#31 C&C - Musical Opening

CoryUT

I got an idea this morning to use my hollowbody guitar as an inspiration for "musical opening." I took a shot and started playing with it, and this is the current result.

My goal with it is to really emphasize the opening in the body.

#1 - B&W Tinted


C&C Please!

richtersl

What a neat idea to use an f-hole to convey the idea of an opening. The composition and framing look great.

However, I'm not 100% sold on your processing. At first glance, it may not be obvious it's a guitar, especially to a non-musician because the post-processing is so overwhelming. Maybe try something simpler and let the f-hole speak for itself.

DANG! I wish I would have though of trying that with my violin or mandolin.

CoryUT

richtersl wrote:

However, I'm not 100% sold on your processing. At first glance, it may not be obvious it's a guitar, especially to a non-musician because the post-processing is so overwhelming. Maybe try something simpler and let the f-hole speak for itself.

DANG! I wish I would have though of trying that with my violin or mandolin.

That's exactly the kind of feedback I was looking for. I thought it might be a little bit too much processing, so I wanted some opinions. Thanks!

CoryUT

Added a third option, with less processing. I opted to keep the border and the coloring inside the f-hole. More C&C desired!

richtersl

Much better!
Nice! You got some good depth of field happening in the photo. It's nice to see control knobs more clearly, too. And, I don't mind the blue emphasizing the f-hole.

But you'll need to lose the border, though:

Borders/Frames: No borders or framing (discussion here). In the event of a triptych or other multi-shot image, a 1 pixel black or white separation line will be permitted.

I wonder how this would look: put a light in through the other f-hole to illuminate the guitar from the inside and then take a photo of the result. You still have plenty of time to play.

CoryUT

richtersl wrote:

Nice! You got some good depth of field happening in the photo. It's nice to see control knobs more clearly, too. And, I don't mind the blue emphasizing the f-hole.

But you'll need to lose the border, though

I wonder how this would look: put a light in through the other f-hole to illuminate the guitar from the inside and then take a photo of the result. You still have plenty of time to play.

Ahh, thanks for pointing that out. You're right, the border will have to go.

Great idea with the light, also. I'll have to play with that!

Katmitchell

I do believe Linda is leading you down the right direction.. I simply cannot add to anything she said, and she has some awesome ideas too...

She has produced some awesome photog work with instruments..

As for me, I do not know the first thing about them.. so I have no idea what you guys are talking about D

It is looking great and I really like the new edit better..

Best of Luck..

Kat

CoryUT

Katmitchell wrote:

I do believe Linda is leading you down the right direction.. I simply cannot add to anything she said, and she has some awesome ideas too...

She has produced some awesome photog work with instruments..

As for me, I do not know the first thing about them.. so I have no idea what you guys are talking about D

It is looking great and I really like the new edit better..

Best of Luck..

Kat

Thanks for the kind words, Kat. The f-hole is simply the opening in the guitar body, of which there are two.

I have updated the original post to show the only current, valid candidate. The border has been removed and the color of the emphasis has been changed to make it a little bit more subtle.

silversx80

Hey Cory! Very nice concept, I think it works well with the theme. I agree with Kat, Linda has you going in the right direction. On a matter of personal taste, I'd like to see what you could do with a black and white conversion, in a higher contrast. To be honest, before I read any of the replies, the first thing I saw when I saw the pic was B&W.

P.S. You'll be addicted to these challenges from this point on.

CoryUT

silversx80 wrote:

Hey Cory! Very nice concept, I think it works well with the theme. I agree with Kat, Linda has you going in the right direction. On a matter of personal taste, I'd like to see what you could do with a black and white conversion, in a higher contrast. To be honest, before I read any of the replies, the first thing I saw when I saw the pic was B&W.

P.S. You'll be addicted to these challenges from this point on.

More great ideas for exploration! Thanks. I've updated with more options. I particularly like the tinted version.

silversx80

Cory,

The tinted looks great, and so does the B&W! I really like it, but it's a tough call between the two. The tinted really brings some character to the photo in my opinion. I have no further nits, well done

CoryUT

silversx80 wrote:

Cory,

The tinted looks great, and so does the B&W! I really like it, but it's a tough call between the two. The tinted really brings some character to the photo in my opinion. I have no further nits, well done

Thanks for the words and the great input. I'll probably choose the tinted one. My personal taste has always been in favor of the tinted "black and white" as opposed to true black and white.

Kinkajou

I vote tinted, definitely. It's a beautiful conversion and great composition.

I'm not quite sold on the interior lining happening with the f-hole; it took me a few minutes to figure out what it was supposed to be and why it was there. I would try the suggestion of lighting the inside of the guitar as an alternative, just to see how it comes out.

Great idea, very creative!

CoryUT

Kinkajou wrote:

I vote tinted, definitely. It's a beautiful conversion and great composition.

I'm not quite sold on the interior lining happening with the f-hole; it took me a few minutes to figure out what it was supposed to be and why it was there. I would try the suggestion of lighting the inside of the guitar as an alternative, just to see how it comes out.

Great idea, very creative!

Thanks! I agree with you. I'm not quite sold on the lining myself. I've been turning it over in my head. I'll post up a version without it for comparison. Before the B&W conversion I felt that it needed something, but afterward I'm not sure that it does.

EDIT: Original post updated with my two current candidates.

silversx80

Current #1, fo sho.

Katmitchell

I like the first one too..:D

However, I must say I was more 'wowed" by the original coloration, but that is probably because I favor a natural and beautiful wood grain..

Either one works great.. and ya sure polished it up from your first post..

Thanks for the explanation on what I was looking at here. that helps..

If you do end up re-shooting, how about shooting in low light with one f-hole lit up for "open" and one dark for closed? I don't even know if that makes any sense or even if it would work, but if your gonna re-shoot, it may be worth a creative try as an option too..


Nice Work

Kat

whiterice

Nice work Cory! These look very good, though I much prefer #1.

My only suggestion, if you do decide to reshoot, include just a bit of the neck so that the image is more recognizable to the instrumentally challenged (like me!).

Nicely done.

CoryUT

Katmitchell wrote:

I like the first one too..:D

However, I must say I was more 'wowed" by the original coloration, but that is probably because I favor a natural and beautiful wood grain..

Either one works great.. and ya sure polished it up from your first post..

Thanks for the explanation on what I was looking at here. that helps..

If you do end up re-shooting, how about shooting in low light with one f-hole lit up for "open" and one dark for closed? I don't even know if that makes any sense or even if it would work, but if your gonna re-shoot, it may be worth a creative try as an option too..


Nice Work

Kat

Thanks Kat! I was thinking about re-shooting with a tripod in low light (still have to buy a tripod, though). I like the open/closed idea, maybe side by side images? I'll have to play with it.

CoryUT

whiterice wrote:

Nice work Cory! These look very good, though I much prefer #1.

My only suggestion, if you do decide to reshoot, include just a bit of the neck so that the image is more recognizable to the instrumentally challenged (like me!).

Nicely done.

Thanks for the words and suggestion! Showing some neck could just be a matter of re-cropping. I played with it a little bit and felt that the neck was distracting from the f-hole. Maybe re-shooting with a different perspective could solve this. I'll have to give it a try.

Katmitchell

CoryUT wrote:

Thanks Kat! I was thinking about re-shooting with a tripod in low light (still have to buy a tripod, though). I like the open/closed idea, maybe side by side images? I'll have to play with it.

Hi Cory,


Isn't there 2 "f" holes on the face of the instrument? I just want to make sure.

If there is, I was thinking of shooting them both as one image lit up and then darken one in Photoshop.. However,, I was just thinking it would be neat to try out and see what you get since Linda mentioned lighting one up and you said you might try it... ya never know... However, I do like this awesome perspective you have going on with it right now too.. maybe just experiment..:D


If you don't have a tripod at the moment, just stack up some books or use a small table..

Can't wait to see what you come up with..

Good Luck

Kat

richtersl

Hi Cory,

#1 of the toned images looks good. The effect you have in #2 is not doing much for the photo in the toned version. In the color version it was fine, but it loses its punch in the toned version.

I can definitely understand you wanting to make the inside of the guitar visible through the f-hole. Do try illuminating the inside from the other hole to see what effect that will give you. Run the gamut with it: try bright lighting and subtle lighting. Don't be discouraged if subtle lighting doesn't look bright enough -- you may be able to recoup detail with a contrast mask or curves adjustment.

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Don't worry about going out and buying a tripod. Easiest way create a makeshift tripod is to pile up a few books to give you some elevation, put a shoe on top, and the cradle your camera on the shoe. But there are other ways you can improvise.

CoryUT

I love the tripod suggestions

I've been using a little stool I have around the house, but it lacks adjustability for getting the right perspective. The shoe idea is a neat one. I'll have to give that a shot. I bought the $15 wireless shutter remote, so this will be a good opportunity to give it a try.

I still want to get a decent tripod. I love low light and night shots, so it's just something I need to get.

kds1

I definitely like number 1. I think it is a beautiful shot and I 'get' the open part and how it fits the challenge.

Kara

CoryUT

I did some final touch ups and uploaded my entry. I'm not sure how much time I'll have before Monday to play around with the other ideas. I will when I get a chance, just maybe not in time for this round.

Thank you all for your great input

richtersl

CoryUT wrote:

I did some final touch ups and uploaded my entry. I'm not sure how much time I'll have before Monday to play around with the other ideas. I will when I get a chance, just maybe not in time for this round.

Thank you all for your great input

Your photo's not showing up. Make sure external links are enabled in the gallery.

CoryUT

richtersl wrote:

Your photo's not showing up. Make sure external links are enabled in the gallery.

I hadn't actually posted it here! I should have, though, so here it is:

Kinkajou

I took a look at the other photo in the gallery and I found that I really liked the highlights on the sides of the f-hole; the yellowish highlights. I wonder if you could find a way to bring those tones out on this image so that it really draws the eye to the hollow (assuming you want to do more tweaking!). It's not really necessary, but if done subtly could add a nice touch.

Just beautiful. I really like this one.