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Speleothem
Speleothem
lectrol


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Centered Composition II (Advanced Editing V*)
Camera: Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
Lens: Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
Location: Carlsbad Caverns
Date: Jan 1, 2007
Aperture: 6.7
ISO: 100
Shutter: 30 SEC
Galleries: Nature, Still Life
Date Uploaded: Jan 2, 2007

 Your vocab word for today... A Speleothem is a secondary mineral deposite found in caves. I read it on a sign in Carlsbad Caverns in New Mexico. I was very pleased to learn that this cave allowed photography and brought my camera along in case there was any time to snap some pictures. The place was crowded and i did not have much time to take many 30 second a piece pictures. I did manage to capture the variety of lighting they used in this room, called The Big Room. This Massive stalagmite was at the end of my journey and i had only a few MB left on my card and my battery light was flashing at me. My first attempt to get this picture was unsuccessful becuase i had ghosts of people walking in front of me. Third time's a charm and i managed to get this amazing shot. I really wish i had brougt a tripod!

The original picture had the Stalagmite in the center of the frame so i cropped out the border of distracting, but beautiful surroundings. I decided to burn all around the formation so it would pop out more as the subject and hopefully deter the distractions in the corners a little bit. I satureated it to an unhealthy level to acheive a mystical underground feel. I kept the image somewhat dark to remind you that this is 700 Feet underground. i sharpened it slightly to make up for the blurryness of proping the camera instead of having a tripod.

I really recommend visiting Carlsbad caverns if you are ever near southern New Mexico! Happy New year!

Statistics
Place: 118 out of 415
Avg (all users): 5.7413
Avg (commenters): 6.5000
Avg (participants): 5.6867
Avg (non-participants): 5.7797
Views since voting: 804
Views during voting: 251
Votes: 201
Comments: 4
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Pentax K-5
Pentax FA J 75-300mm f/4.5-5.8 AL AF
 01/04/2007 10:58:10 AM
6
Canon EOS-5D Mark IV
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 01/04/2007 09:42:35 AM
I'm not sure about this one - it's a wonderful image and the parts to the right of the green are beautiful. The green part distracts from the rest for me, though. I wonder how it would work with a much tighter crop, so it's landscape instead of portrait orientation? To be honest, I really think I'd like this best if it were not in "centered composition" style. I think it's a fantastic image for rule of thirds use.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
 01/04/2007 05:01:46 AM
Good lighting..
Nikon D300
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 01/03/2007 04:48:48 PM
great!
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