DSS #36 Unofficial Feedback Thread - Creepy or Crawly

hawkeye978

Here is the official gallery to give your C&C for DSS#36

Gallery Found Here...

Once more into the fray. This unofficial feedback thread is a catch-all of sorts, lets make it happen:thumb

Anyway, let's start feedback on DSS #36!!

This thread is:

• a place to post a list of your top ten favorites. (be heard, and let everyone know what images moved you.)
• a place to post your "the making of my image"
• a place to ask someone "how did they do that?"(for us all to see:D )

Feedback is an important part of the photographic process. While those selected as finalists get feedback from the judges and those who vote, others are never quite sure where they stand. So share your thoughts both in this thread and with comments in the actual gallery. Constructive criticism should always be welcome.

It's easy to post thumbnails (with help from our Moderator).

With the image selected in the gallery, copy its URL from your browser, add "-Th.jpg" to the end, delete the jumble of numbers and letters preceding the hashtag (#), change "gallery" to "photos" and that's it.

Example

Change this url

http://challenges.smugmug.com/Other/DSS-33/9546126_UcMnF#646702914_YfHpk

To this (minus the space in the IMG tags)

[IMG ]http://challenges.smugmug.com/photos/646702914_YfHpk-Th.jpg[/IMG ]

Happy Feedbacking :scratch

pemmett

My Top Ten in no particular order:

lizzard_nyc

I had so much fun on this round, just want to let all of you know. I enjoyed all the visits to my thread and visiting everyone elses--There's a bunch of sick people in this forum .

Forgive my lame posting of my favorites--I read Greek when I see the instructions to post favorites.

My top 10 in no particular order--It was hard narrowing down to ten--don't know how I'm going to vote--Lots of great entries.

1. "Open Wide Muahahaha" - What She Saw
2. "The Stairs" - Make Me Shutter
3. "Owl Get you" - Jwear
4. "Libera me" -Tylwydd
5. "trick or treat" - Dlscott56
6. "Arachno" - Pyroprints.com
7. "Psycho" - lilmomma
8. "Goodnight" -Aspecto5
9. "Dante's Chicken Inferno"-Pemmett
10. "You Can't Hurt me Anymore" - Bf2015

Also I'll go back to the entry gallery tonight and finish putting individual comments into the entries--Can't do that from this computer.

Great round everyone!

Aspecto5

My Top Ten!

sherstone

I'm surprised to see so few entries this round. The ones that did enter are sending shivers and gag reflexes a plenty. Awesome round!

My Creepy Crawly Favs all mixed up in a blood bath are:



Some of the others I liked even more as an image but they just did not creep me as much.

Great round, thanks again for making it interesting and fun

Sean

BTW - thank you to those that chose to have a Midnight Snack

HoofClix

OK guys, my list is in to Kerry, and I've put a comment for every entry in the gallery, so you can't tell what my list was (drat!!)

We never know how a round will move us or what will come from the crowd, but it was in my view a great effort on two extremes, either trying for super special effects to create something that moved the viewer, or on the other hand to try to find the creep or crawl in everyday stuff. I listed a little of both... A great effort by all of you who entered, even the one that got dq'd....

A bit on how I went about it, of course, I stayed out of the advice threads for the whole period, but I went in each day to see what was being put up, keeping a running list of entrants and some comments. Mostly for me it was about my initial impression of the image, which is fair in my view, as itlevels the shock value of what got posted late, but also takes away the value of an image that would grow on me over the course of coming back to look. I tried not to look back at them except for this morning as the final entries were coming in.

I'll tell you all eventually which were my absolute favorites, but, lest I influence anyone's opinion, I'll wait until the voting is over.

For now, it's off to consider the next round to see if I'll come out of my own entry sebatical!

divamum

Hi guys -

Just wanted to check in and let y'all know my sudden lack of participation wasn't phobia-induced or related to ANYTHING going on in here, but that I was asked to do an engagement session out of nowhere (it's posted here in the weddings forum if anybody's interested in seeing it - first time EVER, and with only 48hrs notice!), AND had to travel to my next gig (ie, real gig, ie singing!) and arrived her to a huge number of text changes to the translation, meaning I'm frantically cramming text right now!!

Anyway, that's where I"ve been. Looks like it was a fun, spooky, halloweeny round!

nightpixels

HoofClix wrote:

OK guys, my list is in to Kerry, and I've put a comment for every entry in the gallery, so you can't tell what my list was (drat!!)

We never know how a round will move us or what will come from the crowd, but it was in my view a great effort on two extremes, either trying for super special effects to create something that moved the viewer, or on the other hand to try to find the creep or crawl in everyday stuff. I listed a little of both... A great effort by all of you who entered, even the one that got dq'd....

A bit on how I went about it, of course, I stayed out of the advice threads for the whole period, but I went in each day to see what was being put up, keeping a running list of entrants and some comments. Mostly for me it was about my initial impression of the image, which is fair in my view, as itlevels the shock value of what got posted late, but also takes away the value of an image that would grow on me over the course of coming back to look. I tried not to look back at them except for this morning as the final entries were coming in.

I'll tell you all eventually which were my absolute favorites, but, lest I influence anyone's opinion, I'll wait until the voting is over.

For now, it's off to consider the next round to see if I'll come out of my own entry sebatical!

I was quite impressed by your comments on every single entry. You paid attention to all kinds of details and were dead on. Excellent work, HoofClix!

nightpixels

divamum wrote:

Hi guys -

Just wanted to check in and let y'all know my sudden lack of participation wasn't phobia-induced or related to ANYTHING going on in here, but that I was asked to do an engagement session out of nowhere (it's posted here in the weddings forum if anybody's interested in seeing it - first time EVER, and with only 48hrs notice!), AND had to travel to my next gig (ie, real gig, ie singing!) and arrived her to a huge number of text changes to the translation, meaning I'm frantically cramming text right now!!

Anyway, that's where I"ve been. Looks like it was a fun, spooky, halloweeny round!

You certainly had a good reason to skip this round. I saw the pictures, great work, divamum!

nightpixels

sherstone wrote:

I'm surprised to see so few entries this round.

I kind of expected to see this happen. I would have to think that not everybody was comfortable with the idea of creating something creepy/crawly. I think that next round will be a busy one again. In my opinion, so far the 3 hardest DSS rounds have been Environmental Portrait, Inside Out or Upside Down, and this one (Creepy or Crawly), however the most difficult of all in my opinion was the last mega-challenge theme, Sound (which how it should be).

Great entries, everybody.

TEWMOM

My top ten....
I can't get the links to display, what am I doing wrong? Here is a sample of what each line appears as:



but nothing shows up.

Aspecto5

I've been trying for 2 challenges to do it from the examples and couldn't figure it out either.

sherstone

I'm wondering if putting the share button back into the gallery would be of use to people. Even if it was just enabled for the duration of the entry period and 72 hours after closing for the purpose of this thread. Its so easy to grab the images by using a screen capture anyway I am failing to see the reason why the share should be removed. Also while the gallery is open for entries anyone can sign in and DL the original.

Once the 72 hours is up the gallery is normally moved to its final resting place along with all the other galleries so then the share button could be removed.

Just thinking out loud.

(no it doesn't hurt.... yet)

JAG

I really hadn't time to go through the threads or album till today. Super work everyone! Lots of creepy stuff there! My favs in no particular order....

TEWMOM

My top 10....
I cannot get the links to work, so here is my list not in any particular order:

lizzard_nyc -- "Don't You Love Me Anymore?"
MarkR - I will love you forever.
photo-bug: Let's have fun!
Angela Davis - Athlete's Foot
dlscott56 - Trick or Treat
bf2015 - You Can't Hurt Me Anymore
pemmett - Dante's Chicken Inferno
michswiss - And they taste great fried...
MrsR - Laugh, Clown. Laugh
nightpixels - Grim Reaper

I am amazed by the wealth of talent displayed in this challenge. You all inspire me to keep trying and improve my skills.

HoofClix

TEWMOM wrote:

I can't get the links to display, what am I doing wrong? Here is a sample of what each line appears as:



but nothing shows up.

Try sticking "/Other/DSS-36/" in place of the "/photos/" that you have above, leaving the photo number and key codes, and you'll get the thumbnail...

Mark

JAG

TEWMOM wrote:

I can't get the links to display, what am I doing wrong? Here is a sample of what each line appears as:



but nothing shows up.

You have spaces in your brackets. They should be like

JAG

HoofClix wrote:

Try sticking "/Other/DSS-36/" in place of the "/photos/" that you have above, leaving the photo number and key codes, and you'll get the thumbnail...

Mark

The original post says to change it to the /photos/, and it seemed to work for me. Either way if you got it to work with the other/DSS then that might save me some typing next time I post eh?

HoofClix

JAG wrote:

The original post says to change it to the /photos/, and it seemed to work for me. Either way if you got it to work with the other/DSS then that might save me some typing next time I post eh?

Actually, I think the spaces are the issue, as when you take the spaces out, and use just the "photos" there, it will link to the image and keycode specified even if the gallery get's moved or renamed somehow. Superintelligent geeks correct me if this isn't correct..



In this case, I just clicked on the little picture up there above the comment box when writing this post, then inserted the "http...jpg" portion inside of it like I usually do, and there is lizzy...

MarkR

Regarding the picture of the doll:

The facts are these, and I will try to state them plainly and without adornment. This is a true story.

It sits in a glass case which is securely locked. Only the museum curators have the key.

It belonged to Margaret Woodbury Strong, who, in the last years of her life, feared that her treasured things would be scattered to the winds, perhaps even destroyed. She founded a museum anddied less than a year after her precious dolls and toys-- hundreds of them-- took refuge there. Although that museum has been rebuilt and relocated through the years, much care has been taken with the artifacts inside. Everything has been carefully catalogued. Nothing has been lost.

Superstitious cultures believe that photographs can steal your soul. This is, of course, rank nonsense, and, besides, dolls don't have souls. They take all the love they are given, but only seem to love back. The glint in the doll's eye is just a trick of the lights.

The doll is behind glass, and the glass is locked, and it only seems to be looking at you. It abides, and is only seeming to wait.

Happy (belated) Halloween.

MarkR

As an aside, thanks to those who've commented so far in the gallery. I am leaving my comments there as well.

Kinkajou

slackerpants strikes again...
...and I've finally rolled around to posting my top ten:



Nice job, guys!

travelways

I'd like to thank you very much to those who included my entry into their favorites
and left comments on the contest.

I inserted my comments under my favorites too

NeilL

Really happy to know "Lost Soul" was liked by some of you, and to read your comments about it. Thank you!

I wanted to do something without a drop of blood being spilled , and without doing the obvious Hollywood thing, or type casting men or women in the roles of villains or victims.

Since this challenge coincided with Halloween, and that defacto became a common interpretation of the theme, I thought of what it means - it's about the fate of the human body and soul. The human body disintegrates but the soul survives.

While I was thinking about this challenge I was at the body shop picking up my car after some minor repairs, and in the yard were several large trucks which were being dismantled. I took four shots.

The image came together really easily, it was as if it was wanting to be made, a bit of a creepy thing in itself!

I originally saw it as showing the shock and resistance of the human soul to the experience of the disintegration of its body, but then it became the despair of the soul as its body was attacked and assimilated into hell. Sort of cannibalised. It's so frightening to me now I can barely look at it! However, I see a lot of beauty in it, too.

So, in "Lost Soul" the violence which is associated with Halloween is a metaphysical one, rather than the literal one we see for entertainment in movies etc. That's more my style!

Good luck to all the contestants!

Neil

HoofClix

Funny thing, NeilL, I was thinking exactly the same thing, all of that, when I saw your picture...

sherstone

Minight Snack - BTS (Behind the Scene)
I prefer waiting until all the voting is over in a round before posting a BTS. My reasoning behind this is it can ruin an illusion to the point where a viewers first impression or perspective is totally destroyed. In the past I personally have learned so much from seeing the "how it is done", that it has become very important to me that I try and share as much knowledge as possible (time permitting), in hopes that it can help even one person.

A lot of the time I have a title for an image right away but in this case I had the image of a human eye in a pool of ocular fluid long before the title popped into my head. When developing an image in my mind I try and break it down to the simplest of forms before committing to shooting it. It is important that I am able to pull it off cheaply, within my abilities and within the two week period of the challenge. I struggled for a long time trying to figure out how I was going to photograph a realistic human eye and until I was sure I could pull it off, it was only one of my fantastical ideas that normally get trashed.

I played with the idea of using a real cow eye but this idea so totally grossed out my wife that I was ready to not do it. Then I thought that maybe if I used two ends of a boiled egg it would have enough shape and sheen to work as a perfect place holder for the minimal Photoshop work I had hoped for.



As you can see I also used cherry licorice pull apart candy for the optic nerve. The candy was used for the main eye and all the eyes in the jar as well.



The secondary prop eyeballs for the jar were created by rolling air dry modeling clay into eyeball sized spheres, baking them in the oven at 170 degrees C for 3 hours, then painting an iris and pupil with latex paint. Finally some veins were drawn on with a red sharpie and the licorice optic nerves were glued into a pre-made hole. The water in the jar was tinted with a very small amount of green food coloring. The cloudiness of the water was due to the instant nature of the clay starting to disintegrate when immersed in water.



Here is my favorite backdrop for old creepy, dusty and texture filled photography. This wall is located in the basement of an old building in the town where I live, the building is over 100 years old. The table is a small square hand made table that has a plywood top. Like the wall it has a wonderful texture from being exposed to the elements for so long.

I ended up actually using 4 strobes (flashes) and one reflector in this shot.


A setup shot using one of the clay eyeballs as a proxy before placing the egg eyeball and covering it with a pool of ocular fluid (egg white).


Once everything was placed and the clay eyeballs placed into the green water, I had to work quickly because the clay eyeballs started to disintegrate very fast.

Once the main frame was shot the next step was to make the egg eyeball look like a human eyeball and to reduce the fake look of the clay eyeballs in the jar.

I took a shot of a real human eye with only one light and a reflector.


The merging of the human eye and veins was very simple using a combination of overlay layers and standard layers to keep the same shadow tones from the egg but yet give the iris the original look. The last step in the whole process was selective dodging and burning to make sure the jar of eyes looked less fake and more subtle in the background. The red brick wall was desaturated to bring more attention to the main subject.



Once I was happy with the look of the jar and brick wall I then realized that the words on the glass jar could be read in a bad way so I also made sure that the words were very subtle vs. easy to read. Lastly some shadow highlight filter was performed on the puddle of fluid to enhance the texture of the table top.

Final version.



Thanks for reading this far. If you have any questions I would be glad to elaborate.

Sean

EDIT: This whole post is also posted on my website here.

dlplumer

Sean

EDIT: This whole post is also posted on my website here.[/QUOTE]

Unbelievable

Tango

never will I enjoy Red Licorice again....

sherstone

AaronNelson wrote:

never will I enjoy Red Licorice again....

Awwww, it actually was very tasty. That and the egg salad sandwiches that I had for lunch for a couple days after the shoot.

dlplumer wrote:

Unbelievable

Thanks Daniel! but I was actually hoping it would be a little believable D

Tango

sherstone wrote:

Awwww, it actually was very tasty. That and the egg salad sandwiches that I had for lunch for a couple days after the shoot.

your out of pickled hands already?

sherstone

AaronNelson wrote:

your out of pickled hands already?

GASP!!!! no those are from a collection, no eating allowed.