DSS#34 - Rock of Ages

Smithy

Ok, I racked my brain, I re-read my camera manual, and I came up with this idea along the inside-out theme.

A slice of Mexican Sunburst Agate, very very very macro, lit with candlelight. I'm not sure I like the round focal plane, but I can re-shoot this to my heart's content. This was the best of about 50 exposures tonight, though, so let me have it.

Smithy

Another color scheme...

Smithy

Flash of brilliance.

I backlit it, and had it directly against the camera. Slight PS tweaks.

lizzard_nyc

Hi Smithy,
Ok so I think all three shots are very cool--love the colors on all three, specially the backlit one.

This is the only thing--I remember a judge from the last contest said he looked at the photos without the names of those who entered or their caption--say another judge does the same, without the caption would they know what it is? I'm not saying they will, but you really have to have the caption to get it. Just a thought.

adbsgicom

I think the third one has a shot. It has some depth do it, that would make you wonder what am I looking into or out of here? The first couple don't really work for the theme (IMO), the last one creates the right kind of effect.

Kinkajou

i'm with andrew, the second one is my favorite, but the third is the best for the theme... it looks like you're inside some organic thing and there is much more depth to it. if you could find a way to sharpen it up just a little bit i think you'd have a solid entry.

anonymouscuban

I agree with the others... the last is the strongest image.

Smithy

It's not too late to change the title, is it? I'll work on something better.

That, and I'm going to try to get a stronger backlight to get more light through the stone. This was just a 60W incandescant lamp.

Thanks for the comments.

adbsgicom

Good luck, don't blind yourself....:D

Smithy

Ok, new title idea... Sunburst.

That, or Sun Through Stone.


I did the same uber-macro as last night, but this time, used the sun itself as the backlight. Noon in Socal, can't get much brighter than that. Slight saturation tweek, red filter effect, and one pass at sharpening.

WhatSheSaw

Beautiful! And I like Rock of Ages as a title.

nightpixels

Hi Smithy,

These are nice shots, however for a challenge, would a Judge be able to tell what this is just by looking at it without having read this thread? Keep in mind that anytime you have to explain to the viewer what your image is that they are looking at, it's a big negative in a contest. Now, had the theme been called "Abstract", these would have been perfect shots ... but it is not.

Anyway, just trying to help. Go with an entry that sends the message loud and clear. Don't keep the Judges guessing. When it comes to cutting down their choices to only 10, they will be looking at things like this.

Again, nice shots

edit: I just noticed that lizzard_nyc said the same thing. I am sure a strong caption would help, but still, you want the Judges to look at your entry and know right away what it is, other wise it will work against you regardless of the caption.

adbsgicom

Nice redo! To Allen's point perhaps you can go more on the PP and knock out the final center area and replace it with daylight or some other image (guy with a small hammer) something along the lines of opening a geode....

Just a thought (maybe not a good one).

Smithy

Thank you all for the constructive comments. I understand the difficulty of getting the theme involved in the image itself... if you know it's the sun shining through a stone, then "Inside Out" makes perfect sense, at least in my mind. If you know that this is a piece of agate, then it's not abstract at all... all the order of what cooled first, from molten rock of different chemistries, is fascinating and incredibly detailed... but you have to know what it is, I guess, for that to work.

I'll keep working on the title. That seems to be the key here.

sherstone

I like your last version very much - regardless of it needing a title to give the viewer a better perspective. Knowing what I personally look for when judging I have always put a heavy emphasis on how well an image fits the theme without even looking at the title. But there are times when I liked an image so much that if it spoke the theme at all to me it was included in my picks. So it will really depend on how this image speaks to the current judges if they really like it then bingo!

I really like it but I love abstract organic shapes too.

Smithy

Thank you Sherstone, that means a lot and is very helpful.