This one was a lot of work to achieve, and I am quite happy about the result.
First, I had to buy lots of feathers, which I found in a creative decorations store. I bought different sizes and shapes of them, in order to be able to pick the most appropriate ones depending on the wing area. While shooting them was the easy part, arranging them on the screen in order to look like giant wings was intense, and took me quite a few hours before reaching a satisfactory result.
The day after, I made a fire at night, and took several hundreds of shots, in order to have a good amount of differently shaped flames. It was really important to shoot them against a pure black background, in order to ease their insertion in the picture (layers in screen mode make black transparent automatically, handy): the camera was set with that in mind. I also shot some smoke (using a lateral flash) to use as a texture above fire.
The background was simply created using a sky shot, and rocks that were deformed a bit and positioned vertically, to constitute these strange mountain peaks.
Last but not least, posing half naked was also an interesting experience, since it was a bit cold that day ;-) If this ends needing validation, SC members should not worry too much, I was wearing underpants that were cloned out in post-processing.
I hope some will like the result!
_________________________________________________________
Post challenge:
Wow! Thank you all so much. I am extremely happy this took my PB spot, and of course, very proud of the score.
Larger version of it can be seen here (prints are available too).
Statistics
Place: 1 out of 48 Avg (all users): 8.5920 Avg (commenters): 9.2609 Avg (participants): 8.2692 Avg (non-participants): 8.6768 Views since voting: 16472 Views during voting: 591 Votes: 125 Comments: 106 Favorites: 57 (view)
I'm looking at this 10 years later and I can't believe I only scored it a 9 during the challenge. It's a 10 all the way. It's flawless and still striking in its concept and execution. Wishing you well!
I know you had fire to cover the topside of the wings, but in a scenario where you don't - how do you go about creating the right texture of the topside of the wings. Would you just leave the curved distorted feather shapes as is or would you smooth them out further to create a "thickness"?
I probably would have created a thick edge, using a small fluffy texture.
I know you had fire to cover the topside of the wings, but in a scenario where you don't - how do you go about creating the right texture of the topside of the wings. Would you just leave the curved distorted feather shapes as is or would you smooth them out further to create a "thickness"?
This is really good mate I am very impressed, much more photographic than your previous couple of entries, I didn't vote but would have been your 55th 10 I would say :)
I have no clue how anyone can vote this low at all!!!! You now have the second highest rated shot on DPC!!!! I personally think you should have been able to knock Langdon out of first!!!!
Gyaban your work is outstanding... I pretty much only log into this site anymore just to see if you have entered anything new. This is a mind blowing image I love it! Congratulations on your Blue, definitely deserved! great work!
AHH! I love this one. :) I don't know that I could have come anywhere close to competing, but I was bummed to not be able to try! I enjoy expert editing challenges as I know you will be entering. ;) My husband and I have been in Croatia for the last two weeks, so I couldn't upload anything.
Meh, this is a decent enough image I suppose. It jumped out from the thumbnails like Gulliver doing a handstand in Lilliput. Oh sure, I showed it to friends and relatives all week and tried to buy stock in the number 10, but it's no low-angle pool table photo. Freak.
You never cease to awe me with your talent and hard work. Very amazing concept, and so well done, as usual. Thank you for providing us inspiration and sharing your techniques.
I'm not certain if this is your best work, But I would rate it within the top five. You are in a zone that not many of us will ever see. It's a pleasure to see your craft improving each and every entry. Congrats on yet another PB!
We all have our favorite direction we like to go with our creativity, and I know this is the type of image you truly love to create Christophe. I think you really nailed this one- might be your best yet. Without even considering placement or score, this must have been a total blast for you to create and I'm very happy for you that you were able to have that fun :)
Congratulations on another Blue to add to your profile and a new PB! Your last 10 entries are all Blue Ribbon winners with the exception of the one lonely HM - Amazing streak of wins! A remarkable entry Christophe showcasing your hard work, attention to detail, and PP skills.
Its probably a good thing that you didnt have access to naked males!!!!! nice work btw
Thanks! But I'm not sure I understand the "naked males" bit? I suppose many professional models would accept the job, perhaps even friends or relatives. However, organizing a shooting session within a day or two is not always easy to do, not mentioning the cost.
Ididnt mean it like that i just meant there are not many people that have have a house full of half naked men it was suposed to be sarcasm i guess it never came across that way lol
*still searching for a comment that would do justice for this picture*
P.S: Thanks a gazillion for including the details. One of the reasons why I make any picture a favourite of mine is because it includes the details on how it was done so that I can come back and see it and probably try it myself. But surely there is no matching your level of expertise and perfection.
Its probably a good thing that you didnt have access to naked males!!!!! nice work btw
Thanks! But I'm not sure I understand the "naked males" bit? I suppose many professional models would accept the job, perhaps even friends or relatives. However, organizing a shooting session within a day or two is not always easy to do, not mentioning the cost.
Did you expect your abs to get so much attention? :-)
Thanks a lot Niall.
In fact I find it quite amusing too :-) I don't really consider the guy on the photo to be "me": I wanted the model to be in that posture, and wanted him to be relatively muscled, but since the only male body I had access to was mine, I did what I could with it.
Its probably a good thing that you didnt have access to naked males!!!!! nice work btw
Did you expect your abs to get so much attention? :-)
Thanks a lot Niall.
In fact I find it quite amusing too :-) I don't really consider the guy on the photo to be "me": I wanted the model to be in that posture, and wanted him to be relatively muscled, but since the only male body I had access to was mine, I did what I could with it.
At a loss for words! Congratulations. Those rocks are nearly my.favourite part. Your comments are funny! And so are ours. Did you expect your abs to get so much attention?
:-)
Congratulations for all the achievements from this photo alone... but you do realize that if you beat langdon for the top spot it means that you have to run the site afterwards, right?? :)
WELL WELL WELL - I BELIEVE YOU ARE AMAZING WITH THE TALENT AND BRILLIANT IDEAS AND AMAZING GRAPHICS THAT YOU PUT TOGETHER WHEN YOU ARE BEHIND THE CAMERA AND ALSO IN EDITING AS YOU ARE THE MASTER NOW AT DPC.
WITH ONLY A NARROW MARGIN BEHIND LANGDON OF .008 AND BEFORE LONG, ACTUALLY VERY SOON, I THINK YOU WILL BEAT THE HIGHEST SCORE HERE AT DPC AND BE THE KING OF DPC......
YOU STILL HAVE SO MUCH MORE TO GIVE TO BE THE BEST OF THE BEST WITH THE TALENT YOU HAVE...... I AM IN AWE OF YOU MY FRIEND AND THANK YOU FOR SHARING YOU TALENT WITH US, ALL OF US...
FROM SHEZ
PS - I ALSO THINK AN AWARD SHOULD ALSO GO TO YOUR WIFE FOR THE SUPPORT SHE ALSO GIVE YOU AND US RE HELPING YOU ACHIEVE YOUR DREAM...
Amazing image, Christophe, and the story behind your creative process and execution is quite interesting, but to be honest I'm much more interested in how the hell you got those abs! Am I drinking too much beer? I've got a "one pack."
I'm a little surprised you didn't break the record in this challenge. It seem like the perfect storm. Fantasy based theme + expert editing + low number of entries to compete against not to mention the low amount of votes challenges get these days. Oh well you'll get it next time I'm sure.
Your commitment and passion for photography is astounding! From conception to capturing and the final execution – everything is in a league of its own. Pity that the ultimate top spot was not claimed – but that’s why we will have more challenges… so you can WOW us with your indescribable talent. Above all I’m amazed you have a full time job AND still married!
Cristophe you are in a league all your own. Not even necessarily your best work, and still clearly the ribbon winner here. The love and hard work you put into these really show. Creativity at it's best!!!
Very obviously the winner in this challenge, Christophe. The flamework on the feathers is sublime...quite intricately masked in. Only "oddity" is his ribcage which looks a little odd? Anyway, that's nitpicking...a 9 from me.
I hate you... In the most loving way possible of course... This is just unfair! Your imagination is unbelievable! And the ability to achieve whatever your mind comes up with! To have the photoshop skills that you do is just a dream.... For now... ;)
Keep up the good work! I would be surprised if this didn't come out with an 8+ score... Yet another to add to your collection of those... Lol. (No vote yet but probably will get a 10 when I come back to it.)
This is just terrific. I can see it as a book jacket cover or even art poster for a futuristic movie. Very well done and not so much over the top that it looks like nothing but editing. Way to go.
Christophe, this is the Blue. Easily. Your recent imagery hasn't been quite as 'realistic' so I haven't enjoyed them as much. But this! This is stunning.
Fiery
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