If you havn't noticed this is actually just a Gandalf cardboard stand up! I bought it awhile ago online for 10 bucks, free shipping. :-D I use him to stand in my room and of course scare my mom by putting him in her room... :-)
I had this set up in my head the minute I saw the challenge posted. I set him up in the bushes behind my house where he kept getting knocked over by the wind. I had another spot but the lighting was reverse from that of the cardboard picture... So I just found another (better) spot. I used my fog machine spraying from half in front of him and half behind him to make him seem 3D and part of the environment, instead of a cardboard cut out. Another problem I had was the glare on the shiney cardboard, I had to tilt it and shoot from a lower angle.
For editing I used a crop, curves, hue/sat, brightness/contrast, dodging and burning (a lot of midtone work), unsharp mask, clone tool, blur tool, border and a bit of the ol neatimage. The clone tool removed a few specks but I also used it to hide a small bright blue cardboard strip that supported the figure's staff. The fog mostly hid it but it still bothered me and it would be noticable.
I almost used my Legolas and Gimli stand up instead but they just can't out-cool Gandalf. :-)
Statistics
Place: 4 out of 151 Avg (all users): 6.7589 Avg (commenters): 7.6667 Avg (participants): 6.7375 Avg (non-participants): 6.7708 Views since voting: 9081 Views during voting: 615 Votes: 224 Comments: 51 Favorites: 15 (view)
For what it's worth, regarding your choice of leaves, you were rather spot on. I am something of a LOTR geek and I will tell you that the stories were written to mirror the British Isles. These islands are loaded with old, final growth deciduous forests. It is said that unless there are factors that are extremely inhospitable to deciduous trees, they will be replaced within a few hundred years by deciduous trees which are a more sustainable type of tree. I can't vouch for the reliability of that statement, I learned it in grade 6 social studies in Canada. The fact that Britain is loaded with deciduous forests and has quite a mild climate would indicate that your choice of leaves is very good indeed.
Rock on Joey!
I would have tried to soften the light on the foreground leaves just a hair. I don't mind them photographically, but thematically, I think they conflict a bit with the mood of the fog lighting.
I've not read or watched LOTR so I'm not familiar with the characters, but it was fun reading through your comments to see who you "fooled" with this one :) Wherever you're doing these "deep forested fog" shots, you're certainly conveying the mood quite well.
Maybe just a bit too much light on the front leaves, but that's just my .02.
I really really like this shot, and even when you know it's a cutout - it's hard to tell.. I'm still not convinced you didn't actually have Sir McKellen in your back yard.
If I had to say something negative (which I probably don't, but will anyway), it's that the leaves don't look very middle-earthy.. If you know what I mean. Maybe it would have helped to tone down the green a bit - they look too "crisp" to fit in where Gandalf would travel. :)
Still, though - thumbs up. :)
Fantastic job - I was completely fooled into thinking someone had stolen a frame from LOTR. Beautiful job! Never would have guessed it was a cardboard cutout - you hid it well in the mist!
A most intriguing image missing a ribbon. Congratulations on your creativity and your superior problem solving ability. The latter makes your images outstanding and unique. Congratulations on your top 5 finish.
ahhhh you just missed out on a ribbon, but congrats on the high placing! really well executed image! cant believe it came from a 1.3 megapixel camera but that just shows how good you are.
Wow, that's so neat how you did it! Cardboard eh? Fooled me. And you're right, Gandalf is way cooler than Legolas and Gimli-- although, Aragorn rocks my world (as well as Samwise the brave!)
Oh dear, I'm a nerd. :) Good Job!
Color, lighting and framing are excellent without excessive noise.
This natural looking image fits the challenge perfectly in a way most all voters can recognize. The Gandolf character is outstanding and the misty look a nice touch. That coupled with its high technical quality will likely put this in the ribbons with the blue possible.
On a technical note a few things can be said.
There is some minor haloing around the main characters garments near the top that can be removed.
The nearest leaves are out of focus. It could be validly argued it is that way on purpose to convey the sense of a journey through middle earth but most viewers will probably find that slightly distracting. That is generally true of most foreground elements that occupy a prominent position in a composition.
The image is lower contrast. Even a simple autocontrast adjustment will add considerable "pop" to an already amazing image. Again it might be said low contrast is purposeful to retain greater image detail and a sense of the mystical but most viewrs would likely think the added "pop" outweighs the other items.
If this image fails to get the blue ribbon it is likely because of the contrast.
A super photograph! Kudos to you for a great shot!
This is absolutely an AWESOME photo for this challenge! So well set up and interesting. The fog is an incredible effect, and your color contrasts are so fairy-tale like! You did GOOD!!!!! 10
my impression of this is that it looks pretty staged; if the leaves are going to be in sharp focus so should be the bearded man, better if both were as soft as the man is, and the mist looks phoney
One of the few who have actually went to some trouble setting up. Great model. Looks the part and the clarity and colors in the image are very powerful. Smoke adds the final touch. Overall my favourite image. Hope it ribbons. 8, bumping up again 9
I know this is being picky - but the foliage seems too much from our world. I think vines and drooping dark foliage would have been better. Having said that this is much better than mine and It is a great shot
This is a very good image,with great contrast, but I am bemused that It appears to be more than than one image, blended, I hope to be proven wrong,so don't be disqualified, I am giving this image a 10
Nice tie in to the fantasy theme, one of only a few that did a good job with that aspect. Composition is interesting. DOF must have been a bit of a challenge. My only nit pick (and it's small) is that the subject wizard (?) feels flat compared to the foreground. Not sure what could be done about it, but if it had greater depth, I could have given it a point or 2 more. Good luck in the voting.
Add photograph to your favorites
Add photographer to your favorites
Photographer found comment helpful.
