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The new ones always find water
The new ones always find water
Melethia


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Black and White in Color II (Advanced Editing VII*)
Collection: Challenges 2008
Camera: Canon EOS-30D
Lens: Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
Location: Home
Date: Feb 25, 2008
Aperture: f/7.1
ISO: 200
Shutter: 5 sec
Date Uploaded: Feb 26, 2008

 This was an experiment. After reading Yanko's description of his latest ribbon winner, I decided to see if I could do something similar. Turns out I can't, but I did have fun trying. I'm still waiting for him to pass along the secrets... Anyway. Wine glass, brand new golf ball, black velvet on the sewing table, white posterboard propped up on the chair behind the sewing table. Put the camera on the tripod, set for timer, used a 5 second exposure. Focused, turned off AF and IS. Turned off the lights and used a small MagLite flashlight (torch for those who speak the Queen's English). I first "painted" the posterboard in quick swipes of light then swirled the light over the top of the glass from a height of about a foot and a half. All trial and error. In some shots I dragged the light down the front of the glass, but those have nasty glare. I tried different heights, different speeds of "swirl", different angles. In this shot, I did have a Coleman lantern on the floor next to the chair - the reflection from that on the ceiling is what caused the color on top of the water, I think. Oh and yes, I'm quite aware there's color in the shot on the golf ball - that is completely intentional - what fun is it if the shot is purely black and white and shot in color if there isn't some hint of color to so indicate?

Post processing: though I shot in the Tungsten setting, it was still kinda on the warmish side, so I used the temperature feature in RAW to cool it down. In CS3 I did lots of cropping and rotating (the straight up version as shot is even duller than this one), used the newly discovered quick select tool (way cool feature!) to select the brightest part of the golf ball, inverted that selection, the did a levels adjustment. Wee bit of spot healing on some tiny bright spots on the ball, a curves adjustment, sharpen, resize.

I'm submitting it for giggles, and hopefully some feedback on how to do this right. Those who play golf will understand and sympathize with the title (new golf balls will almost always head straight for the nearest water hazard - if you wish to clear a hazard, use an old, ragged ball that you'd dearly love to be rid of). Those who know me will be amused by the fact I shot a wine glass. Oh, and hello to those who actually read the comments I so diligently place on my entries.

Statistics
Place: 67 out of 249
Avg (all users): 5.8927
Avg (commenters): 7.0000
Avg (participants): 5.7000
Avg (non-participants): 6.0160
Views since voting: 1003
Views during voting: 320
Votes: 205
Comments: 21
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
Canon EOS-7D
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 02/19/2012 01:04:03 PM
Great subject and very fun, but I think it would have been better with a bright white background. And you lose the stem in the black background of the base.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III
Olympus 45mm f/1.8 M.Zuiko Digital
 03/09/2008 09:46:44 PM
Lol you went thru quite a bit getting this shot. I'm too lazy to try all that stuff hehe. This is a gorgeous, and yet unusual shot. I love the clarity of the glass and water. And then it's pretty cool to see that golf ball all globbed into the bottom.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 L Macro IS USM
 03/07/2008 06:09:33 PM
Well done! Agree with another that the black stem fading into the black bg is a bit disorienting, but overall this is a new twist on the theme and well-exectued. Thanks for the explanation - now I'm going to have to try this...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS R5
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
 03/06/2008 11:44:40 AM
Well Deb, this didn't do too badly after all :-) I've already commented on the Critical Mass thread about this one, but reiterate that I really like the tilt you chose and just that tiny drop of red on the golf ball.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark IV
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
 03/06/2008 12:39:47 AM
oooooooh, I loved this! i gave it a 9. I'm glad to find out it's yours. :) Beautifully executed!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark IV
Canon EF 200mm f/2.8 USM
 03/05/2008 10:18:09 AM
Wow, Deb! I think you did an excellent, very expert job on this. In fact, I'm a little shocked that it only scored 5.8. To me it looks pretty darn flawless. I guess the overly anal dnmc police dinged you for that tiny bit of color on the golf ball and the water. That has to be the only thing they could ding you for. On my monitor, you can even see a bit of separation in the stem and the background.

Irene and Techo, looook out. . .Melethia is hot on your heels :)

  Photographer found comment helpful.
Apple iPhone 16 Pro Max
 03/05/2008 07:00:20 AM
I dont mind the tilt so much, though straight up and down probably would have worked too. That or having the ball title straight on the horizon. The extra tilt of that makes the shot feel a bit off balance - minor issue though. Great idea. Nice clean detail on the glass top and ball. My main issue is the stem dissappearing in to the background. I love the look of the base but the stem blending in totally feels odd. The white background has a cool, smooth feel to it and I think I wish either the whole background was that or that the stem was clear glass over black so that there is some separation. Overall a very good experimentation for you Deb. Good idea, good execution. You will be shooting eye candy before you know it. ;)

And hello right back at ya.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon
 03/05/2008 12:13:46 AM
What a great experiment! Thanks for sharing the full story. I see you still have the same expert-level studio as I use. :)

And now I have a wine glass shot to poke you about!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Apple iPhone 15 Pro Max
Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon
 03/04/2008 10:53:23 PM
Deb, this is much better than the other wine glass shot I've seen so far. :) Great title! No vote, of course.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Samsung Pro815
 03/03/2008 11:32:40 PM
tilting the glass one way and the letters of the ball the other way hurts my neck to look at it. photographicly (i know its not a word) speaking its crisp, minimal to zero reflection on the glass, clean new golf ball helps too. very good photo, poor choice of tilt IMO.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon PowerShot SX100 IS
 03/03/2008 06:56:09 PM
Amazing levels, very sharp and smooth all at once. Simple and elegant, and composed wonderfully. A 9, easy.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D Mark II
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM
 02/28/2008 06:34:03 PM
Oh not the tilt again!! Heheheh I'm not a big fan of it... *runs away*
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/28/2008 02:30:03 PM
Funny and so true. With the black stem of the glass, by any chance did you try switching the white backround to be behind the stem and the black to be behind the bowl of the glass? I have no real idea if that would have worked or not, but sometimes I like to play.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark III
Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8 L IS USM II
02/28/2008 05:02:00 AM
brilliant i hope you ribbon
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon Z8
Nikon NIKKOR Z 28-400mm f/4-8
 02/28/2008 12:02:45 AM
Cute idea and fun angle to the shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi
Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6
 02/27/2008 09:09:33 PM
hehehe! Now this is indeed the perfect title for your super image! Very clever and well-executed photo with haha factor!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS R7
Tamron 16-300mm Di II VC PZD MACRO w/Canon Nikon mount
 02/27/2008 06:43:59 PM
Ha ha ha ha
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Fujifilm FinePix S9000
 02/27/2008 02:44:15 PM
The way that the stem of the glass just disappears into the background ruins this for me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
 02/27/2008 11:38:03 AM
I like the jaunty angle
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-40D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8
 02/27/2008 11:00:20 AM
good idea
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D80
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 18-135mm f/3.5- 5.6G ED DX
 02/27/2008 09:24:56 AM
This is a cool still life concept, I'm curious about the execution
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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