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Neon Gothic
Neon Gothic
melismatica


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Neon (Basic Editing I)
Camera: Minolta DiMAGE F200
Location: Smith St. , Providence, RI
Date: Aug 17, 2004
Aperture: 4.7
ISO: 100
Shutter: 4 sec
Galleries: Sky, Emotive
Date Uploaded: Aug 17, 2004

 This neon cross glows as a beacon from I-95 in Rhode Island. My husband jokingly refers to the church as 'Our Lady of the Neon Cross' but
it is really the Armenian Orthodox Church.

I took this shot at 10 past midnight on August 17, my 37th birthday. I was born in 1967. I hope those three 7's on my birthday bring me some kind of cosmic luck. ;-D

I did not notice the eerie quality until I opened it in Photoshop. The sliver of moon and the reflection of the cross in the clouds was an unexpected bonus, although, I had a slightly superstitious feeling about having a photo with an upside down cross in the sky. ;-D

I stood in a gas station parking lot, my camera on a tripod which I placed on a 2 foot wall to get as close to the cross as possible. I had the EV mode set to -0.7 (ooh, another lucky 7!) and I used the IR remote to take the shot. I had the color set to 'Vivid'.

I managed to get a good view of the cross without showing any utility wires. The building the cross appears to be hovering over is not the actual church. Fortunately, it is a fine example of old architecture and contributes to the gothic mood. I have another version which doesn't have the moon but which offers the illusion of reddish light from the heavens beaming down on the cross. The light was actually coming from a street lamp but because of the angle of view I chose and the fact that the street lamp was the closest object to my camera, I was able to create the illusion quite nicely. I chose this one because I felt I might get a lot of comments about the reddish cast.

I would like to have been able to do some dodging and burning in the clouds but whaddya gonna do? I did adjust the levels a tad.

Statistics
Place: 146 out of 222
Avg (all users): 4.6738
Avg (commenters): 5.3000
Avg (participants): 4.3514
Avg (non-participants): 4.8830
Views since voting: 1254
Views during voting: 400
Votes: 282
Comments: 13
Favorites: 2 (view)

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AuthorThread
Nikon D40
 01/02/2008 07:59:54 AM
This is awesome. I've an Armenian friend with some family up in Rhode Island; he'll be really happy to see this.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Olympus OM-D E-M5
Canon EF 28-200mm f/3.5-5.6 USM
 08/24/2004 11:13:23 PM
Really cool picture, the way the cross is reflected in the clouds is very unusual. To me the composition might have been improved if the cross hadn't been so centered. The photo also has quite a bit of noise in the sky. That's sometimes hard to avoid with night shots, perhaps some slight noise removal with a program like neat image might help.

Message edited by author 2004-08-25 00:08:26.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D70
 08/24/2004 11:10:06 PM
Very spooky.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Fujifilm FinePix S7000
 08/24/2004 06:32:12 PM
Whats with the upside down cross
Canon EOS-650/T4i Rebel
Tamron AF 18-270mm F/3,5-6,3 Di II VC LD Aspherical [IF] macro for Canon
 08/24/2004 02:20:20 PM
good use of long exposure to get the neon effect appropriate for this challenge.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Kodak DX3600
 08/24/2004 12:09:24 PM
it's neon
Sony DSC-F828
 08/22/2004 04:04:38 AM
erie... i don't really like it, but it feels like a high quality piece of work. i think the building feels a little flat--more contrast would helpt there.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D700
Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 VR DG IF-ED
 08/20/2004 08:05:11 AM
Well, it's neon. Other than that, the composition needs a lot of work - the cropping of the building and all the dead space don't do anything for me. I do like the reflection though.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-350D Rebel XT
Quantaray AF 28-90mm f/3.5-5.6 for Canon
 08/19/2004 09:59:22 AM
how did you do that? a little too much glow though
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony DSC-P73
 08/18/2004 10:54:23 PM
What's with the odd upside-down reflection? Is it the Church of St. Peter?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Nikon D7000
08/18/2004 12:13:59 PM
It feels like short, student horror film.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Canon EOS-300D Rebel
 08/18/2004 09:14:42 AM
none
Sony Alpha a6400
Sony E 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 PZ OSS
 08/18/2004 12:26:20 AM
This is incredible... i'll try to come back later and comment on this more :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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