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Cold Steel
Cold Steel
darnok


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Abstract Black and White (Basic Editing)
Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D
Location: Stellenbosch, South Africa
Date: Aug 24, 2008
Aperture: f/16
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/250
Galleries: Black and White, Macro
Date Uploaded: Aug 25, 2008

 Macro photograph of a replica (read: cheap knock off) Japanese short sword (wakazashi) taken using a reverse mounted 50mm f/1.8 lens. The sword is slightly drawn, the piece in focus is the top of the scabbard (saya), the blade is leaving the scabbard and the out of focus background is the guard (tsuba).

Lighting diagram

Processing: Converted from RAW, noise reduction, added slight blue tint (trying to emphasise the cold, harshness of the weapon), resize to 640px, smart sharpen and save for web. Wish I could clone out the weird circles on the blade - too bad for basic editing.

Statistics
Place: 280 out of 318
Avg (all users): 4.3660
Avg (commenters): 6.6667
Avg (participants): 4.3836
Avg (non-participants): 4.3500
Views since voting: 995
Views during voting: 228
Votes: 153
Comments: 4
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Pentax K5II
Pentax DA 18-135mm F3.5-5.6ED AL [IF] WR DC
 08/31/2008 02:38:12 PM
Interesting photo, makes me want to see more. Nice bokeh also.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony Alpha a1
Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM
 08/30/2008 07:50:02 PM
If I scroll the image up to imitate a square crop that eliminates the upper part of the image, I find a nicer balance between the in focus lower left hand corner and the remainder of the image, with the light diagonal line (?blade) setting off a sparkling region from a darker region. As displayed, the top part is so busy and blurred that it is hard to enjoy the rest.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi
 08/28/2008 12:19:35 PM
I spent a while looking at this so it must be good.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D50
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 08/27/2008 05:28:33 PM
The b/g fills most of the photo frame, so the connection to the title is minimal. Would have worked better if the foreground was more in the picture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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