| Photograph Information |
Photographer's Comments |
Challenge: Spheres (Basic Editing)
Camera: Canon EOS-50D
Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Location: Madison, WI
Date: Jul 8, 2010
Aperture: 3.2
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/60
Galleries: Food and Drink
Date Uploaded: Jul 8, 2010
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I wasn't going to try the sphere challenge, but then I realized I had this wine decanter. This is the first time I have ever tried a glass photo, so I had a lot to learn.
I first cleaned the counter and the decanter well, to make sure there wasn't distracting dirt. I then found a background (in this case, the back of an old piece of linoleum from the kitchen), and lit it with a couple of LED flashlights (which had a bad side effect of some purple/yellow fringing). I also setup a flash wirelessly with my home-made snoot, and pointed it at about a 45 degree angle to the background. The decanter was then set on the counter, and I fired off a bunch of shots while trying to pour into the very small opening.
I do wish this was an advanced challenge so I could clean up some of the reflections and background a bit. Also, I think it would have had extra oomph if I used a more reflective surface, but I do like the natural feel my counter top gives.
Post processing:
In RAW
- Crop and slight rotate
- Increase brightness 1.33
- Adjust white balance
- Increase contrast a bit
- Turn highlights way down and shadows way up
- Increase color saturation
- Sharpen
- Adjust curves a bit
After RAW
- Desaturate all colors except red and yellow (decrease lightness of some colors). Decrease saturation and lightness of yellow a bit. Decrease saturation and lightness of red a bit
- Resize
- Unsharp mask with large radius to increase contrast
- Unsharp mask twice with small radius
- Increase canvas size to add red border
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Wow! 6th place! I cannot believe it.After taking and processing this photo, I knew it was good, and in fact my wife said "you should win with that," but I didn't really expect this.
Thanks to all the wonderful voters, commenters, and just the general learning from DPC. 6 months ago, there was no way I could have done something like this. But everything I have soaked in from my time here has already improved my photography so much! |
| Author | Thread |
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06/26/2011 03:22:10 PM |
Cool shot, love the color and composition, and that decanter is awesome!
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 Photographer found comment helpful. |
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12/30/2010 04:35:26 PM |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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07/24/2010 07:26:42 AM |
| This should be in a mag! Kudos |
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07/22/2010 05:37:59 AM |
| Congrats on the top 5 finish! |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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07/21/2010 07:04:27 AM |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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07/20/2010 08:39:52 PM |
| Congrats on a beautiful PB and a top 10! |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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07/20/2010 08:16:58 PM |
| Great shot, Mike. Good clarity and colors. Many congrats on top 10. |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
Comments Made During the Challenge  |
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07/20/2010 07:43:11 PM |
| is it half full or half empty? Good job! I like your picture |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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07/19/2010 07:42:56 PM |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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07/19/2010 10:13:54 AM |
| Cool image, don't care for the bright red border though |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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07/17/2010 03:36:17 AM |
| I gave you a 5...I don't know why, this is a much cooler image than my first glance thought. Upping your score! |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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07/15/2010 04:33:14 PM |
| I like the composition and use of color. Well done |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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07/14/2010 05:59:05 PM |
| Nice clear shot although I may have either omitted the cork or moved it to the right side where it wasn't overlapping the stand. Only a slight distraction, for me, but an otherwise very pleasing composition. |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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07/14/2010 10:25:18 AM |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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07/14/2010 02:16:22 AM |
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| Photographer found comment helpful. |
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