DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register
 
Challenge Entries
Portfolio Images
Harsh Environment
Harsh Environment
Paul


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Sand (Advanced Editing VII)
Collection: Rubbish stuff
Camera: Olympus E-410
Lens: Olympus 35mm f/3.5 Macro ED Zuiko Digital
Location: Birmingham, England
Date: Jan 4, 2009
Aperture: f/3.5
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/50
Galleries: Nature
Date Uploaded: Jan 4, 2009

This was shot through glass at a lizard enclosure at Birmingham Nature Centre. I feel a bit of a fraud, but hey, the sand is real even if the desert isn't!

The edit was all about trying to 'correct' the lighting to make it look authentic. I think it works but I'll be interested to read what those with fresh eyes have to say.

I started in Aperture 2:

Cropping
Small rotation
Exposure (up)
Colour temperature (towards blue)
Contrast Up
Yellow was desaturated to a degree
Green was desaturated all the way

Round-tripped in to CS4:

Smart Sharpen
Neat Image
Variations - upped blue twice
Curves manipulation to emphasise the contrast

Back into Aperture 2:

Exported at <200K

Job done.

Statistics
Place: 72 out of 124
Avg (all users): 5.3974
Avg (commenters): 6.0000
Avg (participants): 5.0213
Avg (non-participants): 5.5596
Views since voting: 759
Views during voting: 296
Votes: 156
Comments: 5
Favorites: 0


Please log in or register to add your comments!

AuthorThread
01/20/2009 07:43:06 AM
Great Critique Kari Ann - Many thanks

I have PM'd you too.
01/19/2009 01:04:01 PM
This is Kari Ann, greetings from the Critique Club:

composition:
the skull is placed very well in the frame, right along the intersection of the rule of thirds, making my eye go there first, then take in the background.

color: the absence of color throughout the frame works so well for the theme. almost like I am in the desert with sand up my nose.

contrast:
great contrast, its so stark, yet, adds so much to the overall theme.

focus: spot on! i love detail, and here i can almost reach out and touch that skull and feel its dry death.

depth of field:
again, great use of a shallow DOF.

lighting:
making the lighting a lot harsher than it was, was a brilliant idea. The whole scene just evokes desert, from the sand to the skulls to the lighting, its all there and its all being felt.

other:
I love this shot. Some may say that this is more about a skull than sand, but, in my eyes, the challenges are not about just using the theme as the main subject, but to use the theme helping another subject. I wish this would have scored higher, as Its a beautiful shot. Keep up the awesome work, i look forward to critiquing more of it. If you have any more questions, feel free to PM me.
-Kari Ann
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
01/07/2009 07:47:57 PM
Like the tone, you can just fly to this place by looking at it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/05/2009 10:44:55 PM
I like the highlighted treatment. It brings out the rawness of nature, etc. Crop might be a bit tight too the skull.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
01/05/2009 01:09:28 PM
Maybe it's just me, but I thought "sand" should be the main subject of this challenge. This is a very interesting (and gruesome :-) shot, but mainly features the skull.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Prints! - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2024 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 04/18/2024 09:57:24 PM EDT.