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Ex Smoker
Ex Smoker
BrennanOB


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Habits (Basic Editing I)
Camera: Canon EOS-300D Rebel
Location: My garage, Walnut Creek, CA
Date: May 17, 2004
Aperture: 32
ISO: 100
Shutter: 14
Galleries: Portraiture, Black and White
Date Uploaded: May 17, 2004

 I quit smoking a few months back and had my first cigar since. It was almost as enjoyable as my first, coughing, spitting, watering eyes. I found and old shot of a skull, blurred it and sharpened it to get it looking a bit more etherial. I taped it to a black backround and set up the tripod and chair. I lit the skull image with a flashlight. In hand I am holding a flash unit to trigger another on the floor to try to get the same "from below" feel light as in the skull photo.
Converted from RAW, cropped from landscape to portrait, moved to Photoshop where I did the quick and dirty Black and white conversion, brought up blue and down red, to strengthen the smoke and brought up the contrast about 10%. Converted for web and USM at 150% .5 pixels 0 thershold.
I wish the hand wasn't so blownout but it was the best I could do given the fact that I was shooting myself with the camera on bulb setting, holding a flash in one hand and the cigar in the other and coughing between puffs. I think I am now officially and ex smoker.

Statistics
Place: 19 out of 256
Avg (all users): 5.8724
Avg (commenters): 7.3500
Avg (participants): 5.4951
Avg (non-participants): 6.1500
Views since voting: 1528
Votes: 243
Comments: 24
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
05/25/2004 11:57:42 PM
This is such a good shot for this challenge. The light off the hand is a bit dominant for my taste. It helps to balance the shot, but it pulls my eye away from the subject. Still a very strong image! 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/25/2004 09:29:43 PM
Composition: Subject Placement, Cropping, Background (20% Weight): 7
Technical: Focus, Exposure, Lighting, Processing (20% Weight): 7
Appeal: Is it Interesting, Motivating, Etc. (30% Weight): 6
How well does it meet the challenge (30% Weight): 8
Total Rating (Rounded) 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/25/2004 04:38:37 PM
Excellent use of light.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/25/2004 01:53:00 PM
Very nicely done, but I feel that you could have done with a bit of light on the cigar.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/24/2004 04:22:26 PM
Excellent. Very good idea and well performed. I'm curious on how you made the scull appear in the smoke. The light in the hand is too hard, though.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/22/2004 10:35:03 AM
Wow. This is really an amazing shot. You handled the lighting, composition and imagery perfectly. Great job!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/21/2004 12:56:44 PM
Great image...no, sorry, Really great image. The lighting on the back of the hand could be toned down a bit but apart from that simply excellent. 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/21/2004 12:24:55 PM
Very nice lighting and idea.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/20/2004 11:55:09 PM
Absolutely awesome!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/20/2004 12:03:19 PM
Hauntingly beautiful. I believe it would be more powerful without the skull.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/20/2004 10:36:06 AM
beautifull light! 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/20/2004 02:59:12 AM
eeire ghostly Best anti smoking shot in the challenge :-) 7 from me
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/19/2004 07:33:32 PM
i really love this... but i cant really tell what is smoking and what is sitting there...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/19/2004 06:31:51 PM
Terrific photo. Composition and B&W speaks volumes on this one.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/19/2004 02:58:05 PM
lol....love the skull very good. I'm an x-smoker but want one just as bad as I always have! Uggggh. Good entry, hope this will do well for you.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/19/2004 01:56:16 PM
i love how the smoke gets mixed up with the face, the light gives a nice contrast to it. love it. 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/19/2004 01:08:55 PM
I don't know about you, but I can see three faces in this image. Pretty freaky. I really like the image though. I wish it had just a little more light in some of the dark areas for just a little more detail. But I still like it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/19/2004 12:17:54 PM
Unoriginal - Don't take a picture of the first thing that pops in your head. Good photograph but too many Smoking pictures.
 05/19/2004 12:04:40 PM
Great idea, but the skull is a bit too subtle.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/19/2004 10:20:40 AM
Nice and moody. The limited detail works well on this.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/19/2004 09:03:54 AM
I liked the she shot, great contrast but then saw the skull which I think is far too cliche'd
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/19/2004 08:11:01 AM
I like the way the highlights on the hands and the smoke lead your eye to the face. I would have like to seen more detail in the face, though.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/19/2004 01:15:41 AM
Very intriguing. Makes me have to scroll up and down to decipher entire subject. Nice piece of art.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/19/2004 12:27:06 AM
Love this shot -- but wish the smoker's eyes were just a tad more visible. Almost too many things jumbled together.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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