DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register) 
 
Challenge Entries
Portfolio Images
Pandora's Pet....and Eve's New Friend
Pandora's Pet....and Eve's New Friend
kanaj


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Battle Of The Sexes (Advanced Editing V)
Collection: Portfolio
Camera: Canon PowerShot SD400
Location: San Antonio Zoo
Date: Jan 13, 2007
Aperture: 3.3
ISO: Unavailable
Shutter: 3.0
Galleries: Animals
Date Uploaded: Jan 14, 2007

 Okay, I had a really hard time with this challenge, and although I had some more "kitchy" ideas (such as the classic woman making the guy late getting her makeup on or the guy getting lost because he's too proud to ask for directions), I was never able to find a convincing composition to capture those vantages. And then watching a special on Animal Planet about snakes today showed a rattlesnake that, in my mind, looked like the perfect incarnation of that evil that must have tempted Eve in the biblical story, and I took this shot at the San Antonio Zoo. Post-processing included the conversion to this maroon/white duotone (an attempt to capture a more sinister mood than black and white seemed to do for me), cropping, and selective dodging and burning to enhance the contrast of the snake's sheen. I personally believe the final effect is haunting and an appropriate submission for this challenge. I just hope the voters will acknowledge my attempt to come from the literary perspective on this battle of the sexes theme; some may be unfamiliar with Pandora or the whole ancient "evil originating in woman" idea. At any rate, I hope you guys will enjoy the photo!


POST CHALLENGE:

Oh well, I guess the literary vantage wasn't as transparent as it needed to be to persuade all of the voters. But I am thrilled to see that I still have mostly 4's and 5's, because I feared there might be many more 1's on the basis of the comments. Midweek I considered the fact that a shot with a woman (nude, perhaps) holding a snake or with one wrapped around her might have made a more persuasive composition, but I obviously couldn't have done that with a rattlesnake like this one...

Statistics
Place: 82 out of 90
Avg (all users): 4.6085
Avg (commenters): 3.4000
Avg (participants): 4.2083
Avg (non-participants): 4.7000
Views since voting: 990
Views during voting: 434
Votes: 258
Comments: 5
Favorites: 0

Please log in or register to add your comments!

AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Nikon D700
Sigma 70-200mm f/2.8 EX DG APO IF for Nikon
 01/21/2007 10:25:15 PM
Battle of the sexes? It should meet the challenge by more than the title.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
 01/19/2007 05:42:32 AM
Great snake capture - not sure I understand the reference - but great shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Panasonic DMC-FZ20
 01/17/2007 05:34:24 PM
its a stretch to get this photo in - gl though
Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D
Tamron AF 28-200mm f/3.8-5.6 Aspherical XR IF Super Zoom for Minolta
 01/15/2007 09:45:31 PM
The red hue is really unnecessary here
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D810
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 28-300mm f3.5-5.6G ED VR
 01/15/2007 10:50:13 AM
While this image is a good capture, it seems shoehorned into the challenge through its title. I like the use of the color cast for this and the image is sharp, well composed. Major points lost for DMNC.

( 3 )
  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: 10/18/2026 04:18:26 AM EDT.