DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register) 
 
Challenge Entries
Portfolio Images
This image is not part of a public portfolio.
"Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me."
"Now I am a lake. A woman bends over me."
riot


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Black and White Portrait II (Advanced Editing V*)
Camera: Canon EOS-20D
Lens: Sigma 24mm f/1.8 EX Aspherical DG DF Macro for Canon
Location: Floor
Date: Jan 9, 2007
Aperture: f/10
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/250
Galleries: Emotive, Black and White
Date Uploaded: Jan 9, 2007

 The title is from Sylvia Plath's poem Mirror, suggested by the model.

Going for harsh shadows without necessarily having harsh highlights - a single wireless flash head off to the right, around waist height for the model, pointing up slightly. Lots of black cloth for the background and covering her legs (she was kneeling). Going for background separation, wanted it to look as if she was floating, maybe in dark water. Was going for a mysterious feel without being threatening and pushing away the viewer but without any cheese either.

Wasn't sure about the cat necklace at first, the model was wearing it before the shoot, but i decided to keep it - it adds a bit more mystery and mood, and i loved the shadow it made.

Editing: channel mixer to desaturate with a green filter effect, tone curve to boost the brightness of the midtones a bit without blowing out highlights, create a stronger gradation between light and dark. Converted to quadtone with pantone process black, cool gray 10, cool gray 1 and warm gray 3 all in upward bending curves of slightly different depth. Some cloning to get out the very dark black bits below the mirror (folds in the cloth showing up) and a couple of stray hairs and bits of dust. Some dodging around the cat to make its highlight and eyes a little brighter. Resize, tiny tiny sharpen.

Statistics
Place: 204 out of 491
Avg (all users): 5.4089
Avg (commenters): 6.1111
Avg (participants): 5.3520
Avg (non-participants): 5.4518
Views since voting: 1856
Views during voting: 451
Votes: 291
Comments: 10
Favorites: 0

Please log in or register to add your comments!

AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Nikon D70
Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.4D
 01/15/2007 10:22:19 AM
Nice composition, 8!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-40D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
 01/13/2007 07:06:43 PM
I love that quote. Nicely executed. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus E-400
Olympus 14-42mm f.3.5-5.6 ED Zuiko Digital Zoom
 01/13/2007 07:15:09 AM
Hey...hope you do well with this. I used the same poem for my "Reflections" challenge and it did very badly. I put 3 days of shooting into it and came away with an "early newbie" picture. Very difficult to line up that reflection I know!!! The darkness of this is very Sylvia though.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
Tamron SP AF 24-135mm f/3.5-5.6 AD Aspherical IF for Canon
 01/13/2007 05:08:26 AM
i like this, nice work 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D60
Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR
 01/11/2007 11:10:18 PM
A bit too dark...7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-60D
Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS USM
 01/11/2007 09:59:07 PM
like the use of the mirror
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony DSLR-A200
Sony 75-300mm f/4.5-5.6
 01/11/2007 03:04:14 PM
Really cool idea for this shot. I'm just a bit caught in the contrast. Seems a tad too much.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Mattel Barbie Photo Designer Digital Camera
 01/11/2007 01:44:08 PM
Too dark
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D80
Sigma 24-70mm f/2.8 EX Aspherical DF for Nikon
 01/11/2007 11:52:50 AM
like the artistic effects
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon Z9
Nikon NIKKOR Z 70-200mm f/2.8 VR S
 01/10/2007 10:36:15 AM
Too dark.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Theme: Classic / Light / Dark
Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2026 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 10/11/2026 06:00:52 PM EDT.