You Tell Me
by dtremain

Comment:
Depending on where this shot was taken, and knowing the current weather patterns, it's quite possible that the snow is the item that doesn't belong! Colorful shot :)

He aint from round here!
by Art Roflmao

Comment:
Creative! I have never done a shot with active flame before, I imagine there is a narrow window of opportunity before you start risking your props. The lighting in this is quite nice, I imagine there is an off-camera light source amplifying the "torch" light, but it's natural looking. Fill light works well on the gentleman in the front, but I wonder if it wouldn't have been more effective to block a bit more fill light on the left side, to further separate the torch wielders, leaving them only in the orange-ish "fire" light.

All and all, excellent shot.

Doesnt belong....or Does it?
by JarHead

Comment:
Touching shot, did you know the birthday boy?

Aesthetically, it's a very well balanced shot, and my attention is drawn nicely to the subject. I'm guessing there was some dodge/burn PP done to bring that out, but it was done subtly enough that it doesn't look unnatural.

Time For Wine
by KarenNfld

Comment:
Creative shot... I'm even giving you a bonus point to counter all the "wine glass whiners" think of it as a "Bravery Point" for making an entry with a wine glass ;)

The Early Years of a Master
by LandzEnca

Comment:
Following your score in the thread for this challenge (and checking your portfolio), I was pretty sure this was your shot. I thought you would get a ribbon with this score too, which made me wonder how well my shot would do. Thanks for the Post Challenge shout out, made my day. Top ten is fine for me in my second entry. :)

Flying the International Space Station
by HighNooner

Comment:
I agree with others that this is a misunderstood and highly impressive shot!

Untitled [outtake]
by bvy

Comment:
Nice idea for the Tilted challenge, but I agree the shot comes off a bit busy.

Off the Grid
by Ductyl

Comment:

Originally posted by franktheyank: Hey Justin, excellent idea for the challenge. Really nice DOF with your 1.4. Perhaps it's a little on the yellowish side from the incandescent bulb. After reading your comments I'd like to make a suggestion. As long as you were using a tripod you should have set the lens function to manual focus. Then switch on the live view function on the LCD of your camera, zoom in to the detail you want in focus, manually focus to that spot, and voila. Are you using a cable release as well? You can always go with the timer instead if you don't have one.

Thanks Frank, it is yellow from the incandescent bulb, I was shooting with just this bulb and one other of the same style for fill lighting. If I had it to do over again, I'd shoot with a nice bright bulb (these are 40W and very inefficient, so they don't really throw much light at all) with a cardboard gobo to keep the light from overfilling the background and shoot it in B/W. I tried going B/W in post, but the contrast just wasn't there between the wall and the lamp.

I am using a cable release for these, and I have a loupe that I'll start using for focus after reading your suggestion. Thanks for the advice, and thanks everyone for the kind comments and votes!

- Justin

Elemental Food
by ray_mefarso

Comment:
I like when people play with the concept instead of taking a literal stance, nice shot!

Elementary
by h2

Comment:
Nice shot, I like the border!