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Mother's Curves
1st PlaceMother's Curves
LeeD


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Free Study 2007-09 (Advanced Editing V)
Camera: Canon EOS-30D
Lens: Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon
Location: Home Studio
Date: Sep 9, 2007
Aperture: f/5.6
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/250
Galleries: Family, Emotive
Date Uploaded: Sep 9, 2007

Been a while since I entered... this one was inspired by a recent Studio Photography Magazine image. The mother wanted to stay covered so this is what we came up with. Honestly, I like the way the curves compliment each other. We'll see how it's received.

USM, a little dodge and burn here and there, levels, B/W conversion... done!

Post-challenge
Woo-hooo... my first blue!!! I'm so excited, I finally got a ribbon! It is especially rewarding to get it in a free study challenge competing against so many extremely high quality images. Thanks to everyone for the comments!!!

Statistics
Place: 1 out of 503
Avg (all users): 7.6769
Avg (commenters): 8.5500
Avg (participants): 7.7624
Avg (non-participants): 7.3793
Views since voting: 22993
Views during voting: 327
Votes: 130
Comments: 83
Favorites: 82 (view)


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AuthorThread
03/10/2012 04:35:36 AM
This is gorgeous!!!
08/02/2009 08:03:17 PM
You totally deserve that ribbon! Great work! She must have been ecstatic about the image. Feel good...
04/26/2009 05:57:04 PM
Photos like this is inspirational. Thank you!
10/14/2007 12:09:51 AM
what an amazing image
congrats on your ribbon

well deserved
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/13/2007 06:39:59 AM
Really elegant and beautiful

Congratulations!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/12/2007 12:12:09 PM
Wow very beautiful!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/11/2007 08:23:18 PM
A very unique and fantastic portrait...very nice work and congratulations on winning the blue ribbon!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/10/2007 06:34:54 PM
WOW!! This is so excellent
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/10/2007 05:08:58 PM
So wonderful. Congrats on your win.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/10/2007 03:01:25 PM
Beautiful!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/10/2007 12:21:18 PM
Beautiful. Congraulations.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/10/2007 11:12:24 AM
Wow! One of the best I have seen here ever! Something about this photo just touches my heart. Thanks for something so very special.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/10/2007 08:47:02 AM
Very nice shot! I love the placement and lighting. I may try to re-create this in my studio since I do portraiture. One question though, is this the woman that gave birth to that tiny baby? If so, she bounced back fabulously!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/10/2007 05:07:01 AM
There is an abundance of elegance in this amazing portrait! Nicely Done! :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/10/2007 12:10:59 AM
This is very beautiful. The high score and blue ribbon are well deserved. Congratulations.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/09/2007 10:18:11 PM
superb!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/09/2007 06:37:43 PM
Congrats on the ribbon, a very tasteful shot and well lit!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/09/2007 05:04:09 PM
Congratulations on your PB and blue ribbon. Excellent job!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/09/2007 03:48:37 PM
Excellent work, Congratulations
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/09/2007 11:32:04 AM
Awesome job.
I clipped the same "inspiration" pic from Studio Photo mag and want to attempt it as well.
I like the fabric bolt better than the nude in the magazine.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/09/2007 09:52:01 AM
Wow! Beautiful image - congratulations!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/09/2007 05:35:00 AM
Way to go Lee! Blue in a FS - and with a kick-ass image! Congrats!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/09/2007 02:05:15 AM
I love this shot and I am so glad it won. I am getting really tired of the overphotoshopped multicolored landscapes that normally prevail in freestudies. The lighting here reminds me of the two black and whites I did for my half entry and free study entry. I love this and think it is a beautiful, artistic and unique portrait. The white cloth is perfectly exposed and the whole thing flows so well. Congrats on an amazing shot
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 08:28:50 PM
Hey Lee,

Congrats on a well deserved blue.... So great to say I knew ya before it happened :) I knew it was only a matter or time. Excellent Job!

Rich
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 07:11:50 PM
OMG, Lee...this is just gorgeous! Congrats on your personal best and your first blue! I predict many more ribbons for you! That's my teammate!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 05:05:37 PM
Beautiful. Absolutely beautiful.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 02:37:24 PM
Thi is one of the best pics i've ever seen. The BW is amazing and you really created a "capolavoro" for the eyes. Congrats for the blue. Paolo.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 02:28:36 PM
wow. That's all I have to say.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 02:23:01 PM
Beautiful... Fantastic lighting and shapes/lines of composition. Well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 12:37:07 PM
Just Beautiful!!!!

No words can truly do justice to the great lighting you have acheived here. Love the negative space - well, love everything about this shot.

  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 11:47:12 AM
Congratulations on your well deserved blue for this stunningly innovative and artistic photo. Beautiful.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 11:23:45 AM
Cracking shot. congrats on your first ribbon BLUE TOO! brilliant shot well deserving
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 11:21:46 AM
Creative and beautiful image, this deserves nothing less than front page. Well done and congrats on your first blue!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 09:45:55 AM
Yeee-Haw! That's my Pirate Teammate!!! CONGRATS!
Right on, Lee! This is an AWESOME, Brilliant, beautiful shot! Into my favs it must go.

Can the rest of your fellow Pirates live vicariously through your Ribbon?! LOL
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 09:25:53 AM
This was so well done - congrats on a leapfrog PB!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 08:33:59 AM
Nicely done. Congratulations.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 07:50:59 AM
Congrats on your first ribbon and a great picture!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 06:29:11 AM
Love it!

Gratz on the blue!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 05:48:47 AM
WOW! WOW! WOW! this is one of the most beautiful presentation seen....

Congrats...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 04:16:11 AM
beautiful picture,well done/congrats
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 03:03:13 AM
Congrats, Lee, on a very well deserved blue for an outstanding image!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 02:08:46 AM
Amazing work. Original and creative. You deserved the blue. Congrats
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 02:00:24 AM
The person who voted your image a "1" should be shot! (Photographically, of course, so we know who they are:). Even the person who voted a "4" should be shot too...and come to think of it, the five people who voted it a "5" should be equally shot, as well as, the 23 people who voted it a "6" and the 32 people voting it a "7", the 27 people who voted it a "8" and the 20 people who voted it a "9". That leaves 21 people of the 130 who voted still walking around. lol

Seriously, though, I love the metaphorical interpretations that are evoked by this image. Mother as sacrfice (posed as on alter); mother as bridge for baby; mother representative as half of the circle of life for the baby; mother as soft, yet strong and supportive; and the list goes on...

There's a timelessness to it and it reminds me of the image of the fetus floating in space at the end of the movie: "2001: A Space Oddessy." It's very powerful. Congratulations on your blue.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 01:54:04 AM
Outstanding!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 12:45:14 AM
What Sandy said. Wowser. Congrats.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 12:41:07 AM
This is one of the most beautiful and graceful images I've ever seen. Many congratulations on your well deserved blue ribbon, Lee.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 12:34:41 AM
Wow, I'm glad this did so well. Outstanding work both technically and "metaphorically". The arrangement, altogether, is sublime, the lighting is spot-on, the B/W conversion is flawless, what more can you ask? I particularly appreciate the expanse of black above the figures, which I believe is proportioned just right. The way the upper arc of the woman's body precisely is tangent to the equator of the image, gently thrusting the newborn into subtle but distinct prominence/ascendancy, is a grace note.

This is a truly fine image, a masterful one even.

R.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 12:16:59 AM
How stunningly beautiful! And man! She looks FABULOUS for just having such a brand new baby.

Wow! This is worth every point of that 7.67 and then some!!! CONGRATULATIONS!

  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 12:16:09 AM
Stunning!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 12:15:30 AM
hey, that's pretty good ;-Þ. congratulations on the Blue ribbon.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 12:14:22 AM
Congrats on our first ribbon! Beautiful shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 12:12:46 AM
Congratulations! I'm so glad to see this got the blue ribbon. STUNNING. Please offer prints! :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 12:11:33 AM
how killer is that! sah-weet!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 12:05:58 AM
Congrats on the blue! From your posts in the thread and your profile I guessed this one was yours.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 12:05:52 AM
WOW! Congrats on your first ribbon and new personal best score!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/08/2007 12:04:07 AM
Had this picked right from the first time I saw It congrats. You did an AWSOME job!!

Congrats on the new PB as well.

MAX!

Message edited by author 2007-10-08 00:05:34.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
10/07/2007 08:57:32 PM
I think some of the curve is lost with the lighing on the legs. I would have liked to have seen the same lighting as on the arm, where most of the arm is lit but then fades into darkness...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/07/2007 08:44:36 PM
If she just had this baby, I hate her lol. She looks great! This is an AWESOME photo and such a different take for a mom/child shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/07/2007 02:01:46 AM
Wonderful. This is one of the most beautiful images I have ever seen. The subject, the lighting, the composition, the contrast, the texture, the eones, the crop the bond between mother and child all MAGNIFICENT.

This should place in the top spot and be a clear winner at that.

This leaves me feeling completly satisfied in every way and that can be summed up with one word.

Replete.

Thank you 10 and my first Fav. pick on this site.

MAX!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/06/2007 04:09:17 PM
Looks like scuplture. Great light, excellent omposition 10.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/06/2007 02:41:01 PM
Stunning work!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/06/2007 01:27:47 AM
Good work, but kind of unusual.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/06/2007 12:32:55 AM
This is one of those that comes along not so often that gets your attention. Really unique. Sort of an elemental designed image. Made me stop and stare for a bit. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/05/2007 02:22:58 PM
Excellent lighting and very unique pose. I like it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/05/2007 01:43:56 PM
Fascinating shot. I wonder what it would look like if you redid it with the mother exactly the same, but the baby curled up under her so the material acted like a hammock, with her apparently supporting him ?

The material hanging down just seems to provide a natural frame.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/05/2007 11:38:42 AM
What a beautiful photo, I have never seen anything like it. Although my "mothers curves" are just a tad bit curvier =) This is really well done, a photo that will be cherished for years to come.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/05/2007 11:26:17 AM
Cool and artistic...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/05/2007 10:10:23 AM
very good idea. normally i don't like shots with mothers and sons because often are with too "sugar", this is a bit "new", good use of shadows and lights.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/05/2007 09:28:50 AM
That is a fantastic shot. I love it! 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/03/2007 08:58:09 PM
simply stunning ... this is an image that they will cherish for years to come ...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/03/2007 07:48:03 PM
really appreciate the lighting.....the pose is gracefull and elegant, wonderful job
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/03/2007 04:51:30 PM
very nice idea. have you tried to do it without the white cloth? must look like she is floating. cool.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/03/2007 07:34:02 AM
This is truly stunning. I have seen something similar just recently and was curious about the setup This is one of my absolute favorites from this challenge and I really hope to see it ribbon. Everything here is amazing -- the light, the tones, the composition. Amazing job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/03/2007 06:37:57 AM
Very original. Kudos for an image well made.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/03/2007 01:15:27 AM
great job
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/02/2007 10:48:26 PM
Wow. This is so amazing. This is one of my faves of the challenge. It definitely deserves a ribbon, IMHO. My husband and I are sitting here wondering if you are going to offer prints of this...because we want to buy and frame it to hang in our house. It really is beautiful. Perfect. 10. Good luck. Hope to see a high finish!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/02/2007 05:41:14 PM
Wow this is one of the most dramatic mother and baby photos I have ever seen!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/01/2007 09:44:26 PM
Thinking maybe a tigher crop would have helped, because this is SO beautiful I just want to see it and not the negative space. Really amazing image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/01/2007 08:34:44 AM
WOAH. Really unusual and so artfully done. Beautiful lighting. 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/01/2007 08:32:24 AM
Very cool image. Had this just been the woman stretched out it would be severley lacking, but the child is a perfect fit. I also really like the expression on the moms face. Just a great sense of calm and contentment. One of my faves of the challenge.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/01/2007 06:03:43 AM
gorgeous. this deserves a blue.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/01/2007 05:04:39 AM
Touching, lovely poses.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
10/01/2007 12:21:09 AM
WOW. This is beautiful and tastefully done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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