with a flashlight on the base of the bowl was then used.
Post processing:
Export to TIF
In PSP:
Automatic contrast adjustment
Auto saturation
Crop
Resize
Tweaked saturation some more
USM
Saved a copy and then applied Neat image to the copy.
Shooting data:
DSC_6105.NEF
Nikon D50
2007/03/09 21:14:20.4
Compressed RAW (12-bit)
Image Size: Large (3008 x 2000)
Lens: 50mm F/1.8 D
Focal Length: 50mm
Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
Metering Mode: Multi-Pattern
25 sec - F/22
Exposure Comp.: 0 EV
Sensitivity: ISO 200
Optimize Image: Landscape
White Balance: Incandescent
AF Mode: Manual
Flash Sync Mode: Not Attached
Color Mode: Mode IIIa (sRGB)
Tone Comp.: Auto
Hue Adjustment: 0°
Saturation: Normal
Sharpening: Medium high
Image Comment:
Long Exposure NR: On
Statistics
Place: 71 out of 283 Avg (all users): 5.8438 Avg (commenters): 7.5000 Avg (participants): 5.8675 Avg (non-participants): 5.8000 Views since voting: 1412 Views during voting: 225 Votes: 128 Comments: 7 Favorites: 1 (view)
Beautiful! The warm and cold colors are so pretty when they contrast each other like this... I love it! I agree with the others that it looks a little over-sharpened, and might pop a little more with better lighting... but I like the centered composition! It's a really neat shot.
Positives:
Unique twist on the challenge theme. Interesting concept and generally pulled off well. Good combination of warm and cool colors.
Technicals:
Overal good. Exposure and lighting generally good. Sharpness and DOF is fine though some of the bubbles look a little soft despite taken at f/22. That might have been caused by motion.
Looks to be slightly oversharpened. There are a few digital effects that show up as a result.
The challenge:
Your unique approach helps it fit the challenge in ways acceptible to DPC voters.
Suggestions:
By far, the thing that most affects this image reducing its score, inmho, is the crop. Looks like you were careful to include all the drops you worked so hard to create. You don't need to. In fact, it will make a better composition if you do not. You might consider cropping closer to remove any signs of the rounded edges of the bowl. Though, yes, it adds more 'roundness' to the composition for the challenge, removing it would make a much better overall composition. Try it to see for yourself.
I gave this a 6 ... I thought that the colors worked really well together, but I agree with the previous comments that the lighting is a bit harsh on the petals and the center is a bit dark ... I also would like to see the drops be a bit smaller to give it more distortion/magnification ...
I think much of the problem here lies in the lighting. For starters, it has a harsh spread from the blown petal tips to the dark, black upper corners. Furthermore, this lighting gives the water drops a flat, milky appearance. A second light source above the setup, coming in at an angle, perhaps almost a raking light might have given the whole thing more "pop" and removed the milky look. It would also have balanced out the light and dark areas. I do like the blue glow coming from behind. I also wonder about the size of the water drops, and if having more smaller ones might have been more effective. I say this because the ones over the blue don't really do anything except look interesting, while it's the ones over the flower that create neat distortions. My last observation is that I'm unsure about including the edges of the bowl at the corners simply because it creates reflections and color-bands that draw the eye from the center of the image.
I gave this a 6, I liked the colors. What I disliked is the dark center of the blossom and the blown lights at the lower petals tips. Your lighting simply is too harsh, a reflector behind the arrangement would have helped a lot.
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