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Halloween (1978)
Halloween (1978)
bassbone


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Scene It! II (Advanced Editing V)
Collection: 2007 Challenges
Camera: Nikon D70
Lens: Tokina AF 12-24mm f/4.0 AT-X Pro DX
Location: Basement
Date: Oct 31, 2007
Aperture: F4
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/8
Galleries: Performance, Self Portrait
Date Uploaded: Oct 31, 2007

 As soon as I saw the challenge, I knew what I wanted to shoot. I have always wanted to shoot a scary Michael Myers like scene from Halloween. The thing I worried about was the lighting and the correct location for the shot. My utility stairs to the basement seemed like the perfect place to shoot. I had to do this during the day so I took advantage of the brightness behind me and used some side lighting for additional mood.

I shot this on Halloween and this oufit and mask really got me in the mood to scare someone for real. So, while my wife and kids were out trick-o-treating with our friends ( brownsm's family), I was able to go out and scare the snot out of my wife and a couple other neighbors (i made sure to refrain from scaring the kids and went straight for the adults!). Great fun!

Shot in RAW, adjusted curves, exposure in CS2 RAW converted. Opened in Elements 3.0. Cropped and rotated to give unbalanced feel. Adjusted levels, hue/saturation (dropped reds/yellows/ greens). Noise Ninja for increased contrast, USM and smoothness of face and background. Cloned out ceiling light and cabinets in background. Added hue/saturation layer to desaturate blues - masked out suit. Added levels adjustment layer and darkened - masked out figure to lighten him relative to background. Save for web. USM at small radius. Save.

I think this will do well - probably at least a 6.5.

Statistics
Place: 8 out of 83
Avg (all users): 6.6816
Avg (commenters): 7.8462
Avg (participants): 6.2174
Avg (non-participants): 6.8023
Views since voting: 4318
Views during voting: 415
Votes: 223
Comments: 21
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 11/19/2007 10:53:44 AM
Peter, this is terrific! Very effective. Congrats on another top 10! You are kicking my @$$ lately - I'd better get on my game :-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/12/2007 12:00:45 PM
Awesome! Love the angle. Very creative!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/12/2007 11:12:10 AM
Peter, I love what you've done to your hair! Congrats once again. You are on a roll. Pretty high commenter average, too. Well done!

edit to add: Peter mentions scaring some of the adults too during the trick-or-treating fun. peter snuck up behind one grown man, then put his hand on this guy's shoulders. He shrieked like a 5-yr old girl!

Message edited by author 2007-11-12 11:14:53.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/12/2007 05:50:30 AM
Peter

Well many congrats on the high finish and replacing you 'fun' halloween shot on your profile with much darker one

I love the overexposed background behind michael myers, from your notes this had been the bit that had concerned you before the shoot but I have to say you nailed it 100%

It made me laugh that you scared the snot out of your wife, but I have to confess that if you had jumped out at me like that I would have been less than happy

Great homage to a film that scared the beejesus out of me when I first saw it

  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/12/2007 03:30:11 AM
Very nice - great score and a top 10 to boot. Well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
11/11/2007 11:45:18 PM
Great photo -- kinda knew there would be some Halloween costume shots , but this one is above and beyond
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/10/2007 10:58:33 PM
Mighty scary picture you got there
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/10/2007 02:30:14 PM
ohhh this is good. Going back through these, I think this will be the blue.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/09/2007 05:37:00 PM
OH YEAH!!!! Fantastic use of light.... and feel!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/09/2007 04:29:57 PM
Crisp, clear, scary! great Michael Meyers! 10 for me! :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/09/2007 11:26:21 AM
Run Run lol good job psart 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/07/2007 09:53:10 AM
Nice perspective
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/07/2007 09:12:16 AM
I was waiting to see if we'd have one of these. CRIPES!!!!! That music will be playing in my head for the rest of the day.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/07/2007 01:55:14 AM
great angle for the shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/05/2007 05:30:13 PM
Very well framed, I like the tilted PoV.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/05/2007 04:46:52 PM
Very nice image. I like the angle and the lighting in this shot. 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/05/2007 11:19:18 AM
Great angle and idea. Love the composition. The mask looks a lil funny, but other than that its a great shot. Nice work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/05/2007 08:56:10 AM
Nice job, 8.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/05/2007 01:59:20 AM
Oh man....You nailed it. Great angle!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/05/2007 12:25:56 AM
Great composition, fabulous really, my only gripe is the mask, it's not fitting the model correctly, it's loose and looks un-authentic. The model is tall enough. And thats not the original Captain Kirk mask! 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/05/2007 12:22:58 AM
Ya, this is cool. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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