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Into the darkness, through the garden of good and evil
Into the darkness, through the garden of good and evil
purpleflutterby13


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Darkness II (Advanced Editing VII*)
Camera: Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi
Lens: Canon EF 70-200mm f/4.0 L IS USM
Date: May 4, 2009
Date Uploaded: May 4, 2009

 Despite what people seem to think, there actually wasn't a huge amount of postprocessing done here... The painted look was very literally there - the lady in the picture (Frankie) is artistically inclined, and painted herself before the shoot (she got told to go with a darkness/demon theme, and this is what came out of it).

In terms of the setup - the shot was done at nighttime outdoors, and she was lit by fire from all sides (thank you Ludi, Bessie and Beth for helping!), hence the warm, uneven flickering light from all sides. It was shot with a borrowed 70-200 f2.8 zoom, allowing me to just use the fire for lighting. I really should learn to use flashes one of these days, but burning torches, staffs and fans seemed way more authentic somehow :)

Anyway, the only major bit of post-processing was making the eyes much greener than they were to start off with. Everything else was pretty much there in the original shot, I just used a lot of soft light layers and dodging and burning to make it more dark and moody. Oh, and loooads of usm on the eyes, you can probably tell that I accidentally focused on her hand instead... Anyway, it was fun to watch how this one did, and thanks for all the comments :)

Statistics
Place: 50 out of 125
Avg (all users): 5.3434
Avg (commenters): 7.7500
Avg (participants): 4.8261
Avg (non-participants): 5.5000
Views since voting: 992
Views during voting: 398
Votes: 198
Comments: 18
Favorites: 1 (view)

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AuthorThread
Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 05/25/2009 04:31:19 AM
This is amazing, Jelena! I didn't vote this challenge so I missed it the first time around. Very clever and well executed.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D750
Nikon AF-S Nikkor 200-500mm f/5.6E ED VR
 05/15/2009 10:33:28 PM
Very meaningful portrait, reminding us that we are better off being ignorant, but then again, I'm a science guy. I love the composition, very artistic and framed well. It's ok to focus on the hand in this case, perhaps your aperture was a bit wide?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-40D
Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
 05/14/2009 01:20:11 PM
one of my top picks.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony DSC-P73
 05/13/2009 12:41:43 AM
This was a very visually arresting picture. Disappointed to find it so low down. Maybe you can share with us what you did to get the effect.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Canon EOS-40D
Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Canon
 05/12/2009 08:09:49 PM
Nice post processing. The subject must have brushed a self portrait by the look of the paint left over on her hands! ;-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D850
Nikon AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR
 05/11/2009 07:20:33 AM
She is lovely!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS R5
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 05/09/2009 12:13:06 AM
creepy!! looks like animation...interesting shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-7D
Canon EF 17-40mm f/4.0 L USM
 05/07/2009 09:16:55 PM
GAWD..scared the crud outta me
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony DSLR-A100
Sony DT 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Aspherical ED
 05/07/2009 02:32:03 PM
I am confused. This one seems to be a photo of a painting. If isn't , congratulations for this amazing characterization.
I am coming back to vote. well deserved 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Olympus E-520
Vivitar MF Zoom 19-35mm f/3.5-4.5 Series 1 for Olympus
 05/07/2009 10:18:38 AM
Renaissance artists studied perspective, or the differences in the way things look when they are close to something or far away. The artists painted in a way that showed these differences which, as a by product, showed depth and dimension. One of the more interesting aspect of this period was the expression of the not real being real. This is as good a demonstration of these concepts as this reviewer has ever seen. Incredible and effective - a technical and artistic demonstration of the power of photography as art. A standing O.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-50D
Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
 05/06/2009 03:16:57 PM
Loved that book and movie. This is such an interesting, spooky, well done shot. Great, creative work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L USM
 05/06/2009 12:27:52 PM
gnarly. love the textures and painted light. great editing
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon
 05/06/2009 11:12:29 AM
Now too bad the voting scores gives max of 10. I think tis deserves more .. Very well done,
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D
Canon EF 24-105mm f/4.0 L IS
 05/06/2009 09:20:18 AM
So creative! Great makeup and styling. I'd love to see more detail in the eyes thou
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D200
Nikon AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR II
 05/06/2009 08:40:01 AM
Kinda scarry, still shows the impact of darkness in it..
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D90
Nikon AF-S DX 18-105 f/3.5-5.6 ED VR
 05/06/2009 07:46:57 AM
Wow - very Dante!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Kodak Easyshare C180
Canon EF 50mm f1.2 L
 05/06/2009 06:29:52 AM
You know some will say too much photoshop!! For me there is no such thing as too much photoshop if the image looks good.... and this looks excellent.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
 05/06/2009 01:37:34 AM
too painting-like for my taste
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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