| Photograph Information |
Photographer's Comments |
Challenge: What is this Pencil? (Basic Editing)
Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8D
Location: Kirkland, Washington USA
Date: Oct 16, 2007
Aperture: F/5.6
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/30
Galleries: Macro, Science and Technology
Date Uploaded: Oct 16, 2007
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Photographer’s Notes
I’ve been thinking about this challenge for some time. This morning my idea came to me. Many years ago, when word processing was just introduced I saw an essay on word processing that described a pencil as a “text insertion/deletion unit.” Its eraser was the deletion component, of course.
So today, the last day of the challenge, I went down to my local Office Max to buy an old fashioned pencil. I wanted the pencil to be the subject and to dominate the photo so I set out to buy a child’s pencil. Bill Cosby describes it as being so big you had to rest it on your shoulder when you learned to write letters. I found lots of pencils but nothing like the monster I was looking for. I asked and the clerk showed me to the school supply isle where I found a pack of “My First Ticonderoga” pencils. It’s obvious from the photo they’re big.
My original idea was to cut one in half, cut a notch in the pointy part so my finger would fit into it. I would strap that to my first digit; strap the second part to my second digit; to create a writing robot sort of feel. Ever tried to cut a pencil precisely? Damn tough! And all that graphite dust … Damn MESSY!
My wife suggested the approach I finally used, and served as my model. I used a baby zip tie to hook the pencil to her finger and got it a little too tight. By the end of the shoot, her finger had gone numb!
After shooting and processing, I noticed the date on my camera was incorrect. It showed tomorrow’s date … one day after the challenge closes. Now I’ve never seen a disqualification for a photo taken after the challenge closes but I wanted to get the date right. So we had to reshoot. And I got it on the first take!
Editing was a snap.
Just reread the challenge description. I'm wondering if the DNMC folks will bounce this. Hope not, and hope you enjoy this!
Post Processing
• Rotate Canvas
• Crop
• Reduce Noise (Neat Image)
• Rotate Canvas (Arbitrary) to Straighten Pencil
• Crop Further
• Increase Contrast (Curves Layer) Slightly
• Boost Yellow and Green (Hue/Saturation Layer) Slightly
• Reduce Red (Hue/Saturation Layer) Slightly
• Resize Image (Bicubic Sharper)
• Save for Web
Camera Data
• Nikon D200
• 2005/10/15 12:50:44
• JPEG (8-bit) Fine
• Image Size: Large (3872 x 2592)
• Color
• Lens: 105mm F/2.8 D
• Focal Length: 105mm
• Exposure Mode: Aperture Priority
• Metering Mode: Center-Weighted
• 1/30 sec - F/5.6
• Exposure Comp.: 0 EV
• Sensitivity: ISO 400
• Optimize Image: Vivid
• White Balance: Auto
• AF Mode: AF-S
• Flash Sync Mode: Not Attached
• Color Mode: Mode III (Adobe RGB)
• Tone Comp.: Normal
• Hue Adjustment: 0°
• Saturation: Enhanced
• Sharpening: Medium high
• Image Comment:
• Long Exposure NR: Off
• High ISO NR: On (Normal) |
| Author | Thread |
Comments Made During the Challenge  |
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10/23/2007 05:09:19 PM |
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 Photographer found comment helpful. |
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10/22/2007 06:35:47 PM |
| title does not resemble photo content |
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10/21/2007 09:02:44 PM |
| great work...awesome photograph...interesting idea on the challenge |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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10/20/2007 10:16:42 AM |
| oh yeah... the classic TI/DU... |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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10/19/2007 09:49:50 PM |
| Ah, digital technology. :> |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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10/19/2007 09:28:52 PM |
| Interesting. I like the composition and lighting. For me, the pencil isn't representing something other than a pencil - even with your title explanation, but I like your photo. |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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10/18/2007 01:49:54 PM |
| Nice sharp focus that draws the eye in |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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10/18/2007 12:42:26 PM |
| Interesting idea, imaginative use of a pencil =) It's a good image, meets the challenge |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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10/17/2007 03:46:50 PM |
| Haha I love this seeing as i'm a computer nerd. |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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10/17/2007 11:12:37 AM |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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10/17/2007 04:57:14 AM |
| The composition is fine. But I don't get what does it mean. |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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10/17/2007 02:12:14 AM |
| Hmm... I'm not sure what I'm looking at here. |
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