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Are You a Pepper, Too?
Are You a Pepper, Too?
Rebecca


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Still Life II (Basic Editing III)
Camera: Nikon Coolpix 5400
Location: Lakewood, Colorado
Date: May 10, 2006
Aperture: 7.8
ISO: 400
Shutter: 4 sec.
Galleries: Still Life, Advertisement
Date Uploaded: May 10, 2006

 When I was a kid, my parents liked to go to antique shows, and digging through the glass bottles for Dr. Peppers was introduced as a way to keep me entertained since they tended to be a little more rare than Coca-Cola but not so rare that they were impossible to find. These four are my favorites from my collection, ranging from about sixty to just eight years old.

I threw the flowers and the red pepper in, not just for balance and a touch of humor, but as a nod to the flowers, fruits and vegetables that star in nearly every classic still life painting you will ever find. The wooden tulips are a tribute to my Grandma who was a painter - they were once hers. I hardly expect anyone to know that without being told, but they add much needed height to keep the descent relatively smooth. Of course, the pepper isn't just the vegetable element, but a visual pun.

Figuring out the lighting was tough. My dining room table was pushed up against a wall, but the espresso finish of the table was too dark so it was covered with plain brown paper. The light had to be low and extremely indirect to keep glare off the bottles, but the exposure had to be long enough to turn the low lighting white. This was not an easy feat, but it was accomplished with desk lamps, wax paper "diffusers", and a little bit of box tape.

For once, post-prod was the easy part"
Crop
Brighten
Contrast
Increased Green Saturation
Neat Image
Save for Web

You would think it would be more, but this really was all the tweaking necessary.

--

I learned a lot about lighting on this challenge, and have some ideas on how to make it better. I'll shoot it on white paper so there's no line of light seeping up from underneath - I actually quite hate that about this version, but there was nothing I could do about it at the time. I think it's a very marketable image concept, so I'm going to reshoot it and see exactly how much I have learned.

Statistics
Place: 79 out of 338
Avg (all users): 5.6826
Avg (commenters): 6.5833
Avg (participants): 5.5176
Avg (non-participants): 5.7793
Views since voting: 1249
Views during voting: 341
Votes: 230
Comments: 20
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
Canon EOS-6D Mark II
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM
 06/22/2006 01:57:18 AM
...

Message edited by author 2006-06-22 21:22:30.
Canon EOS-20D
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 05/25/2006 07:14:50 PM
from ctp2:

Very cute Idea. Now I'm thirsty for a Dr. Pepper Ü. I like the repetition of the color red through out the photo, and the descending heights. Very nice composition.
The lighting is a little 'off'. The shadows on the background are a little uneven. And the tulip buds could be a little brighter.
Nice photo over all!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro
 05/25/2006 10:29:15 AM
Hello from Álex, CTP MkII

First Impression: Funny and clever take on an original subject.
Composition: Very nice, with the descending line from left to right, well balance with the red on both sides.
Subject: Funny, original. We don't have Dr Pepper on Spain, but they look antique.
Technical: as you say, the lighting can be improved, the shadows of the wall are, at least, strange. Colors are very natural.
Improvement: As you said, lighting. Hoping to see your new versions of the shot.
Summary: Funny, good composition and some flaws on the light.

Álex
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
 05/24/2006 10:15:17 AM
Hi from Cpt2

I liked this I gave it a 7.

I like the bottles (my dad collects old medicine bottles. the splash of red makes it an interesting photo. It would have been dull otherwise, I think.
The comp is ghood it leads one to the red pepper. The flowers are very pretty:)

nicely done and well done on your top 3!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Carl Zeiss 50mm ZE f/1.4 Planar T for Canon
05/24/2006 04:59:30 AM
Greetings from CTP2

Technicals:
The lighting on the bottles is really good. I like the soft/diffused specular highlights. I kinda wish the pepper had some of that on the front side of it like the bottles. I always picture peppers being shiny so this one feels a bit dull in comparison. The shadow cast in the background feels a bit out of place but it's not too distracting.

Subject/composition:
I like the choice in subjects and how you arranged them. I don't think I've ever seen those old looking Dr. Pepper bottles before. That really adds a classic look and feel to the image as well as the addition of flowers.

Suggestions for Improvement:
I like it the way it is but to do better in the challenges I think the back wall needs to be more evenly lit without that shadow and a shinier pepper would have really sealed the deal with voters, IMO.

Edited for spelling.

Message edited by author 2006-05-24 05:00:45.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Apple iPhone 15 Pro
Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D
 05/23/2006 10:58:49 PM
Very clever and actualy fits the challenge very nicely.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D850
Nikon AF-S Micro Nikkor 105mm f/2.8 VR
 05/23/2006 02:23:06 PM
Funny. The composition is a little flat, but I like the progression. Love the color tie-in.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-40D
Canon EF 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
 05/22/2006 06:28:41 PM
I really like this one, the history of Dr P's over the years and the pun of the pepper at the end.
great shot and thought
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D70s
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.0-5.6D ED
 05/21/2006 09:41:19 PM
I love the use of the old soda bottles in this photo (I collect old soda bottles) and the way the red flowers pop out against the white back ground.
Panasonic 3CCD
 05/21/2006 12:39:43 AM
I like this, but I bet it would be better with a different color background.
Nikon D700
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED
 05/19/2006 07:12:17 PM
What I like: I like the technically well lit, well focused image. I like the balance of the reds in opposite corners. What I think could be better: the objects look too linear to me. I think the arrangement could have been better if the objects were on different levels to allow them to be closer together. Just my .02 7
Nikon D7100
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G DX VR
 05/19/2006 09:44:34 AM
I like the setup and theme. The line of light at the bottom doesn't look nice to me, and I'd prefer to see stronger shadows in a still life.
Canon EOS-550D Rebel T2i
 05/18/2006 11:37:26 PM
LOL
Canon EOS-50D
Tamron AF 18-270mm F/3,5-6,3 Di II VC LD Aspherical [IF] macro for Canon
 05/18/2006 05:46:47 PM
Nice collection
Olympus C-2500L
Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D
 05/18/2006 01:27:20 PM
This meets the challenge - inanimate and arranged. Joke, right?
Nikon D70
Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8
 05/18/2006 11:39:54 AM
Funny
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
 05/17/2006 05:16:51 AM
cool it tells a story i like that
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon PowerShot A620
Canon TC-DC52B 1.6x Teleconverter
 05/17/2006 03:24:06 AM
funny
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 05/17/2006 01:37:50 AM
cute!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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