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Famous 1980's Movie - "E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial"
Famous 1980's Movie - "E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial"
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Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: The 80s (Advanced Editing IV)
Camera: Nikon D50
Lens: Nikon AF Zoom-Nikkor 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6
Location: Florida
Date: Feb 19, 2006
Aperture: f/5
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/80
Galleries: Emotive, Landscape
Date Uploaded: Feb 13, 2006

 *Crop
*Under Hue/Saturation I gave it a 146 hue and a 30 sat
*brightness/contrast
*selective dodge and burn
*selective smudge
*resize
________________________
First I found a picture of Elliott with ET on the bike. I found one that was 1.5" by 1.5". I printed it out on hard photo stock paper, and I cut it all out by hand just like it was for decoupage. All the little details that I didn't want to show had to be cut out revealing the intricate silhouette you see of Elliott/ET/bike.

To make the moon, I took another piece of the hard stock photo paper and did the moon by itself in front of a desk top lamp I had. I took a shot of the paper in front of the lamp, then uploaded that photo to my computer. I took it to PSP and made it look like a moon using dodge and burn (best I could). I then printed this out and used that as the backdrop for the scene. The nebula, or light (or noise) you see surrounding the moon (and noise on the moon) is actually from the ink on the paper and not an added element, and is from reflecting light the bulb gave off to those areas and through those areas. This print out was now attached to the front of the lamp rim taping it on from behind.

I did add some glitter for stars, but they didn't come out in the shot, and I really didn't think it mattered.

I went outside and found a nice intricate looking twig and taped it to the bottom of the paper in a pleasing spot on the moon. This gave the effect that an old dead tree was nearby. It may look drawn on, but it is really 3D. I then attached my decoupage cut out to the moon in a pleasing area.

I put the lamp on my counter and because it has a movable neck to it, I turned it up and facing the camera. I shut off all the lights in the room and then turned on the lamp. The silhouettes you see are the result from the bulb shining behind the scene.

In post process I really had to do very little. I did a bit of contrast for some pop; took it to colorize for an entire-photo hue of grayish blue; did a bit of dodge and burn on the bike figure to smooth out some edges and on the moon itself, and a bit on the branches, which was very little all together. I smudged out a tiny leaf that looked out of proportion just leaving the twigs seen. It was cropped, resized, and done.
_________________

In some posters for this movie, you will see just the moon, a lot of landscape, or very little landscape. There are different variations. This is my own variation, and I wanted it close to those original posters but not exact to make sure it was recognizable to the viewers. I hope you find it pleasing, and thank you to those that enjoy it!

Rose





Statistics
Place: 12 out of 101
Avg (all users): 6.1349
Avg (commenters): 7.7222
Avg (participants): 5.5439
Avg (non-participants): 6.3077
Views since voting: 17949
Views during voting: 729
Votes: 252
Comments: 24
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 02/28/2006 09:36:22 AM
Thank you graphicfunk. You have always been a dearheart when it comes to comments. :)

Rose
 02/27/2006 05:39:29 AM
Congratulations on your top 20 Rose with this fanciful presentation. A great idea!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/27/2006 03:26:19 AM
Thank you for all the comments and votes. This was about the 14th take on this photo. My first few tries were against literal arts rules and other ideas on how to make this work took patience and a LOT of time and a lot of questions. In the end, I found I really didn't have to make the moon, but since I was using 3D elements and the lamp, I could have just printed out a nice defined moon. In the end I am glad that ALL the elements in the photo were by me.

I think the reviews on this are rather mixed and the voters were a bit confused. It needed to be validated right away according to one voter, and it was. I was pleased when it was. I figured then others wouldn't continue to down vote it thinking it didn't meet editing rules or submission rules. But it was a bit too late then. It started out at a 7.0 and dropped nearly to a 5.8 before it was validated. Once it was validated it began to climb steadily, but not quick enough as the massive "duotone" challenge entered into the voting stage and the 80's challenge took a back seat for a few days.

I am not bitter about not winning a ribbon here, but I think that the top winner's photo was mainly a 70's and not an 80's depiction for theme, although one does have to take into account what another interpretation could be, so my hats off to the winnner. However, I knew mine was spot on and would not be challenged in that way as to what decade ET came from. Again though, I think challenge was won there mostly on the paint work and technicals and not so much by theme depiction. The second place ribbon went to a photo that was throwing me a hand gesture not regarded very high in the states or to me...LOL. Third place was nice, but not one I would have expected to win. Actually, my top pic was Gis-boy's PacMan depiction. Oh well, such is life on DPC. You never know. Every challenge is a crap shoot and sometimes the winning photos can surprize you emmensely.

In any case, I enjoyed watching the comments and was happy to see that some wondered about it so much. I do like to be a bit creative on my entries, make them technically pleasing, and do make them as close to challenge theme as possible. With that, I am happy with my entries, especially this one. I am also happy with all the comments and am glad you all enjoyed it.

Rose

Message edited by author 2006-02-27 08:27:35.
 02/26/2006 07:17:18 PM
Neat shot. I like it a lot and think it fit the challenge well. Wonderful details and description also...thanks for taking the time for that.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/26/2006 07:06:48 PM
Fantastic job... I gave this one a ten. Couldn't wait to come back to see how it was done. Thanks for taking the time to write up your description for us! Well done! :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
02/26/2006 03:10:27 PM
Cool, would like to know what this is because it looks like a straight poster shot (which I am sure it is not).
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/26/2006 10:39:25 AM
I wonder... how did you do this ?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/26/2006 12:30:18 AM
clever!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/24/2006 02:58:19 AM
Very nice...............
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/23/2006 07:42:02 AM
Really well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/23/2006 07:01:52 AM
I can't imagine how you did it but it's a good job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/23/2006 05:43:26 AM
Clever. Looks more like a graphic than a photo however. No worries...not voting, just taking a look around. ;^) Good luck in the challenge.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/22/2006 01:01:35 PM
good recreation, nicley done
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/21/2006 05:01:52 PM
this is brilliant. you took a photo of a kid on a bike through a branch laden drainage pipe from an odd angle and then over processed image...or perhaps you put a flash light against a tissue paper drawing...either way still a cool idea.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/21/2006 02:00:19 PM
One of the clever ones that I saw in this challenge
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/21/2006 03:45:29 AM
Clever idea that would stand completely on it's own without a title. Will be back to see how you pulled this one together. Nicely done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/20/2006 05:10:21 PM
Nicely done! Amazing likeness.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/20/2006 12:29:22 AM
Awwww... I was sure this would be the winner when I saw the thumbnail as it looks so good there but I was dissapointed when I opened the image. What I mean is that the picture quality let me down, if this had been pristine and crystal clear I would have given it a great score but the whole shot just seems "fuzzy" somehow. Still got an 6 from me though, it´s above average in the challenge nevertheless.
 02/19/2006 10:22:55 PM
how can we possibly forget... the best movie ever...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/19/2006 09:25:47 PM
clever
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/19/2006 08:45:40 PM
well done ....9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/19/2006 08:11:50 PM
Fantastic! Very clever!!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/19/2006 07:57:20 PM
LOL:) Creative!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/19/2006 07:42:27 PM
Interesting shot. I;m curious about the setup of it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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