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The Masque of the Red Death - 1845
The Masque of the Red Death - 1845
CNovack


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Edgar Allan Poe (Expert Editing)
Camera: Canon EOS-450D Rebel XSi
Lens: Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS
Location: Outdoors on porch and inside house
Date: Oct 30, 2011
Aperture: 5.6
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/20
Galleries: Digital Art, Horror
Date Uploaded: Nov 2, 2011

 466157.jpg

I truly believe inspiration can come from anywhere if you keep your mind open. Waaaayyy back in 1999 I remember reading about this fantastic floating Opera House in Bergenz, Austria (Google it you will be amazed at the sets they build). Giuseppe Verdi's opera 'Ein Maskenball' performed on July 15. The design of the stage in the lake shows "Death' reading the book of life. That picture impressed upon me so much that I have always wanted to do an interpretation of it. It dawned on me a day after the challenge announcement that Poe's story, The Masque of the Red Death (2nd publication under this revised title...July 19 - interesting...), presented itself as a perfect opportunity.

Total of 17 photos used - and many hours to complete final composition. All objects are photos taken by me in the time frame of the challenge dates - from toy figures, to skull mountain, to texture, to castle, the hooded figure, skeletal hands (a halloween decoration), book, sky, and swamp puddle.

Aside from the obvious imagery, I wonder if people will notice the details of:

'Death' is reading from the Book of Life. The pages of the book are near the end of reading. Thus as the story comes to an end, the characters are fated to die with the end.

The total number of figures is 7 - which corresponds to the number of 'rooms' in the story. Where's the 1,000 people that were in the story? Sorry getting the toy figures to look right in color tone and not plasticy darn tough.



Statistics
Place: 18 out of 88
Avg (all users): 6.4586
Avg (commenters): 7.6667
Avg (participants): 6.2826
Avg (non-participants): 6.5517
Views since voting: 1601
Views during voting: 283
Votes: 133
Comments: 7
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Sony Alpha a7 II
Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm f/4 ZA OSS
 11/10/2011 09:38:26 PM
Love the use of different scales within this image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D
Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro for Canon
 11/06/2011 07:16:46 PM
Hey!!!!This is the coolest picture I have seen!!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D750
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED
 11/04/2011 10:27:00 PM
Wonderful illustration-like quality.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-1D X
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 11/04/2011 05:13:09 PM
I really like the painterly feeling, great work. The castle especially is very well integrated in the scene, and the dark colors really adds to the atmosphere.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-80D
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM
 11/04/2011 01:52:04 PM
Interesting hand/arm angles.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro
 11/04/2011 12:37:31 AM
creepy... in and good way!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
 11/04/2011 12:21:38 AM
The idea is fabulous, but it reads more like an illustration instead of a photograph.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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