DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register) 
 
Challenge Entries
Portfolio Images

You are viewing the 1st image.
Smoke Calla Lily
Smoke Calla Lily
levyj413


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Free Study 2007-01 (Advanced Editing V)
Collection: Smoke
Camera: Canon PowerShot S2 IS
Location: Fireplace
Date: Jan 27, 2007
Aperture: 3.5
ISO: 50
Shutter: 1/250s
Galleries: Abstract, Floral
Date Uploaded: Jan 27, 2007

 Incense smoke makes really interesting shapes.

I've seen smoke shots here and elsewhere, so decided to try my hand. The setup was a bit of a pain since I wanted the smoke to go up the chimney instead of into the house.

I shined three clamp lamps with 100W bulbs more or less upward at a 45-degree angle and turned slightly toward the camera - that kept the back of the fireplace dark.

Editing took forever, but only because I kept playing with variations and because things look so different between my CRT and LCD monitors. Eventually I settled on some levels, brightness and contrast, and a color layer to turn the gray smoke purple. A selective color layer drove the dark to true black and that was it. Given the subject, sharpening wasn't necessary.

One decision was whether to leave the tip of the incense stick in the image. I decided it gave some context to tell the viewer this really was smoke.

Another was whether to invert it. The white version linked below is doing better than this one on another site. What do you think?


Other outtakes:

Statistics
Place: 198 out of 559
Avg (all users): 5.8471
Avg (commenters): 7.8333
Avg (participants): 5.7154
Avg (non-participants): 6.3235
Views since voting: 1326
Views during voting: 274
Votes: 157
Comments: 14
Favorites: 1 (view)

Please log in or register to add your comments!

AuthorThread
 12/25/2007 08:00:48 AM
These smoke shots are always interesting, such as this lily looking one. For me, I would like this a little better if the stick at the bottom right was cropped out. I still would have scored this hight for the challenge
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/01/2007 06:10:42 AM
ROBED! great shot. can't believe this didn't break 6.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/13/2007 11:38:34 AM
This is a beautiful photo and I commend you for trying something new! The smoke really does look like a calla lily. I prefer the white background to the black, as feel the subtleties in the smoke stand out better. It would be fascinating to do this as a double exposure and add a green leaf or stem (also very difficult, I imagine).
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/12/2007 05:35:56 AM
lovely image indeed. subtle and beautiful. mmmm.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/08/2007 12:47:11 PM
I really like this I'm going to try it at home. And if I had not been sick with the flu I would have given it a high score. I like pictures that are different.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/08/2007 03:03:11 AM
Jeffrey, great job. It almost looks like silk instead of smoke. I gave this shot a 7. I'm going to have to try that sometime.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/07/2007 09:03:11 PM
Good choice of color. Would have gotten a good score from me if I'd have gotten to it. I like both versions, but suspect the white would have scored better here too. Although I'm a little tired of smoke pictures, you really did capture an uncanny shape here. Nice job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
02/02/2007 11:56:47 AM
It does look like a lily, I like the purple hue also.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/02/2007 10:46:07 AM
loverly colours here. Nice and sharp 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/01/2007 06:42:07 PM
ok this is just genius. in the thumb i thought it WAS a calla lily that you'd done a horrific hue shift to. a one-in-a-million capture. very well done
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/01/2007 04:08:48 PM
I thought this was a flower until I scrolled down to the bottom of the image, well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/01/2007 09:42:09 AM
What a great shot of the purple with the black background. It really brinks out the color. Love you setup and composition. Well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/01/2007 05:18:40 AM
Cool effect...nice color!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/01/2007 03:27:31 AM
I like this. The smoke really does look like a Calla Lily. nice job
  Photographer found comment helpful.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 04/06/2025 03:11:45 AM EDT.