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labuds


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Square Crop (Advanced Editing IV)
Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Sigma 105mm f/2.8 EX Macro for Nikon
Location: someplace else
Date: Feb 27, 2006
Aperture: 9.0
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/250
Galleries: Macro, Floral
Date Uploaded: Feb 27, 2006

Check this thread out to see this mushroom grow from the ground up
Mushroom Growth

Setup:
Removed the whole earth-cake (on which the shrooms grow) from the container so that I could photograph it from the side without seeing the edge of the container. Setup three flashes, of equal intensity on the left, right and above the mushrooms. Each flash was bounced off of a white piece of cardboard to slightly diffuse the light. However, the cardboard was kept close to the flashes to still have relatively hard light for high contrast. The flash on the right was further from the cardboard + slightly closer to the camera to act as a fill-light. I adjusted the aperture to blur out the background just enough. Finally, I placed a piece of black velvet in the background. and that's it.

PS: I highly recommend a small piece of black velvet as a background for macro photography... It'll cost you 5$ for a small cut at any fabric store.


Statistics
Place: 2 out of 369
Avg (all users): 7.3317
Avg (commenters): 8.5000
Avg (participants): 7.2381
Avg (non-participants): 7.4810
Views since voting: 13650
Views during voting: 347
Votes: 205
Comments: 70
Favorites: 43 (view)


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AuthorThread
04/07/2008 12:52:56 AM
This is so cool, I can barely stand it. And I don't even like mushrooms. The lighting is dazzling.
06/05/2006 07:48:46 PM
AWESOME Shot ;)
03/18/2006 02:54:51 PM
Greetings from the Critique Club...

Hi Labuda :)

I don't think this image requires any critique. Everything about it is very nicely executed and I wouldn't change anything... nice job with the lighting and congrats on the ribbon :)

John Setzler
03/18/2006 01:42:20 PM
Originally posted by lbWhaples:


Indeed! Please, share your wisdom! How DID you setup for this shot?


I just updated the comments with all the relevant info for this picture... except for how to grow the mushrooms - That's classified. :)
03/17/2006 11:00:50 AM
Originally posted by BradP:

Talk about perfecting lighting - this is awesome!
Congrats.


Indeed! Please, share your wisdom! How DID you setup for this shot?

BTW, thanks for the time-lapse... very cool.
03/15/2006 08:51:31 PM
Stunning! Fungi forever! MMM
03/15/2006 07:59:16 PM
Talk about perfecting lighting - this is awesome!
Congrats.
03/15/2006 02:02:42 PM
congratulations...!! its amazing perfect macro...
the details are great!!!!
03/14/2006 01:18:39 AM
Awesome Macro. Love the OOF as well as the colour and detail in the foreground. Nicely done!
03/13/2006 11:28:08 PM
What a beautiful photo! I hope to be as good as you some day! :)
03/13/2006 10:04:27 PM
Originally posted by mycelium:

Cubensis on the front page! I love it!


heh gigeddy-gigeddy
congrats aleks, the mushrooms finally did it!
03/13/2006 07:56:53 PM
Cubensis on the front page! I love it!
03/13/2006 07:46:13 PM
Great image. I like the way you blured the background. Looks almost 3D.
03/13/2006 06:05:44 PM
Wow! I missed this one during the voting! I'm glad the rest of the voters had the good sense to give this one a ribbon! SPECTACULAR!!!
03/13/2006 05:36:03 PM
The mushroom is so sharp, detailed, well lit, and life-like that it looks like it is jumping out of the screen at me. Amazing shot! Congratulations!
03/13/2006 04:42:13 PM
Wonderful detail and composition. Congratulations.
03/13/2006 11:48:10 AM
Great picture. Well deserved ribbon.
03/13/2006 11:16:38 AM
Hey KiwiPix, him not giving details about the pics has nothing to do with him "not wanting to mix with the likes of us". Labuda took this shot a few hours before leaving for the airport to go skiing in the Canadian Rockies. I know because I was there. He scrambled last minute to get a submission. So it ain't personal.
03/13/2006 10:11:28 AM
Hey Aleks: Congratulations on your RED. I suspected this was yours because of a past similar entry. Amazing and great payoff!
03/13/2006 10:01:49 AM
Excellent lighting and focus. Congrats!
03/13/2006 06:14:04 AM
Congrats on your ribbon, great shot!
03/13/2006 06:08:55 AM
Good stuff Aleks, congrats!
03/13/2006 05:07:09 AM
Congratulations on the well deserved red ribbon with this absolutely beautiful image.
03/13/2006 02:52:50 AM
My Dad belongs to a mushroom club, so I can appricate this image as I try to take shots while he's "hunting". Super job!
03/13/2006 01:41:53 AM
Fungus gets the red. Stunning shimmery shroom too! Excellent. Enjoy.
03/13/2006 01:17:07 AM
Congrats on the Red !!
03/13/2006 01:16:18 AM
No comments, no camera details, a location of "bedroom"?

Message edited by author 2006-03-13 13:56:33.
03/13/2006 12:50:56 AM
Somehow I thought this might be yours... :-) Great job. Congratulations! Really outstanding shot - unbelievably sharp focus and I love the natural color tones. Excellent work.

Message edited by author 2006-03-13 00:51:35.
03/13/2006 12:50:09 AM
So different and what a way to make a mushroom look beautiful! Congratulations!
03/13/2006 12:28:57 AM
One of my faves. It's like something you'd see in "Land of the Lost. I keep expecting to see people trying to climb it.
03/13/2006 12:25:21 AM
This one WAY suits the crop, it's very organic (no pun intended). Congrats!
03/13/2006 12:11:55 AM
Love this, my fav, congrats!!!
03/13/2006 12:08:06 AM
Wow, congrats!!!
03/13/2006 12:07:14 AM
Stunning, Aleks! Big congrats on your Red!
03/13/2006 12:06:38 AM
HA, congrats labuda. nie myslalem ze to wygra medal.

wow, average vote no camera:10....damn....

GOod work
 Comments Made During the Challenge
03/12/2006 09:00:44 PM
Amazing detail! Bump.
03/12/2006 11:52:07 AM
This is in my top 3 and hope others think so to. One of the best 'shroom shots I can remember seeing :)
03/12/2006 06:51:51 AM
Great shot, I esp like your use of DOF...9
03/11/2006 06:05:52 PM
I like the detail on this. The DOF works well here.
03/11/2006 04:28:58 PM
I love this. I am not sure why, i just do
03/11/2006 01:56:31 AM
Nice light and focus, good work.
03/10/2006 04:28:36 PM
Where are the smurfs! I love this photo, great use of light. Excellent as a square crop.
03/10/2006 09:58:09 AM
Stunning capture! The perspective and choice of lighting really make this shot for me. Well done!
03/10/2006 06:21:59 AM
Looking at this again it stands out with the angle and the lighting, bumping to 10
03/10/2006 05:26:51 AM
Beautiful composition and range of tones. Great Shot!
03/10/2006 02:11:06 AM
Nice twist on the original. Well done.
03/10/2006 12:33:21 AM
Very, very cool shot. You've composed it very smartly, this is a shot that looks thought out and planned for a square crop, and it works very well IMO. Obviously a superb use of dof. The oof patch of shrooms give great context to the shot, but your subject pops right out nicely. Great detail, and I really like, and would like to see how, your lighting. Shows nice texture, and adds just a touch of drama without being pretentious. I can't really think of any suggestions for improvement. Maybe just a wee bit more foreground, but the image looks pretty darned good as is. I like it. Great job :-)
03/09/2006 09:40:13 PM
Remarkable! This is my #1 pick for this challenge. Everything came together to make this a near-perfect shot.
03/09/2006 08:02:48 PM
beautiful image. great composition and exposure.
03/09/2006 04:56:40 PM
Cool photo. I love the perspective.
03/09/2006 07:30:53 AM
Superior lighting and excellent use of depth of field. You must be a real fun guy to take a shot like this. get it ? funghi? sorry. good luck!
03/09/2006 05:30:49 AM
Magic
03/07/2006 11:25:44 PM
fabulous - 9
03/07/2006 09:28:53 PM
Cool photo!
03/07/2006 07:27:44 PM
This is really beautiful, I love the lighting.
03/07/2006 03:32:04 PM
I love this. Phalluses wants to be free! Very sharp, nice rendering of out of focus areas, good use of the crop. One of my top scores.
03/07/2006 01:52:49 PM
striking!, but i would have liked to see it off to the left a bit
03/07/2006 12:08:05 PM
WOW!! Great lighting and sharpness.
03/07/2006 03:15:53 AM
Great lighting and focus. Original!
03/07/2006 12:35:30 AM
Beautiful image. I hope you keep shooting and contributing here, you've got talent and I hope to see more of your work.
03/06/2006 10:30:16 PM
Awesome. I really like this, and realize this comment probably isn't "helpful". :-)
03/06/2006 08:32:27 PM
nice job here, both in quality and subject-manner. great focus and choice of subtle, flattering lighting :)
03/06/2006 07:43:35 PM
this is really good
03/06/2006 03:47:11 PM
Excellent macro shot. I love the background. The tones are great, the lighting is great. Good job!
03/06/2006 01:08:43 PM
Wow, great lighting and clarity here!
03/06/2006 08:35:22 AM
This is a really cool shot.
03/06/2006 07:32:26 AM
This is really amazing. It's like I'm a little gnome wandering through a mushroom forest. Good one!
03/06/2006 06:38:57 AM
Beautiful , good composition , nice tones ...
my vote : 10
03/06/2006 06:02:11 AM
Very impressive!
03/06/2006 01:47:10 AM
wonderful shot...one of the best in this challenge...hope you finish top 5, you deserve it 9


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