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y
y
gloda


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Accidental Letters (Basic Editing III*)
Camera: Canon PowerShot G2
Location: G-D of Luxembourg, Bascharage, my bedroom
Date: Apr 5, 2005
Aperture: F/2
ISO: 50
Shutter: 1/50 sec.
Galleries: Animals, Macro
Date Uploaded: Apr 5, 2005

 Idea:
My mother has brought me that scorpion from Tunesia (because I'm born in November). It's been hanging on my wall since then, framed and behind glass, but then there were bugs in it so I had to red rid of the frame. The 'y' shape struck me out of nothing while I was reflecting what on earth would be a good letter for this challenge. I don't expect there to be many scorpions, even though there will be many 'y's. After all, there was not a single scorpion in the Zodiac challenge.

Setup:
After glueing the scorpion about 4 times (I dropped it, broke off a leg etc) I tried this leaf as a background. It's from a plant from the entrance to our house. I put it on one of those boxes where you can put film dias on to look at them with neutral light. The veins came out pretty well. Then I tried different settings to get the best lighting on the scorpion. I finally decided for this silhouette version, where the light shines through some parts, taking the emphasis off the legs, which distract a bit from the 'y' shape.

Post Processing:
Colour balance (-18/0/60 on midtones), Levels (darken hotspots a bit), Brightness/Contrast (0/+5), add thin black border, resize to 541x640, USM (0,65/100/1), save with 26% compression (that last part hurt).

Comments:
Wow, those details are a JPEG killer. I had to compress this twice as much as usually.
I had fun with the scorpion, although I must admit that I barely dared to touch it in the beginning and even kept in a box. Kinda silly.
I hope the glue is not too visible, and that nobody notices the missing foot.

Statistics
Place: 5 out of 270
Avg (all users): 6.8567
Avg (commenters): 7.9130
Avg (participants): 6.7385
Avg (non-participants): 6.9471
Views since voting: 3570
Views during voting: 464
Votes: 300
Comments: 35
Favorites: 9 (view)

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AuthorThread
 09/04/2005 07:09:09 AM
This is awesome. As much as I detest scorpions, their shape is very alluring and the silhouette against the solid green of the leaf is just wonderful. GREAT JOB
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/10/2005 07:46:48 PM
NIce if you didn't tell me that it was a dead scorpian i would have guessed it was alive when you captured it
SWEeet picture man
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/27/2005 07:46:05 AM
awesome
 04/14/2005 06:40:11 AM
Thanks for all your kind comments. I've never ranked that high. Nonetheless I must amdit I opted for a 7 :)
Here's my source of inspiration:


Message edited by author 2005-04-14 10:40:45.
 04/13/2005 02:50:44 PM
Detail in the leaf is unbelievable - amazing for that. "y" was, as you say, confused by the legs etc. However, outside the challenge, a great shot (and a good one even within!). congrats.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/13/2005 07:45:06 AM
Congrats on your 5th place shot.
 04/12/2005 09:14:48 PM
Congrats on your top 5 finish Gilles.
Your story behind the scenes is a hoot - thanks for sharing it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
04/12/2005 07:27:04 PM
Nice shot. couldnot tell the Y
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/12/2005 07:13:07 PM
ewwww
 04/12/2005 06:15:34 PM
A superb capture to accent the "Y"
 04/12/2005 08:48:31 AM
wow. scary, yet really good. nice 'y' too.
 04/10/2005 04:36:06 PM
kind of like a Y and a J
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/10/2005 08:25:30 AM
I like this shot, very good idea and outcome
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/09/2005 01:12:05 PM
Fabulous detail. Beautifully done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/08/2005 12:47:25 PM
it really gave me the creaps and earned you 9 points :-)
 04/07/2005 07:44:13 PM
Very effective contrast of the black on green, and love how sharp the veins are. Very unique composition.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/07/2005 03:55:56 PM
love the detail on the leaf
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/07/2005 02:12:51 PM
this picture is amazing. good job.
 04/07/2005 11:29:43 AM
It's more of a J than a Y, but a good pic none the less
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/07/2005 09:04:42 AM
I like this shot a lot, esp the colour and the pattern in the blade which makes an excellent background.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/07/2005 09:00:47 AM
And a J and a T. Nice shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/07/2005 05:37:01 AM
i see the winner, better You will not get. bumping up.
 04/06/2005 10:05:53 PM
Very nice capture, just keep it away from me!!! 8
 04/06/2005 06:42:37 PM
think maybe more of capital J, even tho y is good also 8
 04/06/2005 04:52:58 PM
Quite striking. Hope you didn't have to get very close.
 04/06/2005 03:59:41 PM
The "J" in the tail is more pronounced.
I like the through-light effect.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/06/2005 12:55:31 PM
A Ribbon. Without a doubt. Just beautiful (in a sort of deadly and dangerous way) 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/06/2005 11:59:57 AM
I hope he was dead... LOL 9
 04/06/2005 11:33:27 AM
Wow pretty impressive....The colours are stunning,it's almost perfect 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/06/2005 11:33:11 AM
Very interesting and original image, with amazing detail and a beautiful saturated green. One of my favourites.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/06/2005 07:43:10 AM
I love this one. Original, creative, great angle for the shot. Love the color and texture of the leaf, and I LOVE the idea of using a scorpion as the letter. Great job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/06/2005 06:42:09 AM
SCARY.
 04/06/2005 03:58:13 AM
Brilliant....... 10
 04/06/2005 03:46:41 AM
J is a better title IMO, but nice scorpion shadow.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/06/2005 12:36:32 AM
Ah wow, gotta be in the top 5 for sure!! The detail in the leaves is great, and a close inspection of the scorpion shows bones (?) in the legs etc!! great image!
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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