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Mystical Gaze
1st PlaceMystical Gaze
LalliSig


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Magic & Mystery (Advanced Editing IV)
Camera: Canon EOS-5D
Lens: Canon EF 85mm f/1.8 USM
Location: Öskjuhlíð, Iceland
Date: Aug 18, 2006
Aperture: 2.5
ISO: 250
Shutter: 1/100
Galleries: Portraiture, Rural
Date Uploaded: Aug 20, 2006

 This is Ingunn, I doubt someone will recognize her but I started off my "2006 season" here at DPC with two shots of her in the Off-Centered Subject II and Blue II challenges. I have had this idea in my head for over half a year now, was originally going to take this photo for the fantasy challenge that was in january this year but at the time there were no elf ears available here in Iceland so I waited till I could buy them and then waited till a fitting challenge came along, the rest was easy.

This is the first time I light a portrait outdoors with only two reflectors. Have used just a single one before and a single one + some sort of artificial lighting like a flash or a monolight but never two reflectors at the same timea and just that as lighting. Did that because I intended to mix up the WB afterwards to get a certain effect on the shot in post processing. Henny held a big one from the left and I held a smaller one to the right. Shortly after taking this shot my friend indridistefans came along and helped us out by holding one of the reflectors, he was a big help even though he didn´t have any effect on this particular shot, this was actually one of the first shots in this photoshoot.

As usually my wife Henny took care of the makeup wich was of course mainly putting on the ears :) Ingunn actually liked the ears so much she left the photoshoot with them on. Notice the date, it was taken at friday and pretty late, around 9 pm so I dunno, maybe she went partying downtown like this, I have to get the full story from her :)

Post processing was mainly just raw conversion where I increased contrast and stuff like that. Since I increased the WB to about 11000 kelvin her eyes wich are naturally very blue kindof lost their punch so I restored them to what they originally look like and then lightened them a little. Then just the basics, shadow/higlights, curves for contrast and sharpened after resizing. This shot could actually be in basic editing modes except for mainly the eye adjustment but since it was advanced I took advantage of that and also did some slight healing brush adjustments.

Statistics
Place: 1 out of 127
Avg (all users): 7.6758
Avg (commenters): 9.1163
Avg (participants): 7.6333
Avg (non-participants): 7.6918
Views since voting: 36689
Views during voting: 762
Votes: 219
Comments: 113
Favorites: 166 (view)

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AuthorThread
 03/06/2009 10:34:58 AM
Amazing i love this.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/26/2007 07:41:17 AM
Where did she get the ears?? :-D
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/11/2007 01:03:01 PM
Yes she is very beautiful... as weird as this may sound I really like her ears, very nice... and her blue eyes and golden hair is beautiful as well!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/13/2006 07:19:02 AM
she is BEAUTIFUL! awesome shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/02/2006 07:24:56 AM
i really like her pose here. almost a mix of serene and serious.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 09/01/2006 04:48:45 AM
Amazing!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/31/2006 03:09:58 PM
Hæ Lárús, Klárlega flottasta myndin í þessari keppni, er þetta Ingunn sem var í ungfrú íslands fyrir ári eða tveim?
mjög flott mynd og titill myndarinnar gæti ekki verið betri
10+
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/31/2006 08:53:40 AM
Congratulations Lárus! Yet another fresh image on your front page, very nicely done...
Til hamingju kallinn, lýsingarnar hjá þér eru engu líkar, flott þetta.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/30/2006 01:40:32 PM
Really well done...I knew this would ribbon. Congratulations!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/29/2006 09:32:02 PM
Excellent work. You are really good. Congrats for this beautiful photo.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/29/2006 06:41:12 PM
I need some ears like that! Would be a blast to see the reactions from people. Oh heck - need the eyes too. :)
Congrats on your Larus!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/29/2006 10:39:16 AM
Beautiful photo and model. I found your comments on the lighting of the scene to be quite interesting and useful.



Message edited by author 2006-08-30 19:08:43.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/29/2006 09:01:36 AM
Beautiful portrait. I especially like her shy and playful expression, just like an elf would respond to her picture taken. I wondered if the ears were photoshopped or real-fake, nice to know the story behind the picture! Congratulations!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/29/2006 05:00:12 AM
As much as I like this photo - the depth of field jumps too quickly on the right in her hair. DOF is usually a gradual thing.
The ears are awesome - no wonder she wore them off the set! Great eyes. I can see why you would enhance them if they faded out.
Nice job
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/29/2006 04:10:16 AM
nice idea
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/29/2006 03:30:24 AM
Til lukku kappi.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/29/2006 03:06:41 AM
til hamingju... virkilega flott mynd, verry cool
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/29/2006 02:08:31 AM
Excellent work here. A well deserved ribbon. Her eyes are mesmerising. Well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 10:10:12 PM
wow i love this shot. intense colors especially in her eyes. GREAT JOB!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 08:42:12 PM
Intense eyes. She is really glowing. Love it!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 03:56:41 PM
Bravo. Nice work!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 03:25:09 PM
5D+85mm+big aperture = Stunning! You've really used the DoF to best effect here. And of course, your model is just beautiful.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 01:33:34 PM
The smaller version of this on the front page drew me in immediately. Up close, it's even more magical.
Lovely job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 01:19:19 PM
Beautiful entry and a very worthy winner. Congratulations!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 11:30:53 AM
Congrats again! This has the same quality as Kiwiness' Color Portrait. IN fact i would have guessed it was his entry if someone held a gun to my head ;) Nice Shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 11:05:40 AM
Okay, When I left my fist comment it looked a teeny bit like your work and I was like..."No it's probably not " I then when you won I was It Was ! Congrats on yet another victory
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 10:46:33 AM
Fantastic shot. Well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 10:40:30 AM
I love Elves. Fabulous job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 10:24:49 AM
Great shot Lárus, Congratulations!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 09:48:26 AM
Þetta er klassi
til hamingju með enn einn borðann
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 08:27:25 AM
Like i said an award winning shot....congrats on your blue....:)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 07:20:12 AM
beautiful and effective..congrats!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 06:09:42 AM
Absolutely well deserved Blue! You gotta love that 85mm f/1.8!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 04:42:44 AM
This is just so beautifully subtle - first you see the eyes, then the ears and then the green leaves in her hair. A truly magical image. Congratulations.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 04:15:22 AM
Hey, Congrats on the ribbon! Always look forward to seeing your work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 03:45:07 AM
Flott mynd hjá kallinum einsog vanalega en ertu ekki byrjaður í skólanum
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 03:28:50 AM
Yahoo, way to go Lárus! Congrates on this beautiful image ;)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 03:00:33 AM
awesome...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2006 12:15:00 AM
Yes, I thought it was yours Lárus,- absolutely gorgeous shot. Congratulations on a well deserved blue ribbon!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 11:24:28 PM
Amazing, I'll take two reflectors with me all the time now. Great work!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 11:13:39 PM
Great photo, and good makeup work :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 11:01:15 PM
Magic photography and mystical gaze. Wow...congrats, Larus!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 09:44:05 PM
Nice work Larus. Congrats on the blue!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 09:37:24 PM
So beautiful! Absolutelly amazing! Congratulations, Larus :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 09:32:33 PM
Amazingly gorgeous with the gold (?) reflectors, such punch. Love the angle from slightly above. The short DOF really works. Congrats on another blue!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 09:02:51 PM
Very nice DOF and color. Congrats!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 08:43:23 PM
wow... amazingly magical.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 08:43:11 PM
Larus, this was perfect...congratulations on another blue...well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 08:40:49 PM
Congrats...beautiful work!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 08:37:18 PM
This smile rivals the Mona Lisa--and those eyes! Very lovely photo!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 08:36:32 PM
A masterful gathering of ideas, subject and technique to bring about this beautiful work which despite the challenge theme, bears a lovely uplifting feel. Congratulations on your well earned blue.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 08:29:39 PM
Good one Larus, This is amazing photography, and thank Henny for her efort too.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 08:21:55 PM
I could write a long critique of this shot, but I would just be repeating "Wow!" thirty or forty times. Congrats!

(and thanks for beating me) ;-)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 08:18:16 PM
Way to go Larus! I knew this one would blue! Dang, now does that mean you are ahead of me for the year? Grrrr...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 08:15:10 PM
Beautifully done! Congrats!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 08:14:53 PM
Congratulations! So very much deserved.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 08:14:04 PM
Innilega til hamingju...þú kemst kannski ekki til New York með því að vinna þessa keppni, en færð hrós frá mér í staðinn ;)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 08:08:18 PM
congrats I knew it was you and that it would get the blue!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 08:07:08 PM
Great Job, I knew this was the one. Awesome...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 08:06:51 PM
Sweet, congrats on your blue! I like the processing, her eyes are awesome.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
08/27/2006 05:40:39 PM
top ten for sure - love the ears!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 04:32:40 PM
Excellent. She looks like an elf from Rivendale.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 04:30:18 PM
Wow, the best image in the competition!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 12:40:36 PM
Nice one Mistah Sig
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 08:34:20 AM
A clear winner for this challenge ... Congratulations for a good job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/27/2006 05:22:03 AM
Beautiful.
Stunning eyes hold your focus.
Nice soft focus surrounding a wonderful subject.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/26/2006 05:21:06 PM
Fascinating coloration. Love the ear but mostly the gaze. Bump.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/26/2006 04:36:48 PM
Exquisite portrait. Bump.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/26/2006 10:38:47 AM
Great portrait! Love the ears. This must be a favorite to ribbon.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/26/2006 10:01:01 AM
Very good. HOpe the voters catch her ears. fav for me. Bump to 10, lovely portrait. H(ears) hoping you ribbon!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/26/2006 04:20:00 AM
Absolutely gorgeous. Perfect crop and I love the perspective. Wonderful lighting and color. My pick for blue. Bumping you up....bye bye 7, hello 9. *************
Back again. Ok ok ok...you twisted my arm...a rare 10 from me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/25/2006 11:59:13 PM
Beautiful,great clarity specially the eyes....Now i can vote so here u get your 10 :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/25/2006 05:03:34 PM
reminds me of another shot with the 'elf' ear.... gl 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/25/2006 03:48:39 PM
Excellent photo... 10+ very creative, very sharp... and very beautiful ;)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/25/2006 12:44:12 PM
Stunning! This shot captured my attention from the thumbnailed page immediately. Spot on use of shallow DOF. The colors really bring home the magical feel. Her eyes = gorgeous.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/25/2006 05:14:51 AM
Brilliant portrait. 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/24/2006 07:40:36 PM
Awesome!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/24/2006 05:43:16 PM
Great photograph, her eyes are unbelievable. The addition of the greenery in her hair take this to the next level.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/24/2006 10:34:42 AM
Wonderful! The bright face lends an air of fantasy (and the ears don't hurt either!). Her eyes are striking, too. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/24/2006 10:33:04 AM
This should be the winner. Great everything - colors, editing, pose, gaze, concept. Amazing detail and just a beautiful portrait. Great work - bumping up 2 to a 10.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/24/2006 08:41:02 AM
Very nice and elvish! Excellent light and expression, and those ears...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/24/2006 07:52:15 AM
Realy like this one, good portrait and the elv-eares are awesome, great bokeah. I think the eyes are bit too much in some part, second 9 from me in ths challenge - 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/24/2006 02:05:22 AM
Wonderful shot, one of the best in the challenge IMO. Good luck!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/23/2006 04:18:15 PM
a great portrait, though maybe just a tad bit over proccessed. 7 regardless.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/23/2006 07:27:05 AM
Love the look in her eyes. Excellent shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/23/2006 04:05:47 AM
i voted this a very easy 10. it's a really gorgeous ethereal photograph, and a really subtle, successful take on the challenge. your model is obviously stunningly pretty, which helps carry off and make more authentic / believable those triffic elfish ears. the focus on the startingly blue eyes feels natural, and the depth of field is just perfect. the colours are bright, bold and almost illuminating. a superb striking portrait.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/22/2006 06:49:09 PM
You must have visited middle earth for this image. For this is surely Galadriel of Lothlorien.

Very nice work! From a technical point of view I really like the DOF. You almost miss the elven-like ear because it not in focus which gives it a more natural appearance. Her eyes are captivating.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/22/2006 12:14:25 PM
8: I love the eyes and the expression - the ears seem to spoil the look though
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/22/2006 11:48:07 AM
wow ... beautiful model, fantastically sharp capture and the ear is just classic. Even without that touch, I think the model's expression is bewitching and mysterious enough to meet the challenge criteria. This is a 10 from me, and I don't think I will be the only one giving you the top score. Again, excellent shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/22/2006 10:24:35 AM
Great photo! Its very crisp and clean.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/22/2006 07:42:14 AM
very nice
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/22/2006 02:09:05 AM
I like this one, as it is simply done, but done well.....
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/22/2006 12:45:12 AM
I expect this to ribbon...very nicely done
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2006 07:51:41 PM
I like the focus in this photo
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2006 07:26:47 PM
The best, hands down, this better ribbon because its a 10.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2006 05:40:42 PM
Great photo...I just love the eyes, lighting, basically everything. Very well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2006 04:34:52 PM
Awesome picture. I love the color and the expression on her face. Beautiful.
10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2006 03:53:45 PM
One word.... Perfect.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2006 03:51:00 PM
Beautiful :) 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2006 03:00:52 PM
Ya, this one is going to do well. I gotta say the composition and focus and lighting and everything is just awesome! Straight from Tolkien. The blue eyes are arresting. Fav!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2006 02:25:43 PM
what is up with the ears??
 08/21/2006 11:14:27 AM
Subtle! Took a minute to get past the pretty face and see the theme clincher for this image. ;^) Great lighting and detail where it counts. Well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2006 10:30:22 AM
Very good! I can kinda tell the ear is fake, but it's okay beacuse the rest of the picture is so excellent. Love the soft natural light.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2006 09:27:42 AM
Beautiful shot! Love the touch of leaves in her hair. Very good chance at a ribbon, IMHO!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2006 07:17:33 AM
This really stands out in the challenge, the fofus and lihgting are perfect. I wish the elf ear where in focus, but thats just a minor thing. Definetly top 10 ;).. ohh yeah I bet this is you Larus!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2006 04:34:00 AM
I first give a 6 to this picture, then I noticed the ears, very well done. She really looks lkike an elfe. Well done, 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2006 02:30:38 AM
her eyes are incredible! very nice
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/20/2006 11:48:39 PM
this is absolutely PERFECT for this challenge and deserves the blue...I congratulate you in advance, why? well she's beautiful, the lighhting and colour are perfect, the pose has a little mystery to it, here eyes are enthralling, the ears look real (!), it looks like you just met her in the enchanted forrest...this is a perfect 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/20/2006 11:17:50 PM
Great shot, beautiful girl & lovely eyes what's not to like?.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/20/2006 10:12:02 PM
This is going to do well...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/20/2006 08:45:06 PM
Ordinarily I would love this as a portrait, but the intensity kind of takes away from the faerie quality. Great DOF and terrific clarity. I wish the eyes weren't so over saturated. Just not elfen enough for my taste. GREAT EARS!;~D Still giving it a 7 - it is well done. Maybe I'm being too anal about the challenge. ha
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/20/2006 08:27:36 PM
WOW !! Great job !
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/20/2006 08:25:26 PM
Love it. Wish I could vote on it, but I do really like this picture... I'm a sucker for good portraits. Well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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