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Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Household Appliances (Basic Editing)
Camera: Nikon D700
Lens: Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 24-70mm f/2.8G ED
Location: Sydney Australia
Date: Aug 16, 2009
Aperture: f/8
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/2
Galleries: Advertisement
Date Uploaded: Aug 16, 2009

 My trusty Dyson vacuum cleaner. I had to empty it and clean it out before this shot, made for a lot of dust!

The idea came from my wife who suggested that it would make an interesting macro / close up because of all the details. I gave that a try and then decided to do a couple of silhouette shots. Around 60 shots later I came up with this one.

The reflective surface is my floor tiles which I gave a good clean after the first couple of shots! The lines come from the gaps between the tiles. They are actually a cream colour, but once I pushed the contrast right up and messed around with the black point and highlights it came out looking almost mirror like.

The white background is the roller blind on my window. I shone 2 lights on the blind, one from either side just outside the frame. Some of the light spilled out onto the Dyson itself hence the details.

The camera was set to +2.3ev to get the blown out look and was actually sitting on the floor!

I'm personally really pleased with the shot, so however the voting turns out, this one was well worth doing!

Editing was fairly basic and mostly done in Aperture:

Cropped
Increased black point
Increased contrast
Reduced brightness
Highlights / Shadows
Increased Saturation

USM and SFW in Photoshop.

Hoping to get a 6+ with this. I really hope people don't ding me for the lack of details or over the top contrast, that was my intention!

Statistics
Place: 8 out of 71
Avg (all users): 6.1500
Avg (commenters): 7.6316
Avg (participants): 6.3030
Avg (non-participants): 6.1230
Views since voting: 1763
Views during voting: 422
Votes: 220
Comments: 21
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 08/29/2009 07:46:51 AM
Good day! You're the recipient of my first ever "critique club" critique! So feel free to take this with a grain of salt :D

First Impression: This image has a very strong first impression. The deep contrasts make it interesting and the reflection makes it wonderful. Without the reflection, the photo would have been way too top heavy and not nearly as interesting.

Composition: I like the composition--the centered worked for me. The other option would have been to crop in from the right and add some space onto the left to balance out the larger right side of the vacuum. However, I don't think your leading lines would have been as effective, then. I would, however, have like a little additional space at the top and the bottom. It seems a little squished there.

Subject: Very good choice of subject.

Technical: As I mentioned, I do like the strong contrasts. However, it does leave a very large black space in the middle of the photo. Black spaces are fine, but our eyes want to resolve what's hidden, so it draws your eye and takes away from the impact of the photo. I can understand not wanting a lot of detail, but if there was a way you could have brought out perhaps just the edge of the wheel cover, that would have been enough. I do like how you brought out the little splashes of red. Imo, they really help make the shot. One last thing, there's a bit of noise in the foreground color, but it's not too distracting.

Final thoughts: Well deserved finish! Congrats on the top 10!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/28/2009 01:43:37 AM
Excellent shot. The simplicity of the whole affair really makes this, and is somewhat ironic since the vacuum has a rather complicated and unconventional shape as far as vacuums go. I quite like the sheen on the orange/red part of the cleaner.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
08/25/2009 11:53:44 AM
wow is this a vacuum? very different....I like you lighting
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/24/2009 12:16:48 PM
This should do well i am guessing. probably top 10. The title fits the image too, it does look like a space age vacuum cleaner and the reflection only enhances that feel. Well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/24/2009 10:49:36 AM
nice one!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/23/2009 09:27:49 AM
great picture,a winner for sure.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/22/2009 12:09:40 PM
"Extreme Vacuuming" - Coming to the Home and Garden Channel soon. I like the lighting and how you set up the vacuum. although the black void in the middle is a bit of an distraction. The reflection is intersting but I am not sure whether it adds or subtracts from the composition.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/22/2009 08:33:14 AM
This has a nice mysterious feel to it which matches the title perfectly.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/22/2009 06:45:47 AM
I like the high key/ high contrast look, I'd would like to see a little more detail in the shadows. 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2009 09:59:22 PM
Very cool sci-fi space helmet looking image. Like the almost totally silhouetted vac. Like the reflection. I'm guessing you worked the hose to get it just right for this shot which adds to the space age/sci-fi feel. Nice work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2009 12:47:06 PM
Not enough detail but nice focus and reflection.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2009 10:25:31 AM
I like it. I think just a tad more light on the back side. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/21/2009 08:33:56 AM
Neat lighting and reflection, well done 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/20/2009 10:30:34 AM
yeah, that looks space-age like... 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/20/2009 05:58:39 AM
a clean and beautiful mirror image
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/19/2009 06:03:30 AM
Terrific shot, except that so many details in the darker sections are lost. Still, I rated it fairly high for its stylized elegance.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/19/2009 02:34:01 AM
I like it, love the reflection and love the lighting great shot 9 from me
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/19/2009 12:22:32 AM
Nice feel to the photo, but the object is just a little too dark for me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/18/2009 11:48:35 PM
ribbon I bet, best by far (not including my own picture), 5 of the 10 go to Mr. Dyson, 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/18/2009 10:37:02 PM
very nice job!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 08/18/2009 08:23:31 PM
this is great! 10/10 hope it ribbons
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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