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Belle
Belle
EstimatedEyes


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Macro Without Bugs or Flowers II (Advanced Editing VII)
Collection: Challenge Entries
Camera: Pentax K100D
Lens: Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro for Pentax
Location: My House
Date: Apr 19, 2008
Aperture: f/9.5
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/8, 1/15, 1/30
Galleries: Macro, Children
Date Uploaded: Apr 20, 2008

 Since this is advanced editing, I wanted to experiment with HDR for a macro shot. This is a composite of three images, 1 stop apart, shot in RAW, tonemapped in Photomatix, then edited in Photoshop Elements.

From my daughter's collection of Princess Belle figurines and stuff. The background is a print she bought at Disneyworld of Belle and the Beast. I know about the flower; wish I had just a hair more of it in there, but too lazy to set up again and reshoot. I had an outtake that shows more of both the Belle and the background that I like a bit more compositionally. . But I think this version will fit the macro theme of the challenge better. We'll see.

Not much post-HDR editing, just a little shadow/hilite, then levels, hue/sat and brightness adjustments applied separately to the Belle and the background. High Pass filter, resize, usm, neat image, border, s4w.

Statistics
Place: 226 out of 258
Avg (all users): 4.7431
Avg (commenters): 0.0000
Avg (participants): 4.5753
Avg (non-participants): 4.9155
Views since voting: 850
Views during voting: 243
Votes: 144
Comments: 2
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III
Olympus 12-100mm f/4.0 M.Zuiko ED IS PRO
 04/28/2008 02:22:22 PM
I have to agree with Ben. I voted this challenge, but since I only did my 20% w/ comments, yours did not come up for me.

I love the colors and there is an incredible amount of detail on the figurines face. Nice work with the light and spot-on focus. My only critiques are the flower that you mentioned yourself, and the same issue with the back of her hair being cut off.

Looking at your voting breakdown, this appears to be one of those shots that was liked by some and disliked by others. I see nearly the same count for 6's and 4's. If you had not gotten that wad of 3's, it would have done much better in voting.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D750
Sigma 150-600mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM | C
 04/28/2008 12:27:46 AM
I have to say that I think this is a shame. First you have a very nice Macro shot here. The background is perfect in my opinion because even though it is beautifully out of focus, it still has the resemblence of being form a cartoon. Brilliant. This should have scored much better than it did.

What is even more of a shame is the fact that this entire community of voters had such low admiration for your photo and didn't comment once to tell you what you could have done better. Seeing things like this really dissapoints me. Everyone props the community of DPC here to be so special and then they do something like this.

I am sorry that I didn't have time to vote on this challenge so that I could leave you a comment. It is downright pititful that of the 143 voters, including the 24 that voted less than a 4, that nobody had the decency to leave you a comment.

Pitiful!

Don't let that take anything away from what I feel is a great photograph. This would make a great print to hang on your daughter's wall and somethig for her to keep as she gets older as a memento of her youth.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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