I don't expect anyone to recognize my style, since I've only had one other submission to DPC, but since the other submission had light and color tendencies, I'll try to make this a similar submission.
Used HDR, since there is a high range of lighting going on here. This may look like a basic photo, but I had to really "work it" to get it right. Had a hard time getting definition in the shadows, without blowing out the highlights in the candle area of the shot.
I used GIMP to clone out some "ghosting" that was happening in the flame area of the photo. (Yes, there's still some there, but it's not near as bad as it was)
Thanks for the words of wisdom on HDR in the DPC forums (especially from Bear) as to how to effectively use HDR without making it look "baked". (No Dave Hill stuff here, although I may experiment with that style just for the experience. Couldn't get that look at this point if I tried...)
I'm expecting mostly 4's and 5's out of this one, but will be thrilled if I beat my "third from brown" spot from my last (and only) submission.
Tech stuff...
RAW Therapee - Convert to 16-bit tiff images. Auto levels. Auto WB.
easyHDR - Auto-align, tone map, desaturate highlights, saturate shadows. Gaussian blur, unsharp mask. Export HDR image in JPEG format.
GIMP - Levels, resize image, clone tool to remove dust spots, hot pixels, flame "ghost", convert to 8-bit JPG.
Please leave comments or constructive criticism. I have a lot to learn, and your criticism will help. Give it to me with both barrels, I can take it. (Even if it's after the vote.)
Peace
Statistics
Place: 185 out of 193 Avg (all users): 4.1891 Avg (commenters): 5.6667 Avg (participants): 4.0278 Avg (non-participants): 4.2791 Views since voting: 543 Views during voting: 331 Votes: 201 Comments: 5 Favorites: 0
No fear, I've been in your shoes. I'll be gentle. :-)
I gave this shot a 6 during voting, because I felt that the try was there, if you get my meaning. Signature Style was a pretty tough challenge, even moreso for a noob. But I felt that you took a deep breath and jumped in anyway, so congrats on that!
Shot is well-lit, very simple and clean. Composition is good but not outstanding. I don't see a lot of the HDR, which is good - and by all means listen to Bear, he knows his stuff. Hard to say how to improve artistically, taking into account the nature of the challenge and your newness to the site.
But you're definitely on the right path. Keep shooting! Look forward to seeing more of your work.
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