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Oak Leaves, Urn and Grain
Oak Leaves, Urn and Grain
banmorn


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Brown (Basic Editing)
Camera: Nikon D70s
Lens: Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro for Nikon
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Date: Dec 16, 2006
Aperture: f/ 16
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/3 sec.
Galleries: Still Life, Floral
Date Uploaded: Dec 18, 2006

 We had a concert at a college this past Thursday. Interesting day, we were really early and ate lunch at a small burger joint up the street from the venue. So they we are, around noon, Rob and me in our tuxes and Liz in her black gown, eating burgers, shakes, fries and onion rings with truck drivers, laborers and the like. No one paid us any mind. It was just great!

It was a very gray, foggy day. We sang the concert and there was a reception afterwards. They were a very appreciative audience and there were Red Hat Society ladies there. I love Red Hat ladies!!! I saw that all the cookies were looking hard and dry, I much prefer a soft cookie, and ducked out for a smoke. Well I got bored waiting for my ride so I took pictures of the cemetary and the fog and then some brown leaves on so really interesting, brown pine ground cover by a tree in the parking lot. The lighting was pretty bad so I did not use any of those shots. I picked up some leaves around the area where I was shooting and put them in my music case to take home.

I'm still waiting and then I found out why. Something happened to one of the choir members and they thought it best that the person not drive. So in quick succession more than half dozen choir memebers come up to me and start telling me about what happened and asked me to drive. So....well I had to tell them all "No!" cause I really haven't driven a car in like 26 years. Really. The last time I tried to move someone's car about 10-12 years ago, I couldn't figured it out and turned on the windshield wipers and not the car. Oy!

In the interim a campus cop drove up to me and asked if everything was OK. I told her yes and I was just shooting some leaves and picking up some to shot at home. They found someone else to drive. The End.

I have this 3 piece set of urns that I bought at, probably, the church bazaar one year. In the final setup in the image, I used one backwards (there is some Grecianesque figures and stuff on the other side) and placed one leaf and the stalk of grain in it. I went through some other set ups with the leaves and came down to putting one leaf on its side in front of the vase and placed the other two leaves on the grain. The one leaf had a very cooperative hook type thing at the end of its stem. I lit this with four clamp lamps all pointing up and bouncing light off a piece of white foam board over the shooting area.

The background is black velvet and I placed a box under another piece of black velvet to get some height for ease in shooting and because both pieces are in need of replacement as they have marks of some sort or another. There is not enough of one piece to use alone.

Sorry the subjects seem to be floating in a pool of black but too much light on the area of the shooting surface does not look pleasant and was not reparable in basic editing.

Post: Convert from Raw in PSElemnents 3.0 with a +0.33 exposure compensation. Used the heal tool on two dust spots on the urn and one hot pixel in the background. Layer of curves. Layer adjustments for levels, brightness/contrast and hue/saturation. Resize. Sharpen.

Statistics
Place: 5 out of 306
Avg (all users): 6.5837
Avg (commenters): 7.6154
Avg (participants): 6.3069
Avg (non-participants): 6.8426
Views since voting: 3922
Views during voting: 300
Votes: 209
Comments: 19
Favorites: 3 (view)

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AuthorThread
Olympus E-10
Canon EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM
 12/27/2006 03:02:26 PM
Sharp, well executed, beautiful lighting on the subject. However, to me may represent your worst instincts for composition. Terrible tomb-like black back environ, intentionally & artificially meets the edges at equal distance around the picture frame. Content, badge-like, is marginally interesting - overly meticulous, fussy, awkward, a decoration of the pin oak leather leaf arrangement which lives in a void. fyi 5.

Message edited by author 2006-12-27 15:16:50.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
 12/27/2006 11:56:21 AM
Sweet finish Robert. Congrats on 7th place.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark IV
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 12/27/2006 04:08:07 AM
You are such an inspiration! This is really just a perfect image - the lighting is beautiful, in my opinion. Congratulations on the top ten. Thanks for the amusing story about being asked to drive, too :-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D300s
Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM for Nikon
 12/27/2006 03:49:03 AM
way to go robert! I thought it would do well when I saw it, congrats on the 7th.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Canon EOS-40D
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 USM
 12/26/2006 10:05:22 PM
absolutely beautiful, It's as if I can feel the motion...when there is actually none. great compostion as well. fav + 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7000
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 12/26/2006 05:27:55 PM
Well set up.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D50
Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D
 12/26/2006 03:08:57 PM
Wow this is a special shot. Great image, I am sure you already know that though as I am sure 23 people have already told you that. Good luck and happy ribboning.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Fujifilm FinePix S3 Pro
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 35-70mm f/2.8D
 12/26/2006 09:31:41 AM
wonderful! a 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Konica Minolta Maxxum 5D
Konica Minolta AF 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6(D) DT
 12/25/2006 01:43:16 PM
Very nicely done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
 12/25/2006 01:40:06 PM
Happy Holidays! 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-20D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
 12/23/2006 04:30:52 AM
Very effective light,an almost spooky effect! I hope this photo does well. well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Pentax K10D
Pentax FA 28-80mm 3.5-5.6 AF - Silver
 12/22/2006 04:42:11 AM
nice composition.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
 12/21/2006 03:50:23 AM
Nicely set-up, re composition, and suits the challenge well.....
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/20/2006 10:59:58 PM
nice light, texture, and browns
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D300
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 12/20/2006 09:05:20 PM
This is the winning one... high 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
 12/20/2006 04:33:38 PM
Very striking and perfectly, artfully brown! Extremely lovely lighting as well.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III
OM System 90mm f/3.5 Macro IS PRO M.Zuiko Digital ED
 12/20/2006 04:15:56 PM
lovely artistic shot ......
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/20/2006 11:12:09 AM
Lovely still life. Could be banmorns!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Kodak Z740
 12/20/2006 09:28:58 AM
nice arrangement, yet seems to be missing something
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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