SF2 Behind The Scenes
indiegirl
Registered Users Posts: 930 Major grins
Post your behind-the-scenes/how'd ya do that's here! We love a good story, so if you have one to share about the creation of your SF2 entry, this is the place.
Yee haw.
Jesse
Yee haw.
Jesse
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plus my camera and a flash. I used the continuous shooting mode and had my cousin drop water on the plastic. the extra water on the plastic made it seem like it's water (the cooler white balance helps). A nice flash unit really helped out here, as well as using a white background so that the flash could reflect.
This was how i did the first round of images. My final was actually done at home on my glass table using a similar technique, except using Rose's Cocktail Infusions (Cranberry)
pyroPrints.com/5819572 The Photo Section
SaltFork...thought about you as I drove into Teton Valley in Idaho. You have some great entries from this valley. You need to come back!!
Found a long descending section of highway that lead to the Grand Tetons. Carefully dodging into the road between traffic, I take a handful of shots.
End up with this as a base image.
Took a zoomed in shot of the Tetons from the side of the road. Ended up with this:
Man! I got to clean my sensor.
At home I lay out the green material and set up a self-portrait. Notice my right thumb distorted to press the remote shutter.
Starting with the base image of the road, I clone out the existing paint lines and road markers. Next I bring in the close up of the Tetons and add an evening sky shot I took two days ago from the house.
Extract the self portrait and drop it in. Change the paint color and add the stripes, then some color blending, a little salt and pepper with a dash of vinigar and it was close enough for entry.
Some of My Photos: app.electrikfolio.com/v/steven-hatch
The image came out of the camera and all I did was crop, adjust color temperature, contrast, sharpen and clone out a couple dust spots and light specks that were distracting.
The sun star was not a product of Photoshop it is the result of a small aperture (F16) and a very bright sun.
Oh and I almost forgot - my eyes hurt afterwards
Jesse,
I have not been entering LPS 'cause I've been creating images for judged competitions at state fair level.
I just got Honorable Mention on a multiple row/column handheld image called Anasazi Pleasure Tuesday night which had to be stitched, masked, and curried...
I began to wonder if it might be appropriate to post it here and explain the ordeal of its capture, cultivation, matting, and judging?
What say you?
[FONT="]As You Think, So Shall You BE... Rumi, 13th Century Persian Poet
Award-Winning Photography, Workshop Instructor, Storyteller, Writer
[/FONT][FONT="]Blog: [/FONT][FONT="]Pathways of Light[/FONT]
[FONT="] Workshops: Creating Fine Art Magic[/FONT][FONT="]
Book: Paths of Light [/FONT]
[FONT="]Workshops: 2011 Lightroom 3 Workshops
[/FONT][FONT="]Galleries, Bisti Art
[/FONT]
pyroPrints.com/5819572 The Photo Section
By all means!
So, here's my story.
During the first semi-final, I wanted to create an image of my daughter interacting with some sort of critter. I got a hold of everything I could beg, borrow or steal - kitten, chickens, ducklings, horse, and one toad we found in the yard. My daughter fell in love with that toad, kissing it, trying to put it in her pocket and playing with it for at least 30 minutes. That resulted in these images:
and this one, my entry, which got absolutely no where:
When we were finished, my daughter lovingly returned the toad to its habitat. However, from that night on, finding him again would be her most determined goal. We looked in nooks and crannies, over-turned rocks and flower pots and scoured every inch of the pond, all to no avail. Every evening would result in a torrent of over-tired tears. One of these times I grabbed my camera and got several shots like this one for the "Joy or Sorrow" theme. I chose not to enter it, however, for fear of being reported to DFCS, or at the very least being publicly flogged here on dgrin for torturing my child in the name of a contest.
Finally I caved (who wouldn't?) and we headed to the closest PetsMart and acquired two Oriental Firebelly Toads.
I had decided that I wanted to shoot one of these cool looking guys for SF2, so here's how that went.
1) Go to Lowe's and purchase several tropical looking plants.
2) Set up backdrop, tripod, camera, cable release, lights and flower. Take some test shots.
3) Get toad and place gently atop flower. Pick toad up off table top and replace on flower. Take two shots.
4) Retrieve toad from floor and perch once more on petals. Take two shots.
5) Gently peel toad from lens barrel. Wipe slime covered hands on pant leg. Take three shots.
6) Turn flower around as viewfinder is currently seeing toad tooshie. Take one shot. Grab next flower, pick toad up off table once more and place on new flower.
7) Repeat steps 3-6 several times until vaguely satisfied. Put toad back in tank and feed several fat crickets as a thank you. Get to post processing.
Final image:
I am quite pleased with this image, but am back to square one as far as LPS is concerned. What did I learn? Dont use an amphibian if I happen to make it to any more semi-finals!
Some photos of my photo shoot at the beach....we had a great time, model was a trooper, even though she got tossed around by the waves, on "several" occassions had to "re-adjust" the seashell bra...and trying to get her on those rocks with a mermaid outfit was a feat in it self...and I got bitten by "sea bugs in the sand".....ewwwwwww yuck...would I do it all again....YES!
My first choice (lower right pic) was "Sea Shells by the Seashore", but then decided not to ..
Brilliant execution and congratulations on the win!
One thing I noticed though you might want to touch up, since the rest is so perfect:
After seeing your 'how it was done' pics, now I can see a green reflection on your right side and chest from the green sheet you were on. I'd be totally lost trying to get rid of it, but you've obviously got the skills and talent to do it, if you want. Still a great shot either way, just thought I'd point it out for you.
Canon Rebel XTi w/18-55mm kit lens
28-105mm
100-300mm USM
100mm macro USM & Kenko extension tubes
I noticed that too....after he explained the shoot of course...;)
Thank you so much for sharing this!!!
My Photos
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Aha! I knew it! A green screen! and this photo explains why you have a see-through can of pain!
I also had noticed this prior to this posting, the paint can, the lid, the green shadowing under the body and facial area, in back of him. I noticed these areas, as I have used the green background for some photo shoots.
Can someone please remind me how to place another Smugmug image or so inline in this forum?
I've got the HM response ready, but it slips my feeble mind about this little detail!
TIA
[FONT="]As You Think, So Shall You BE... Rumi, 13th Century Persian Poet
Award-Winning Photography, Workshop Instructor, Storyteller, Writer
[/FONT][FONT="]Blog: [/FONT][FONT="]Pathways of Light[/FONT]
[FONT="] Workshops: Creating Fine Art Magic[/FONT][FONT="]
Book: Paths of Light [/FONT]
[FONT="]Workshops: 2011 Lightroom 3 Workshops
[/FONT][FONT="]Galleries, Bisti Art
[/FONT]
So many ideas absolutely no time to do them. As I stated in my Pressed for time post, I literally have no extra time. Working 7 days a week, 4 double shifts my free time is spent with my wife and kids and when they see dad with the camera they run. But, No Excuses. I had the house to myself last week one afternoon, and I was listening to the radio and the Stones song
You Can't Always Get What You Want
was on, and the following just stuck in my head
But If You Try Sometimes
You Might Find
You Get What You Need
So I figured lets see what I could get with what I had. Two dogs who were sleeping on the floor
Kelli
and Ozzy who was not being cooperative.
So I closed the blinds and let the sunlight bleed in through the slats and waited. Ozzy changed positions and moved to face our front door. A car passed and he picked up his head and I caught this shot of him.
I played around with the raw file and made it look as dark as I could even removing the catchlight from his eye. THanks to everyone who advised me to put it back and to brighten it up resulting in the final image. Just some dodging and burning of it to bring out the highlights.
Rusty was upset that his Temptation photograph was not used
But ideas for future possibilities are endless.
As for Ozzy he was quite happy to see Mom and the kids get home and Dad leave him alone.
That is his happy look!
On a final note, I would like to say thank you to all those that inspired and advised on any of my photographs in the past. In addition, Congratulations to all those that participated in this challenge and to the finalists. You all deserve a big round of applause. Every one is a winner......
Joe
bump...
[FONT="]As You Think, So Shall You BE... Rumi, 13th Century Persian Poet
Award-Winning Photography, Workshop Instructor, Storyteller, Writer
[/FONT][FONT="]Blog: [/FONT][FONT="]Pathways of Light[/FONT]
[FONT="] Workshops: Creating Fine Art Magic[/FONT][FONT="]
Book: Paths of Light [/FONT]
[FONT="]Workshops: 2011 Lightroom 3 Workshops
[/FONT][FONT="]Galleries, Bisti Art
[/FONT]
Joe,
Try this:
http://dgrin.smugmug.com/gallery/1083138
Pat, IMAX, and Guys,
Thanks for the tute tip... finally got back on the HM winner, but its a long post...
This is the tale of a long, tortuous road to find a sacred place, get there, shoot it, PS it, matte it, submit it for judging at a State Fair contest, and then, see how it fared. Forgive the long post; I hope others find it useful…
Perhaps some of you have had an chance to travel in Canyonlands, Utah, near Moab, in that gorgeous Red Rock country. Perhaps you have also become a devotee of Laurent Martres; his SE Utah photo book is simply outstanding. In it, he tells about False Kiva… archeologists at Canyonlands will allow park visitors egress, although many ancient sites are not available due to desecration and vandalism.
The image called Anasazi Pleasure is actually a composite of 4 images. After a somewhat arduous climb, leaving camera gear behind, all but a 24-105 lens and circular polarizer, I finally arrived at the site mid-afternoon. Moreover, it was my first trek into this gorgeous, secluded nook which challenged ancient Anasazi 800-1000 years ago.
Between the lens limitation and the fact I was sitting on the floor at the back of that cave with camera pressed to eye and head pressed hard to rock wall, taking this shot series was not simple, as handholding required use of gridlines and visual estimates of match points. The actual panorama was a row by column (2x2) series of images.
The next step was to try to stitch these shots together. As valiantly as I might try, CS2 could not perform the task without putting ‘staggerlees’ (not proper stitches) across the smooth surface of the cave entrance at the top of the skyline. Yet, naively, I put in several hours cloning those badly stitched lines before giving up…
Before - cs2
What to do – What to DO?
A buddies CS3 got me over the first hurdle; impeccable stitching. You guessed it; a prompt purchase made CS3 mine. So between Adobe Camera Raw 4.1, the new Photomerge, and the marvelous new Quick Selection tool, that hurdle became a simple, smooth glide.
Armed with new capabilities, I actually began to realize “As with most landscape images, this one had a bright sky and dark foreground…”. Then looking a little farther, the lower right hand side was in such deep shadow it only seemed to provide a dark, unpleasant lump. Besides that, there was some light shining thru chinks in the rock structure. And, it was not sharp. The rocks thru the window were sort of hazy in the distance. And, those clouds seemed to have a hazy lack of definition, which could preclude further drama.
So began a series of PS maneuvers…
I was also encouraged to buy Pixel Genius’ Photokit Sharpener, developed by the legendary Bruce Fraser. This software provides a capture sharpening to eliminate lens issues, a creative sharpener to allow your individual sharpening of significant features, and finally, an output sharpener to prepare the image for print.
First, I ran Capture Sharpener on the entire image.
Second, I masked the sky with Quick Selection tool. Prior masking techniques were much more tedious than this new tool with its Refine Edge capability. In a relatively short time, the sky stood alone at the top of my Layers Palette. This choice would help me later when I did a hue saturation pass.
Third, I masked the very dark foreground so I could selectively Screen (a blend mode which lightens) with very low Opacity and foreground to white. Screening was extended to the structure and rocks under sunlight nearby. Opacity was a kind friend here; a range of 10-20% did the job well. I had to manually 'wiggle' the Opacity, simply because I had not yet learned how to use my pen pressure brush preset in a new Wacom Graphire 4 pen tablet (a much better way to do this sort of thing [outlined in an excellent DVD Wacom gives at Adobe Workshops]).
Fourth, I brought subtle emphasis to shadows of distant buttes and light edges of White Rim at the canyon lip of the Green River in the far ground. And, that big cliff on my right needed some emphasis as well. For shadows, I used Multiply at a low Opacity with foreground to black; returning to our familiar Screen for White Rim.
Now, I had the basics for this composite image; it's finally time to create some bells and whistles…
Fifth, sharpen the structure and rocks to the left. But first, the sun's glare had created a slight blown region left of the rock structure; so some light Multiply could dodge the offending glare down to some subtler roar.
Now, on to Creative Sharpener…
Sixth, setting foreground color to white and mode to Screen, pen pressure to Opacity, I began to carefully paint on the rock structure by placing my pen stylus on the black mask and choosing my Opacity thru pen pressure. Rather quickly, I was able to give those nearby rocks their final touches.
But something was still missing…
Seventh, what about color? Although ACR gives a marvelous Curves tool, I was still not completely comfortable with its subtleties. So I chose to use a Channel Mixer approach, blending RGB channels about 22%, then letting the Opacity slider finally give my eye the remembered ‘reality’ vice the camera’s raw chimera. Of course, I could also do this in part because I had prior masking to allow some subtle control. Regardless, the final image now had a subtle color. We call this the "Velvia touch... "
Now, it was just a matter of printing, dry matting, and taking it to the State Fair…
Eight, how do these judge work? We have 4 professional photographers as judges in closed sessions (prior years let the public watch). Three classes (professional [framed], youth amateur, and adult amateur [both matted]) contained 6 categories: landscapes, people, animals, flowers, fine art, and digital.
Judges sat at 2 tables with an easel before them. Lights behind them pointed at photos volunteers repeatedly put on the easel. With some 800 images, this was a 3 night process taking about 4-5 hours per night…
Scores were based on a 5 level classification, using a 15 point scoring plan. Scoring categories were Excellent, Above Average, Average, Below Average, and … Judges usually scored images in silence, although they would occasionally consult.
When scoring was done on each photo, it was placed in bins depending on point range. Judges got up, stretched, and went to the back of the space where the photos had been arranged by highest numerical score. They then began the second round where each photo was voted on, open discussion occurred, and images were placed in a final ranking (1st, second, third, honorable mention [this number could vary…]). Needless to say, eager volunteers stood silently to learn even more about this process and the fine images which made it this far…
After - CS3
Anasazi Pleasure sat in 3rd place for some time, but finally was edged down to Honorable Mention in 4th place… (dang that bridge image).
As a pano, this image asked for special treatment in creating a matte and frame because its 2:1. We used a framing tip from Scott Kelby, CS2 for Digital Photoghs. You can find the framed image here…
With help and mentorship of Jack Houser, Eric Jones, and Jennifer Dillard, I only began submitting images for a single judge competition at the Enchanted Lens Camera Club in December. This is my first try at submitting images for a multiple judge competition at State Fair level…
As the French might say, "Bon Chance…!"
[FONT="]As You Think, So Shall You BE... Rumi, 13th Century Persian Poet
Award-Winning Photography, Workshop Instructor, Storyteller, Writer
[/FONT][FONT="]Blog: [/FONT][FONT="]Pathways of Light[/FONT]
[FONT="] Workshops: Creating Fine Art Magic[/FONT][FONT="]
Book: Paths of Light [/FONT]
[FONT="]Workshops: 2011 Lightroom 3 Workshops
[/FONT][FONT="]Galleries, Bisti Art
[/FONT]
Donna
Yep Donna, you shore would leave 'em heels behind. They would send you down that steep clif in a jiffey, and you would not want that.
But the rugged boots would get you there...
I think you can see why I put the effort into this explanation. It is some place and is leading me down other ancient Anasazi paths at quite clip. Probaably going to Arizona, Utah, and Colorado next month for some more image capture; cliff dwellings, etc.
More about that later...
[FONT="]As You Think, So Shall You BE... Rumi, 13th Century Persian Poet
Award-Winning Photography, Workshop Instructor, Storyteller, Writer
[/FONT][FONT="]Blog: [/FONT][FONT="]Pathways of Light[/FONT]
[FONT="] Workshops: Creating Fine Art Magic[/FONT][FONT="]
Book: Paths of Light [/FONT]
[FONT="]Workshops: 2011 Lightroom 3 Workshops
[/FONT][FONT="]Galleries, Bisti Art
[/FONT]
Jesse
PS I don't think I've mentioned how much I like reading about everyone's behind the scenes stuff. Thanks to everyone for taking the time to share.