A couple of people suggested in the Dr. Seuss forum thread that I would do well with this topic, so I took THAT as a challenge! ;-)
This was probably my most difficult setup ever. I borrowed the hat from a friend, bought a latex cat nose from a costume store and made up the rest. I hand-sewed pieces of red felt together to make the bow tie The whiskers are black telephone wire hot-glued to the cat nose piece. I cut the front out of an old t-shirt and drew lines on it with a permanent marker, then attached it to a black shirt with double-stick tape. The book is suspended from a ceiling beam with invisible fishing line and braced open with toothpicks and hot glue. I drilled holes in the lip of the plastic fish bowl to do the same thing, but I had to use heavier fishing line to bear the weight of the water. I took dozens of pictures of my goldfish, then printed one and glued it to the bowl. The ears were cut from an old stuffed animal. The model is yours truly, and I did the makeup myself. My own mother didn't recognize me in the photo.
The setup work took about 5 hours, and my wife was an angel to stay up and push the shutter for me (she was literally half-asleep on the couch with the cable release). By the time I finished setting up, shooting, and cleaning up the mess, it was 4:30am. Ugh!
Processing: Levels, Curves, USM, cloned out the thin fishing line and a light reflection on the bowl. Smoothed the edges of the fish and shirt. Dodge & burn, desaturated the umbrella and a color cast on the background, slight warming filter, and added overall vignette.
Statistics
Place: 1 out of 74 Avg (all users): 7.9407 Avg (commenters): 9.4043 Avg (participants): 7.5556 Avg (non-participants): 8.0240 Views since voting: 22788 Views during voting: 890 Votes: 253 Comments: 133 Favorites: 50 (view)
Scalvert - wow! You must have been very satisfied when you finally submitted this entry. It is just amazing and; needless to say, the blue is more than well deserved.
Simply amazing, scalvert! Since it's Advanced Editing I was assuming it was a composite of multiple shots (though now I see that's not legel) but it's all one shot with almost Basic Editing! You showed a lot of creativity and went to a lot of work to produce this, and hopefully the blue ribbon and adoration of your fan club is sufficient payback.
I am continuously amazed at the level of creativity, effort, and true dedication that you put into these challenges, Shannon. The way you throw yourself completely into the photographic process, from conception to execution, is truly inspiring.
You can't have gone to all that trouble for a one time only use of this image....you just gotta make it ur profile pic...I dare ya...I double dare ya....at least for a month.
I was deeply impressed when I first saw this shot, and now my mind is completely blown after I read (both explanations) of what it took to actually get it. You are a truly gifted and scarily persistent photographer! :)
To those who wondered how I found the time to do something like this... well, I didn't. Like several other photos I've entered, the original idea was pretty simple and it kind of snowballed as I went along. I already had the [borrowed] hat, gloves and goldfish. The plan was to get the latex cat nose and a fishbowl, put on some quick face paint and just do a closeup of the bowl balancing on a rake. Plans rarely go as scripted, though, and that's when I have to wing it.
To give you an idea of a typical problem, there's the whiskers. The cat nose piece didn't have whiskers, and it looked dumb without them. Hmm... I pulled some bristles out of a billiard table brush, but they were too fine to show up in a photo. I thought of using pieces of a broom, but then I'd have to paint them and they're probably too stiff to look right anyway. I still had one of the "mini lights" I made for Langdon's Birthday challenge on my desk and the wires were about the right thickness. It took me a little while to get them untwisted. Perfect! I thought it would be a simple matter of attaching them to the cat nose with hot glue. Nothing is ever simple. There wasn't enough surface area with just the end of the wire to hold the whisker out straight, so I bent each wire into a small circle at the end perpendicular to the wire itself. The black paint spots camouflaged the ends. Problem solved... or so I thought. The hot glue wouldn't adhere to the paint. I tried to poke holes in the mask, but it was too tough, and I didn't want to take it off and start over. I finally scraped off a patch of paint with a razor blade for each spot and glued the wires in place. They were still fragile, and I was missing a whisker in about half the shots.
Up until a few hours before the shoot, I had no idea what I was going to do for the bow and outfit. I assumed there would be lots of Seuss hats, and anything that looked fake would be the weakest link. Thank goodness for learning how to sew in 5th grade "Home Economics" class! ;-)
The biggest obstacle of all was getting everything positioned. The book and bowl were both hanging from fishing line and would spin wildly at the slightest touch. The book had to be at just the right angle to see that it was open, and the fish had to face the camera directly or it would look too narrow. At the same time, I had to worry about glare from the lights on both of them (a polarizer helped). Then there was me... I needed to be simultaneously touching the book and the bowl while only looking at one of them and trying to keep them from spinning... and also tilt my head to show the full height of the hat (it was too short on most of the shots). Oh, and I had to do this on my knees to get the camera angle right. Last but not least, I had to maintain a fun expression throughout the shoot. Not easy considering this particular frame was taken at 3:30am, and I was tired when I started.
So you see... it's not that I planned to put this much effort into the shot. It's just that I wasn't going to waste the props after spending time and money to make them, and I wanted to make sure I got it right the first time because I CERTAINLY wasn't going to set it up again. It was a simple matter of being stubborn!
Way to go, Scalvert! I need to create a macro so I can just push my F3 key or something, and it'll cut/paste a congratulatory message to you... that would save me some time each week! :)
Congrats, Congrats, Congrats! I gave this a "10" for many reasons: creativity, set-up and delivery, great ahderence to the challenge theme, color/clarity....it's superb! My only other comment is....dang! I wish I had the kind of time available to do the EXTENSIVE preparation and set-up you do!!! I'm lucky to have the time to shoot an ordinary shot...maybe things will change someday when I retire! Bravo to you!
It is a cinch to say that you are busting at the seams with talent that just gushes out and that you continue to expand both in technique and creativity, but please allow me to go a step further.
My dear friend you have become one of the tallest giants here at DPC. Your material has such universal appeal. You know how to please an audience and your showmanship is so adroit...ah, but then you are always so eager to share "the how to" and an untold number of members rejoyce in this highly valued information. I have seen your rise and I am so happy for you and your proud family.
I can safely say that while you ride this tall wave of success, you have elevated DPC and have set benchmarks that define the quality and fun at DPC. Your images place that extra hurdle for the runner ups and this is good because it just makes this site better and stronger. We are all very proud of you!
Uh, sorry. I think I was the one who said something about hearing "Scalvert salivate" when this challenge was announced... Mostly I want to apologize to your wife.
The level of creativity is simply beyond my comprehension. I'm guessing yours is an awesome household in which to be a child, whether in years or just spirit and enthusiasm. I really do look forward to your challenge entries. They're inspiring, they're heartwarming, and they're very, very good.
The setup work took about 5 hours, and my wife was an angel to stay up and push the shutter for me (she was literally half-asleep on the couch with the cable release). By the time I finished setting up, shooting, and cleaning up the mess, it was 4:30am. Ugh!
She's an angel to not have shoved that remote together with the tripod up somewhere...
Your images never cease to amaze me! And this one is no different! It is your work that inspired me to start joining the Challenges instead of just looking at them. Thanks for the inspiration and congrats for the Blue!!!
Shannon, it just amazes me the lengths you go to to produce these shots! If there was a ribbon for effort you'd get them all the time!!! Congrats on yet another well deserved Blue!
Bravo Shannon. It says something about voting on this site when this degree of creativity, effort and technical ability still doesn't earn an 8+ score!
Anyone who goes to those lengths AND produces the great images you pull off deserves the blue everytime. :) ...now where's that "Congrats, Shannon!" insert button on the toolbar??
This was my one and only 10. You certainly desreve the blue ribbon with the effort you made on this one. DPC is very lucky to have you around to share your creative ideas and knowledge.
Wow... talk about energy. You put a lot into this shot and it shows. Well worth the effort. Too bad they don't give out prize money here, you should get a tidy sum for this masterpiece. Well done!
Great comp, great color, great movement, great blocking, great story telling, light a bit flat but not disturbingly, overall excellent job of forethought and
and execution.
While Mother's away, the Cat will play!
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