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Mud Man
3rd PlaceMud Man
lovethelight


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: All Four Elements (Advanced Editing VII*)
Camera: Canon EOS-40D
Lens: Canon EF 135mm f/2.0L USM
Location: Tx
Date: Jan 23, 2011
Aperture: f/22
ISO: 160
Shutter: 1/20s
Galleries: Emotive, Portraiture
Date Uploaded: Jan 24, 2011

 I haven't entered anything for a long while, but this challenge topic gave me some ideas I really wanted to try. I coated Michael in mud to make him look earthy, and the water added another texture to his skin. I was kind of stumped on how to show air. Without something in the air, you can't show it moving, so I thought that the smoke blowing in the wind made a beautiful effect. Then the fire completed the setup.

This was a ton of fun to shoot. We shot this outside my garage studio, so I was able to use a black studio background while still keeping the fire outdoors.Setup was two lights slightly behind him on each side with no modifiers, and a silver reflector to fill in his face. Michael's mom poured water on his head while my dad controlled the fire. Post processing was mostly dodging and burning. It took quite a few tries to get the fire to frame his face. The wind was blowing and we had to put the fire out every time it got too large.

Statistics
Place: 3 out of 47
Avg (all users): 6.9582
Avg (commenters): 8.2353
Avg (participants): 6.1613
Avg (non-participants): 7.0769
Views since voting: 4870
Views during voting: 606
Votes: 239
Comments: 34
Favorites: 5 (view)

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AuthorThread
 03/27/2011 07:09:02 PM
The capturing of fire is not easy, I don't know how you did it, great job!
 02/05/2011 02:35:28 PM
Good to see you back. Great image and congrats!
 02/04/2011 03:03:22 PM
This is absolutely fascinating! Incredibly surprised that it didn't get blue. (I was one of your 10s :)

Congrats on the yellow, though!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/02/2011 11:39:10 AM
Wonderful and congrats.
 02/02/2011 11:34:28 AM
Love the shot and the details of the setup. Fire shoots are always a lot of fun, and a lot of work! Congrats on the ribbon!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/02/2011 09:43:49 AM
Great studio shot, amazing lighting. Congratulations on your ribbon!
 02/02/2011 09:17:02 AM
You could have called this one "Prometheus" also; it's what I thought as soon as I saw it. Great shot, great finish.
 02/02/2011 05:20:43 AM
Very imaginative and well done! Congrats on the ribbon!
 02/02/2011 04:49:11 AM
Amazing-congratulations !
 02/02/2011 01:54:14 AM
Congrats. Great comeback score :) Oh, you don't know me, but i was you number 1 fan during your A100 days :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/01/2011 11:37:35 PM
Ha, I was right. Congrats on a deserved ribbon!
 02/01/2011 10:52:44 PM
Congratulations on your ribbon. Excellent shot.
 02/01/2011 09:37:13 PM
Congrats. Great to see your name again. I thought this was the most creative of the bunch.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/01/2011 09:07:40 PM
congrats on your ribbon! long time no see!
 02/01/2011 08:18:54 PM
Oh! CONGRATS on your RIBBON!! Loving this... still!
 Comments Made During the Challenge
02/01/2011 12:59:20 PM
Pretty incredible image. A lot of work went into this. Great stuff.
 02/01/2011 12:38:29 PM
Nicely done. Should do well.
 02/01/2011 11:39:39 AM
Challenge fave!
 01/31/2011 06:29:45 PM
Great comp. One of the best challenge renditions.
 01/31/2011 09:45:19 AM
Genesis. Superbly clever combination of earth/water and fire/smoke. Hard to beat. 10 - no reservations! Oh yes, especially since the rubber ducky was not my favorite!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/30/2011 05:12:18 AM
wow.. fire.. water drop.. smoke..dramatic lighting.. and a dirty man.. dp challenge hearts you hard core! 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2011 08:36:38 AM
Took me a while to spot the water aspect. This is a great image. Makes me very curious how you accomplished it. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/28/2011 06:38:29 AM
My favourite, congrats.
 01/27/2011 06:47:41 PM
FANTASTIC should be #1 in my book...
 01/27/2011 06:19:58 PM
I love this take on the four elements. Such a great photo.
 01/27/2011 10:31:40 AM
arresting shot, I like the way the flames and smoke frame the mud man. Could he have had a little more light on his eyes?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/26/2011 10:15:19 AM
looks like Prometheus just formed you, and blew the breath of life(fire) into you. I would have rated higher if there was a reference to this important theme in mythology.
 01/26/2011 09:08:50 AM
Very dramatic. The lighting on the man is great.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/26/2011 08:35:06 AM
A 9 from me (voted earlier) Welldone on all 'counts. If there were a bit more to his eyes... this would have gotten a 10 from me. Good stuff!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/26/2011 07:44:49 AM
Wow, very well done! In my top 3.
 01/26/2011 05:38:56 AM
Fabulous image and magnificent lighting. With all the elements present subtly but clearly. Incredible lighting, and the droplets are icing on the cake. Only halfway through voting, but this is in ribbon territory.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/26/2011 03:24:39 AM
great work, I'd like to see this on the front page (to the right of mine, of course :)
 01/26/2011 12:55:33 AM
Excellent
 01/25/2011 08:04:48 PM
Coming to a theater near you!


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