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Aquaracer by Tag Heuer
2nd PlaceAquaracer by Tag Heuer
Covert_Oddity


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Product Shot II (Advanced Editing VII)
Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Nikon AF-S Micro-Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 VR
Location: Sydney, Australia
Date: Mar 21, 2010
Aperture: f/10
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/10
Galleries: Fashion, Advertisement
Date Uploaded: Mar 21, 2010



[Mar. 24th, 2010 09:45:04 PM]

Well this is doing way better than expected, 105 votes in and I'm sitting just over 7.4!!! Here's hoping it stays!

Setup is very similar to my "One Ring To Rule Them All" shot. The watch is sitting on a mirror with a black background placed up behind it. I splashed the water drops originally on everything, but then decided it looked better with them not on the watch.


The lighting is a single SB-600 off to the right, pointed at the white roof directly above.

Shot about 80 shots from various heights and moving the watch about. Reviewed them, found the one I liked best and took about anohther 20 variations of that one.

Editing was fairly extensive, highlights / shadows in Aperture and all the following in Photoshop:

Curves
Duplicated layer, applied heavy gaussian blur and masked
Used the blur layer to smooth out areas of the mirror that were untidy, in partular dust all over and a smudge area directly under the watch that I smoothed slightly
Combined layers and duplicated again. Applied Topaz Equalize to new layer and reduced opacity to ~40%
Brightness / contrast to give it a bit more of a "glow"
Merged layers
Used a heavy burn to get rid of a red area on the face from a reflection
USM at original size
Resize
SFW

Statistics
Place: 2 out of 124
Avg (all users): 7.5541
Avg (commenters): 8.3200
Avg (participants): 7.2692
Avg (non-participants): 7.7083
Views since voting: 7580
Views during voting: 386
Votes: 148
Comments: 46
Favorites: 9 (view)


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AuthorThread
04/04/2010 07:04:57 PM
Lovely shot. Congrats.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
04/02/2010 01:47:59 AM
Greetings from the Critique Club!

How is this fair? I just critiqued the blue ribbon for this contest earlier. I hardly feel like I'm qualified to critique your picture, but I'll give it a shot. :)

I'll start off with the negatives. There are none haha. Hmmm if there was one thing I'd change though it would be to have the reflection of the watch face showing instead of shining so much light. Actually your way works good to isolate the watch face from the reflection so as to draw the focus to it.

I like the DOF, the water droplets look great in focus and in the back too. I hope you weren't expecting an extremely helpful critique, there's really nothing to improve . You placed third and have a new personal best, congratulations!

If you have any questions click here to message me!

Senay
  Photographer found comment helpful.
04/01/2010 10:20:14 AM
BGreat score, great finish. Congrats!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/29/2010 11:09:19 PM
Excellent homage and execution! Amazing! :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/29/2010 07:13:29 PM
Well done, this is a first rate shot and a well deserved ribbon winner
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/29/2010 08:24:13 AM
Congratulations on the ribbon. Very well executed image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/29/2010 07:28:01 AM
Originally posted by Art Roflmao:

Congrats! One of only 3 10's I gave out. Aperture: f10 - really?? Just curious - seems like very shallow dof.


Yep, I was pretty close so I needed the f/10 to get any depth of field at all. As a result I had my flash at full power and I was still struggling to get enough light on it, the original is quite a bit duller.
03/29/2010 05:23:21 AM
I just realised that our shots were taken within minutes of each other - I changed my date to the 2nd because I liked the balance better, but the time was correct - spooky! :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/29/2010 05:08:27 AM
A very big congratz on the Yellow ribbon with this outstanding shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/29/2010 03:17:35 AM
Congrats on the yellow, very well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/29/2010 02:58:56 AM
Wonderful crisp and clean image!
Congrats on the ribbon!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/29/2010 02:14:02 AM
Congrats! One of only 3 10's I gave out. Aperture: f10 - really?? Just curious - seems like very shallow dof.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/29/2010 01:41:28 AM
this had received one of my high votes. congrats on the ribbon.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/29/2010 12:33:38 AM
Very cool. I think I might actually like it better if it was rotated clockwise 90 degrees, though.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/29/2010 12:27:32 AM
Nice , i liked it very much during the voting, congrats!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/29/2010 12:25:24 AM
Congratulations - you would have been robbed if this hadn't ribboned.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/29/2010 12:23:15 AM
congratulations on your ribbon!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/29/2010 12:21:30 AM
Congrats on the ribbon!

Raj
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
03/28/2010 04:46:12 PM
NICE
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/28/2010 02:10:02 PM
Beautiful picture, but for a product shot, a bit too busy, distracts from the main subject.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/27/2010 07:43:29 PM
The best of the watch entries
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/26/2010 01:11:28 PM
very nice 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/26/2010 11:36:58 AM
Great Idea and well done. Thank you for not doing a white background.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/26/2010 11:24:52 AM
Another marvelous watch photograph. Like the reflection the contrasty background and the drops seal the deal.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/25/2010 10:42:29 PM
Ah! Someone knows the advertising standard of setting an analog watch to 10 to 2. Been around since the 40s or 50s, I think. Nice use of the waterdrops, good crisp focus. Should do very well! (Commenting only.)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/25/2010 07:00:15 PM
Nice shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/24/2010 05:43:42 PM
This was one of my favorites. Has a "crisp" feel to it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/24/2010 12:43:26 PM
reflection is slightly overexposed. but what the heck, great photo. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/23/2010 03:35:39 PM
good details and lighting on the watch - i actually think that there are too many water drops - cluttering up the image a bit
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/23/2010 10:49:32 AM
thats is soooo awesome!! great idea and lighting
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/23/2010 09:40:07 AM
One of the best photos in the challenge, very good.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/22/2010 07:36:44 PM
Wow! publication quality. One of my 3 - "10" scores. Just great clarity and acuity. 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/22/2010 01:53:45 PM
This was very nicely done. My only issue is that the water droplets in the upper background hurt my eyes the way they seem to be so blurry and take over some of the shot. (7)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/22/2010 11:17:51 AM
Very accomplished execution. Amongst best in challenge. 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/22/2010 10:56:20 AM
Yep! There you go. Love this shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/22/2010 09:34:54 AM
very crisp and clean photo, i like this it fits perfectly in the challenge, i have a Tag Heuer but mine was bought in Phnom Penh for 15 dollars.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/22/2010 07:16:28 AM
Best of the challenge by far. 9.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/22/2010 06:24:41 AM
very good focus and lighting. the double refelction is a bit distracting, try polished steel or black acrylic glass next time.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/22/2010 04:51:33 AM
Brilliantly executed!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/22/2010 04:01:48 AM
My favorite of the many, many watches.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/22/2010 12:55:49 AM
very nice capture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/22/2010 12:54:56 AM
Brilliant lighting. This subject would have been ideal for low-key lighting. But you have done a great job too. One point to mention is the blown-out reflection and the harsh contrast on the water drops everywhere. But, overall the image has an impact.

Raj
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/22/2010 12:52:52 AM
nicely done, like the added bonus of the reflection through the water drops.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/22/2010 12:23:29 AM
wow...the clarity of this is amazing!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/22/2010 12:19:56 AM
THink, this is a winner.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
03/22/2010 12:17:48 AM
great watch image...love the water and lighting 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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