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Opus Dei
Opus Dei
jmsetzler


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Bokeh III (Basic Editing III)
Collection: Portfolio
Camera: Canon EOS-20D
Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
Location: Hickory, North Carolina
Date: Oct 22, 2006
Aperture: f/1.4
ISO: ISO 100
Shutter: 1/250
Galleries: Still Life, Black and White
Date Uploaded: Oct 22, 2006

 This is a small (about 30-inches tall) angel statue that my mom has in her garden. I have photographed it several times before, but I thought it would be a good experiment in 'bokeh' for this challenge. I'm intrigued with this subject because of the way light and weathering creates a somber mood. I think it has a rather sad effect on me. The angel appears to be mourning some sort of loss.

As for the bokeh element of this photo, I used my 50mm f/1.4 lens at f/1.4 to work in some very shallow depth of field. I positioned my camera to keep the hands and face in sharp focus, while letting the body get soft at one level, the wings at the second level, and the grass in the background completely lost.

The outdoor lighting conditions for this photo were nice. The sky was rather cloudy and producing a nicely diffused soft light for the statue. In basic editing, I wasn't really able to finish this photo the way I wanted to. There is some dodging and burning I used in the final version to make it more appealing to me.

Post Processing:

Levels and curves to produce desired contrast, channel mixer to monochrome and 100% on the blue channel, toned with my 'silver' curve, sharpened, resized, and added the border for the challenge.

EXIF:

File: IMG_9160.JPG
File size: 2,138KB
Image Serial Number: 191-9160
Camera Model: Canon EOS 20D
Camera serial number: 0420100366
Firmware: Firmware 2.0.3
Owner: John M. Setzler, Jr.
Date/Time: 2006:10:22 11:23:16
Shutter speed: 1/250 sec
Aperture: 1.4
Exposure mode: Av
Flash: Off
Metering mode: Evaluative
Drive mode: Continuous: frame 1
ISO: 100
Lens: 50mm
Focal length: 50mm
AF mode: One-shot AF
Image size: 3504 x 2336
Rotation: none
Image quality: Fine
White balance: Auto
Color space: sRGB
Saturation: Normal
Sharpness: Normal
Contrast: Normal
Picture Effect: Normal
Sharpness level: 0
Tone: Normal
Custom Functions:
CFn 2: Long exposure noise reduction: On
CFn 8: ISO expansion: On

Statistics
Place: 237 out of 440
Avg (all users): 5.0656
Avg (commenters): 6.8333
Avg (participants): 4.8729
Avg (non-participants): 5.2460
Views since voting: 1320
Views during voting: 319
Votes: 244
Comments: 7
Favorites: 1 (view)

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AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Canon EOS-60D
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 for Canon
 10/30/2006 07:19:53 PM
Gorgeous tones!
Canon EOS-30D
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
 10/30/2006 03:40:21 PM
reminds me of the Davinci code...
Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi
Canon EF 22-55mm f/4.0-5.6 USM
 10/28/2006 04:26:28 PM
I like the tonal values and the overall quiet, subdued feeling your image evokes in me. Good luck in the challenge.
Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
 10/26/2006 01:12:12 AM
I like this very much! I like how head and hands are in focus.
Ksenija
Pentax *ist DL
Tamron AF 28-200mm f/3.8-5.6 Aspherical XR IF Super Zoom for Pentax
 10/25/2006 03:02:03 PM
The bokeh is there but unfortunately is doesn't really enhance the photo as the black/white (gray) statue really needs some color contrast in the background or a solid dark color. The colors all blend with one another here.
Canon EOS-7D
Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4.5 DC Macro for Canon
 10/25/2006 01:14:24 PM
Just not excited by a photo of a statue. It is bokeh, but the lack of color hurts it a bit more for me. Technically, it's good, but the subject matter is just lackluster to my way of thinking.
Nikon D200
Nikon MF 105mm f/2.5 AIS
 10/25/2006 12:29:53 AM
Nicely done. Depth is pleasing throughout the image.
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