#29 - From a noob:

MLangton · July 17, 2009

The Police: Walking on the moon...

Well, a chocolate moon at least.

Just in time for the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11.

Worth it???

Jeremy Winterberg · July 17, 2009

MLangton wrote:

The Police: Walking on the moon...

Well, a chocolate moon at least. Just in time for the 40th anniversary of Apollo 11.

Worth it???

I like it... Is there any possibility of redoing it with a black backdrop behind it? The vent and umm shelf? is a tad distracting.

Art Scott · July 17, 2009

decent go at it.....needs star field for background........

MLangton · July 17, 2009

Thanks Guys. I agree. Better?

Jeremy Winterberg · July 17, 2009

MLangton wrote:

Thanks Guys. I agree. Better?

Much better!

froller · July 18, 2009

Big difference! Looks great.

richtersl · July 18, 2009

Wonderful!

You know what would be cool to try? See if you can put an Earth into the sky.

That's chocoloate?

KevXman · July 18, 2009

richtersl wrote:

Wonderful!

You know what would be cool to try? See if you can put an Earth into the sky.

That's chocoloate?

Just a word of caution, the placed earth would have to have been one of MLangton's own photos. So...if you do this you'll need to find an interesting looking globe to shoot. If its done right, this just might work. Can't wait to see it.

MLangton · July 18, 2009

KevXman wrote:

Just a word of caution, the placed earth would have to have been one of MLangton's own photos. So...if you do this you'll need to find an interesting looking globe to shoot. If its done right, this just might work. Can't wait to see it.

Thanks for all of the comments so far. I thought about this.

(A) I do not have a nice picture of the earth from space that I have taken. Thanks NASA. Maybe you could re-consider me for the astronaut corps. The Big Dipper starfield was easy, thats an actual pic, I just added some extra stars... and;

(B) I'm just going to be honest about the Earth issue. I just have a very rudimentary PP program called GIMP. I cant afford Photoshop yet. Trying to get an Earth in there would really task MY ability. I'm not sure I can pull this off and make it look decent. I'll play around with the idea. The way the bluish light is reflecting off of the little guys hints that the light source should be off picture IMHO. Leaves it up to the imagination.

I'll see what I can come up with. Thanks for the comments and ideas.

richtersl · July 18, 2009

KevXman wrote:

Just a word of caution, the placed earth would have to have been one of MLangton's own photos. So...if you do this you'll need to find an interesting looking globe to shoot. If its done right, this just might work. Can't wait to see it.

Excellent point, Kevin! Thanks for posting it.

MLangton wrote:

I just have a very rudimentary PP program called GIMP

There is a way to create planets with Gimp: http://gtuts.com/design/the-ultimate-gimp-planet-tutorial

It's not necessary to do that, but it could be a lot fun.

MLangton · July 18, 2009

richtersl wrote:

There is a way to create planets with Gimp: http://gtuts.com/design/the-ultimate-gimp-planet-tutorial

It's not necessary to do that, but it could be a lot fun.

Wow! Thanks. The learning curve for all of this is just amazing.

richtersl · July 18, 2009

MLangton wrote:

Wow! Thanks. The learning curve for all of this is just amazing.

Main thing to remember is that you have good solid entry with the photo as is. But since there's plenty of time before the end of the challenge, why not use it to see if you can kick it up a notch?

D

And that's not the only tutorial: http://www.google.com/search?q=make+planets+with+gimp&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a

KevXman · July 18, 2009

MLangton wrote:

(B) I'm just going to be honest about the Earth issue. I just have a very rudimentary PP program called GIMP. I cant afford Photoshop yet. Trying to get an Earth in there would really task MY ability. I'm not sure I can pull this off and make it look decent. I'll play around with the idea.

Don't be afraid to ask how to do something in PP. Just throw your problem out there with whichever program you're using and someone here will chime in with some suggestions. We're all here to learn and to help others learn. Personnally, I get a thrill out of watching one of us learn something new. Whether is while taking the photo or in PP, its enjoyable to see someone get past a hurdle that they have been having trouble with in the past.

— Kevin

MLangton · July 18, 2009

Thanks for all of the help.

I am learning so much, so fast. I am going to look into what I can do with this further. I agree with Linda, if I can kick it up a notch, I will. Not sure what I can do because of the existing light and shadows though. I don't want to end up with a complete CGI, with little or none of the original picture in the end... Just my style. All though that might look really cool.

If only there was a way to convey the smell of all of the chocolate. It smelled sooooo good in there.

OK, it's my girlfriends 40th... I should go pay some attention to her this weekend. Thanks again Y'all.

EDIT: CRUD!!! Just read the rules more closely. My big dipper backdrop is out of date. I'll have to remove that and insert a fresh star field. I'll probably just create my own from scratch this time. Oh well, glad that I caught my error before entering the pic.

FIXED. I just took a blank shot with my lens cap on. I just used a paintbrush to create my own big dipper and star field. Debating the planet issue now...

Katmitchell · July 19, 2009

It looks good

I agree with all the advice you have received, not much more to say, other than it is a great entry..:D They sure helped you to clean it up nicely..

Gotta love these guys..

Kat

travelways · July 19, 2009

Excellent idea and execution - can't wait to see the earth included (eventually)

richtersl · July 19, 2009

MLangton wrote:

I just took a blank shot with my lens cap on. I just used a paintbrush to create my own big dipper and star field.

clap

What a great idea!!!!

MLangton · July 19, 2009

Thanks for the encouragement and advice, everyone.

I have the planet maker installed. THANKS! With astronomy being my other interest, I'm not sure if I can make this work, given the original light and shadows. I think the correct placement of the earth would be a few inches out to the left... Out of the existing frame. Hmmm... I want it to look realistic, yet not completely alter the original image. Yes, I am over-analyzing.

I'll keep you updated. Thanks again.

richtersl · July 19, 2009

MLangton wrote:

Thanks for the encouragement and advice, everyone.

I have the planet maker installed. THANKS! With astronomy being my other interest, I'm not sure if I can make this work, given the original light and shadows. I think the correct placement of the earth would be a few inches out to the left... Out of the existing frame. Hmmm... I want it to look realistic, yet not completely alter the original image. Yes, I am over-analyzing.

I'll keep you updated. Thanks again.

What the heck! Give it a go and let's see what you come up with!

MLangton · July 19, 2009

Voila!

OK, yay or nay???

The celestial orientation is off, but I think it looks cool.

THANK YOU ALL for the help and ideas!

Kinkajou · July 20, 2009

not seeing anything....?

MLangton · July 21, 2009

Kinkajou wrote:

not seeing anything....?

Sorry about that. NO idea what happened. It was there when I went to work, and gone when I got your message. It's there now... Hmmm... It just went poof.

WhatSheSaw · July 21, 2009

I still don't see it - just a little box with a red X in it.

Jeremy Winterberg · July 21, 2009

make sure the gallery is set correctly, meaning people can still view the photos... I'm not entirely sure what setting this is... Might be Hide Owner?

richtersl · July 21, 2009

Make sure external links for the gallery are turned on.

MLangton · July 21, 2009

richtersl wrote:

Make sure external links for the gallery are turned on.

Arrrrrgh!!!!!

It is in the same gallery as the others... I don't get it. I'll move galleries and try again in this post... External links enabled.Here goes:

Anything??? I don't get it... I post it, just like I post the other pictures... Look it after the post... Leave... Then get a reply saying it is not visible. I go back and it's gone...

I promise, I'm not that dumb. THANKS for the patience.

Hope this works... I see it now... But then again, it was there the other times when I left. Gremlins???

travelways · July 21, 2009

Wonderful!!!

KevXman · July 21, 2009

I LIKE IT!

divamum · July 21, 2009

Welcome to The Challenges!!!

s

I'm late to the party on this (been kinda awol with feedback threads - sorry folks) but I LOVE the idea, and agree with many of the comments you've already had!

I'm not 100% sold on the earth however - I know you've had to work so hard on it, but I feel like there's still more to get out of that.

Have you considered pursuing the "chocolate" theme, and making something earthlike out of other sweets that you could then photograph? I know, I know - TONS of work, but it's just what occurred to me as I read through the thread and if you have time (and are as obsessed as the rest of us in here

)....

In any case, great idea, and it's coming together very nicely.

Edited to add: Somebody correct me if I'm wrong, but can't you photograph a photograph and that counts as "yours" for the challenge? So if you can find a nice coffee-table book with an earth image, that might also be an option... (again, somebody please correct my understanding of the rules if this is NOT allowable)

richtersl · July 21, 2009

I like what you've done with it so far.

Is it possible to get more clouds on that earth? Kind of like in these images: http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=earth&btnG=Search+Images&gbv=2&aq=f&oq=

dnie · July 21, 2009

MLangton wrote:

Arrrrrgh!!!!!

It is in the same gallery as the others... I don't get it. I'll move galleries and try again in this post... External links enabled.Here goes:

Anything??? I don't get it... I post it, just like I post the other pictures... Look it after the post... Leave... Then get a reply saying it is not visible. I go back and it's gone... I promise, I'm not that dumb. THANKS for the patience.

Hope this works... I see it now... But then again, it was there the other times when I left. Gremlins???

It could be.... those gremlins are rotten little buggers.
have you checked next to the picture in your gallery, the "Hide Photo" box? That is sometimes the problem.

#29 - From a noob:

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