The idea came to me on the way home from Starbucks. I set about burning a cup on my back porch and shooting it. First one had possibilities, but wanted more of the flame in the pic. Burned a second one I found in my car. Focus not so good on the second one. Got back in the car, went to Starbucks, ordered empty cups. (They know me well enough to know I'm nuts - it's OK.) Third one I used a black posterboard instead of a red one, liked it better. Had the hose nearby and on the whole time, so I wouldn't burn down either my house or the rest of the neighborhood. A total of four cups were harmed in the making of this picture.
Post processing includes cropping, burning (heh!) the foil, the water in the cup, and the inside of the cup a bit, cloning a small spot on the background, and a bit of increase in saturation. Can't get all the way to "DPC Saturation" without pixelating the flames and causing jaggies. USM, resize.
Fun was had by all!
Statistics
Place: 15 out of 158 Avg (all users): 6.5189 Avg (commenters): 7.3684 Avg (participants): 6.3492 Avg (non-participants): 6.6066 Views since voting: 2360 Views during voting: 330 Votes: 185 Comments: 37 Favorites: 9 (view)
Great idea, with a nice tight composition that shows the flame off well. I think the background helps to make the orange of the fire pop out well. The shape of the half-burned cup and the round curls of the flame are neat - nice capture.
Great shot Deb. You trounced me hard on this one. What can be said other than compliments on this one. Great flame. I like how the flame leaves the shot - it wasnt necessary for the whole thing to be within frame. The shape of the burnt cup works great and the text on the bottom is like a nice little surprise that finishes off the whole shot perfectly. Well done and congrats on your top 15 placement. I need to be wary of when I challenge you to a head to head.
Congrats on a strong score and a great top 15 finish.
Camera Work/Technical: Great focus and strong settings to produce color that the eye expects.
Lighting: I am assuming that this was natural light in addition to the flame in the image. It came off very nice with no detail lost in shadows or highlights.
Composition/Content: Very nice rule of thirds use that moves the eye around the frame. I agree with kristy_mcn with her comment on the flame. It feels chopped off, and it provides a very strong leading line that leads the eye right out of the photograph. I think that the flame should have been included to its terminus.
My Opinion: You captured a very nice and very creative image that I think scored pretty close to its potential.
This was a great entry to the challenge! I love it, crisp shot, good flame captured, and with a nice dose of humour :) Definitely deserved 15th, if not higher.
I guess its a bit pot-luck, but I'd like to see a less tight crop on the flame on the lefthand side - it feels a little chopped off. Also, whilst the foil base works well, it could do with a little straightening out, it gives a wonky "horizon" as it is. Other than that, you've got perfect timing, and its a very nice photo.
Way to go, Deb! This is a wonderful shot for all sorts of reasons - composition, colour (with a u), fun - and really proves that you are way beyond your "mediocre" phase, as if you were ever in one!
Trading post...
Congrats on another great score! You go girl! I didn't vote in this challenge but it would have been a 10 from me. Great concept. Great execution. The only thing I would change would be the foil.
this image is great. funny and well set out. ifn you would have got that flame to be a bit more of a single flame type unit and sharp this would have won.
Really nicely done Mel. This was one of my favorites during voting too... It's a bit soft, so I am guessing that your shutter speed was just a tad slow for it... This translates to ambient light on the cup and of course the aperture too... ISO 200 at f/4 might have helped the fire look a bit brighter, while getting it a bit faster might have brought out some lines... Just an idea... I'm also not a huge fan of the foil... I would probably have gone with pulling the black background down to the bottom instead... for safety, you could have lined the non-visible parts of the BG with foil...
when I first saw it, it reminded me of all the funny "warnings" you can find on American wrapings.. like on a bag of nuts "warning may contain nuts" and on a kitchen knife "warning knife may be sharp"
to get a warning that the coffie you just bought might be hot is strange... you'd never buy it if it were cold ;)
back to the picture... composition, lighting and subject are all very well thought of, and the picture is very good.
The composition is ok. The image quality is ok. The subject matter is ok. This photo is very creative. - nice capture with the words on the cup. Clever.
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