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Suicide - Still considered a crime
Suicide - Still considered a crime
ti_evom


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Crime Scene (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Pentax K10D
Lens: Pentax SMC-F 50mm f/1.7
Location: Home
Date: Jun 15, 2008
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 400
Shutter: varied
Galleries: High Dynamic Range (HDR), Horror
Date Uploaded: Jun 15, 2008

 The title isn't what I wanted it to be, but I figured I might get a few dnmc's because this photo doesn't depict what most people would view in their minds as being a "crime." But unfortunately, in many places of the world, THIS IS STILL A CRIME. Go figure.

This is an HDR composite of three exposures. I set up one softbox to the right and behind. I dimmed it down a bit so I wouldn't get strong shadows. I just used longer shutter speeds to make up for the lack of light.

The setup was quite easy. I took a pair of pants that I don't wear any longer and stuffed two towels in the legs. I made a couple holes on the front of the legs near the bottom. I slipped the boots up to the legs and ran the towels into the boots. I then fastened the holes in the pant legs to the shoestrings with zip-ties. The pants are being held up on a bar with zip-ties going through the belt loops and around the bar. I hand-massaged the legs and the boots to get a realistic look. I went out on the web to try and find how real hangings look - mainly their legs and feet. What I ended up with is pretty close. I also made sure that the ottoman stool fell away from where the person would have been standing on it. I did the same with the flask.

PP'ing included: Masking off the wall and applying a graduated olive filter(Nik) to give a darker feeling to the background. I also masked off the floor and applied a midnight filter(Nik) with very low settings for slight effect. Burned the pants, boots, and parts of the chair. Dodged the flask a little. Lots of minor cloning here and there to remove little irritating spots on the floor, baseboard, and remnants of tags on the bottom of the ottoman stool.

This was a fun and also weird photo setup. I had a couple other ideas that involved visiting the meat section of the local grocer, but I thought that might turn a lot of people off(picture these same pants sticking out from under a dumpster with cow intestines oozing out). I feel this shot just shows enough for the imagination to figure it out.

Statistics
Place: 24 out of 62
Avg (all users): 5.9899
Avg (commenters): 6.5833
Avg (participants): 5.6000
Avg (non-participants): 6.0736
Views since voting: 1583
Views during voting: 507
Votes: 198
Comments: 16
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 06/23/2008 12:20:03 AM
Lol, you have an interesting notion of what constitutes an 'easy' setup. Just checking back to see how this placed. Not bad, but deserving of better imo. Good job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
06/22/2008 11:02:19 PM
Nice idea and a cool shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/22/2008 03:26:44 PM
Great lighting here and composition. I have those same Wolverine boots btw *grin* Overall a good shot for this challenge.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/21/2008 04:37:05 PM
Good shot, only thing that threw me was why the guy had a steering wheel sitting on the floor next to him... Maybe a more traditional 4-legged chair would have worked better. Do like the 'die with your boots on' look. Missing some booze spilling out of the flask.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/21/2008 02:01:28 PM
I like it
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/20/2008 07:06:49 PM
well this one is pretty gloomy. I think maybe it would score higher for me if it wasn't so well lit--I mean your suicide here is so perfectly lit that it rings of the set up. Maybe not such nice lighting and B&W, or high contrast, or high ISO to get some grain to make this a little grittier. 6 from me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/20/2008 01:05:16 AM
Wow, those are some boots. Nicely pressed jeans, too. Guess he prepared himself.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/19/2008 10:51:31 AM
Because suicide IS a crime. One of the best this challenge - 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/18/2008 03:40:18 PM
Good clarity, just a little dark
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/18/2008 12:51:39 PM
Nice idea. Like the framing. Maybe a more standard chair with legs would have had more impact. I spent a while trying to figure out waht the steering wheel had to do with the suicide.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/18/2008 11:19:35 AM
Well done, interesting scene... 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/18/2008 02:50:24 AM
All of this picture work for me except the object in the left corner. What is, why is it in this picture. Think the empty whisky container and a bare floor would have been much better.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/17/2008 08:19:40 AM
One of my top picks for the challenge. Clean and sharp, good comp. Should score well.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/16/2008 06:58:32 PM
I like the colors and tones in this. Good detail and it tells a story. I wish the chair wasn't covered by the boot in the picture. Good details.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/16/2008 02:37:33 AM
Suicide is not considered a crime. I have never seen nor heard of anyone going to jail for committing suicide or even failing an attempt.
 06/16/2008 01:01:06 AM
Very morbid but that is the point this time, well done. 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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