This shot was taken right outside of Reykjavik/Iceland.
Dressed my friend up in black cloth and painted his face to be dirtylooking.
I used one 500W strobe for this.
Postprocess: layeradjustments/coloradjustments/unsharpmaskresize and so on.
WoW a blue ribbon for me?? :D
Thank you all for great comments.
I´m truly honored.
Statistics
Place: 1 out of 160 Avg (all users): 7.0884 Avg (commenters): 8.5000 Avg (participants): 6.8415 Avg (non-participants): 7.2406 Views since voting: 16055 Views during voting: 582 Votes: 215 Comments: 82 Favorites: 27 (view)
Well isn't this my lucky day. First I get assigned Judi's Fire II challenge entry and now the image that won the blue ribbon. What can I say about an image that scores a 7+? Congratulation! Nice Job! Wow! Bet you haven't heard any of these regarding this image. When someone produces an image of this quality, the score and placing are more a factor of the voter's tastes than the technical aspects of the image. You put all the pieces together and the voters loved it. With fullest sincerity, Congratulation! Nice Job! Wow!
Feel free to PM me if you have any questions regarding this critique.
When I saw this pic as a mere thumbnail during voting, it simply resonated that kind of Icelandic flair that seems to be unique and absulutely superb with the individuals who creates them.
Congrats on your first ribbon mate, told you you´d get at least one before the year was over. Did you have to get one in the week we are playing in the WPL2 though!!! Like the little kid in "Meet the parents" said, you truly are an "esss-huuule" :)
Excellent all around. Great storytelling. The technicals (focus, lighting, composition) are all great. I don't really see anything I would change to be honest. Nothing jumps out either as a glaring issue or even a nitpick. I'm bumping from 8 to 10. Nicely done.
This is a nice shot. I like the gray sky & water. The driftwood is cool too. Great lighting and focus. The fire contrasts the gray and green very nicely. Got a little bit of funky green skin on the hand but very cool shot. Back to bump you up to 8.
Wow, very dark, with a mystical mood. I think the sky is perfect, and generally the composition is very good, but I would hide the model's face (maybe with a hood) and get rid of the wood stick, I find it distracting. But it is a very nice image anyway.
super lovely, albeit slightly scary creepy, stylish image. lovely ominous sky (oh, weird, i can see two eyes above your character in the clouds staring at the stick - creepy!). the colours of the image are impressively striking and rich in hues, though in that sort of familiar icelandic way. your PP skills are really top notch. i love how the flames glow such a nice bright orange against the rest of the image. the set up is great, the bent stick, the star wars garb, and the remote feeling environment all add to this. the fact that your model looks like a younger thinner meatloaf lessens the darkness factor a bit, but other than that, great stuff. 9.
how can this not get the BLUE? Congratulations on your blue ribbon in the fire challenge...I cannot find any fault with this shot...12, I mean, 10!
I have come back to this after voting and commenting on nearly every photo...O reckon this has to be the clearest winner in this or any challenge for quite some time...well done on all the work and preparation...you deserve the blue...you can start celebrating now, cause it's in the bag!
This is a great take on the druid concept nice sharpness in the waves, and the driftwood. The lack of DoF makes it look like a still from a video game. That might be my only critique, actually, that it looks a touch computer generated. Overall, nice work!
I like how most of the shot is muted which brings more attention to the flames; the muted colors, while not drawing too much attention to themselves, still are very beautiful and go together very nicely. The model looks dramatic but not too staged, and many times that balance is hard to achieve. I also like how the sun is streaming through the clouds next to the hand. The minimal border puts the finishing touch on this fantastic image.
Well if this guy was about 40 years older this shot would have a more 'authentic' feel and probably get a ten from me. As it is you'll have to settle for a 9. Well lit, composed and processed.
My other nitpick is the use of the basket - would have been more effective if the fire had just been on the ground or alternatively emanating from some rustic silver cauldron or something.
I love the striations of light in the clouds above and beside the God's rays and how they align with the models inclined head. If the models right hand were about a foot higher and slightly to our left and left hand six incher higher and six inches to our left, the hands, face, staff, and fire would form a beautiful circle surrounding the glowing rays on the horizon. Even without, this image has a lot going for it. I'm bumping it up another point.
Very nice.
On the one hand this is a really cool shot, straight out of a sword and sorcery tale. On the other hand it's very artifical looking. Nice work, I have no doubt it will rank very high.
wow, an incredible fantasy shot, almost surreal in the colors and tones. would be perfect for a book cover, and i'll be disappointed if this doesn't top-ten.
Summoning the flames
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Arnthor.
