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There Will Come Soft Rains
There Will Come Soft Rains
riot


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Ray Bradbury (Basic Editing)
Camera: Canon EOS-20D
Lens: Sigma 24mm f/1.8 EX Aspherical DG DF Macro for Canon
Location: MERLIN radio telescope at Darnhall
Date: Jun 13, 2012
Aperture: 1.8
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/100
Galleries: Portraiture, Astrophotography
Date Uploaded: Jun 14, 2012

 The same location as the Songs of Distant Earth shoot and with the same model, but a different occasion, different layout, different feel. This doesn't bear directly on the plot of the eponymous story, but rather aiming to capture the feeling. She's dressed vintage, wearing an RAF pilot's jacket. There were some outtakes involving mirror shades, which do look rather captivating thanks to the reflections of the polka dot umbrella, but ultimately you lose the human element so i decided to go with this version instead, where the eyes are much more expressive. The limited colour palette, the polka dots and general 50s style combined with a tense and perhaps melancholy mood combine to evoke some of the apocalyptic fear crossed with nostalgic longing that permeated the 1950s scifi scene, underneath the thin veil of technology worship. Here the fact she's not looking at the dish is significant. Obviously the umbrella is intended to mimic the shape of the dish, and in a way parody it. The hub of the spokes provides a balance to the image that's intended to catch the eye, lead it down the pole, and bring it back towards the base of the dish from where we return to our initial entry point into the image, being set loose in the sky and naturally being drawn towards the model's eyes.

It's actually possible to get very close to the radio telescope in the background, but the shot becomes less balanced as we look up at the model more, and after a while the dish starts to lose feeling in exchange for the drama of getting close up, so in the end i settled for a shot from further away.

This was also the only half hour of the day when it DIDN'T rain, although i was desperately hoping at the time it would for the sake of the shot.

Outtake:

Statistics
Place: 14 out of 60
Avg (all users): 6.1702
Avg (commenters): 8.0000
Avg (participants): 6.0789
Avg (non-participants): 6.2321
Views since voting: 1029
Views during voting: 207
Votes: 94
Comments: 11
Favorites: 1 (view)

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AuthorThread
Canon EOS-80D
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM
 06/25/2012 09:10:16 AM
I thought this was a great shot- well thought out and executed.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony SLT-A33
Sony DT 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 SAM
06/22/2012 10:48:19 AM
I liked it... surprised it didn't do better. Nice composition and a well thought out scene.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Pentax K-1
Pentax FA 50mm f/1.4 AF
 06/21/2012 11:35:29 PM
Nice... love the look on her face and the contrast of the umbrella (pointed down) and the radar dish (pointed up)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony DSLR-A580
Sony DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical ED
 06/21/2012 10:52:26 PM
Interesting combination of a literal interpretation of the title and a suggestion of the story line with the background and her expression. Voted earlier.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/21/2012 04:56:30 PM
This has a fantastic '70's Science Fiction film feel to it. Excellent. 10.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Fujifilm X-T30
Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS
 06/19/2012 10:52:07 PM
very cinematic
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D750
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 17-35mm f/2.8D IF-ED
 06/19/2012 08:34:03 PM
Awesome echo of shapes - the antenna an upside down umbrella
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D Mark II
Canon EF-S 15-85mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
06/15/2012 01:46:21 PM
Those eyes ..
Canon EOS-7D
Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro for Canon
 06/15/2012 10:58:20 AM
I feel like I'm in Russia, during the Cold War.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D
Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro for Canon
 06/15/2012 09:46:40 AM
I love this shot.
Sony SLT-A33
Sony DT 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 SAM
06/15/2012 08:51:05 AM
Nailed it - I believe. Looks like a still from a sci-fi movie. Excellently done. Though, I think you could have brought up the hilights some, just to get rid of more of the blue sky and bring up her skin tones a bit more. But that's just a guess. Very nice, especially for basic.

I think I would have also leaned toward not using a patterned umbrella... but I'm glad you didn't. The pattern draws the eye upward into her face.

Great shot, I hope this ribbons.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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