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The cake is a lie
2nd PlaceThe cake is a lie
gyaban


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Internet Meme (Expert Editing)
Camera: Canon EOS-5D Mark II
Lens: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
Date: Apr 25, 2013
Date Uploaded: Apr 25, 2013

[May. 1st, 2013 05:42:29 PM]

When I first read the challenge topic, I really had no idea was this was about. So I read the wikipedia article about it, to discover this is how was called a "concept that spreads from person to person via the Internet". A few lines later, I also saw that it could take several shapes: it "may take the form of an image, hyperlink, video, picture, website, or hashtag", or even "may be just a word or phrase, including an intentional misspelling".

Quite logically, I started to look at various examples, and quickly, I decided to avoid all the visual forms of memes. Frankly speaking, I thought most of them were quite weak from a photographic point of view, and I had no desire to work on such thing. Instead, I chose one of those (relatively) famous sentences, and tried to illustrate it in my own way.

"The cake is a lie" is a sentence based on the false promise of a Black Forest cake as a reward, and got popularized by the video game series "Portal". The concept quickly made me think of the poisoned apple in "Snow White", so I started to work on a bad queen who would prepare such cake.

This is where the real problems started: no way to find a Black Forest cake anywhere in a 20 miles radius around my house! I tried at least 10 bakeries, with no success. In the end, my dear wife offered to cook one, which literally saved the project. She really overdid herself: not only the cake was looking exactly as needed, but it also was absolutely delicious. In fact it really was a lie, since while it looked like a Black Forest cake, it was full of large pear pieces and chocolate chunks. Definitely my kind of photo projects ;-)

As you guessed, she also accepted to pose as the bad queen. This was the perfect occasion to use that black Victorian dress we bought a few months ago: at the time we knew it would be useful for some kind of shooting session, and this was it. Some fake nails, haircut work, lighting adjustments, and I had my main photo. Finally, for the background, we went to the Jumieges abbey again: the place is always so very worth it when it comes to incredible ruins.

I'm very glad of the result, I believe the black queen looks perfect. Thanks for watching!

Statistics
Place: 2 out of 43
Avg (all users): 6.8148
Avg (commenters): 8.4286
Avg (participants): 6.4737
Avg (non-participants): 6.9194
Views since voting: 3496
Views during voting: 365
Votes: 81
Comments: 32
Favorites: 2 (view)

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AuthorThread
 05/09/2013 10:19:54 PM
when i see the picture first time i fell...scare. but i love it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/06/2013 03:53:16 AM
a beautiful image. i m a big fan of that dress
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/04/2013 05:59:34 PM
Originally posted by LevT:
congratulations Christophe, a strong image as usual. The only thing that IMO lets it down a little bit are the overexposed windows in the b/g... probably would've work better against some kind of windowless corner...


Thanks a lot Lev. In fact in the original photos the windows are not overexposed, I added the strong white light in post, I thought it would add some atmosphere and drama. I'll think twice next time!
 05/04/2013 05:48:11 PM
congratulations Christophe, a strong image as usual. The only thing that IMO lets it down a little bit are the overexposed windows in the b/g... probably would've work better against some kind of windowless corner...

Message edited by author 2013-05-04 17:48:24.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 10:15:44 PM
Love it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 08:11:11 PM
My first thought...Tim Burton's heroine from the Corpse Bride, Victoria conjures Harry Potter's Pudding cake (Dobey's scene - The Chamber of Secrets). As I respected your wife's cinematic effort and what I guessed to be her decorative cake, I gave this an 8. The meme title mismatched the image for me (even though I did google it during the challenge), but, oh well...why not let is all eat cake anyways?! ;-)

Message edited by author 2013-05-03 20:31:40.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 07:55:05 PM
Originally posted by gyaban:
Originally posted by nickyb:
Sorry bro, I don't see how this is a meme at all... Good shot though


A meme can be a sentence, and "The cake is a lie" is a meme, according to Wikipedia. I illustrated it in my own way. The challenge description did not mention that the meme had to be a visual one.

Ah, alright. To all their own I guess :) congrats on the red
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 06:09:07 PM
Originally posted by nickyb:
Sorry bro, I don't see how this is a meme at all... Good shot though


A meme can be a sentence, and "The cake is a lie" is a meme, according to Wikipedia. I illustrated it in my own way. The challenge description did not mention that the meme had to be a visual one.
 05/03/2013 06:04:07 PM
Sorry bro, I don't see how this is a meme at all... Good shot though
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 03:13:28 PM
Congrats with this wonderful image and the ribbon. There's no better cake than a home baked one :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 01:56:51 PM
It never ceases to amaze me how immaculate your images are.
Congrats to the both of you for the great shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 12:14:18 PM
Another superb image - and the cake looks soooo yum. Congrats on the ribbon.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 11:40:07 AM
Well, let's see, Christophe: you have a chef, a seamstress, a carpenter, craftsman, and model, all rolled into one. That's one heck of a crew :-) Congrats on the ribbon.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 11:23:40 AM
Congrats, Christophe!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 11:01:12 AM
A very good shot with a great dynamic composition
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 10:59:11 AM
Congratulations,still the only winner in my eye.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 10:06:33 AM
Congrats again Christophe and huge kudos to your partner in crime!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 08:34:46 AM
This was a triumph. I'm making a note here: HUGE SUCCESS! ;)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 02:21:46 AM
Originally posted by Brent_S:
Congratulations on the red Christophe! So this is what you were working on, such a great pose from your wife! So I am wondering if I'd had the time to make it to your place on that weekend I was nearby, might I have gotten a sample of this delicious cake- in addition to having the pleasure of meeting your wife? ;)
Still, very glad we got to meet for a short while in Paris and hope we can visit again next time I am over there :)


Thanks Brent. Yes it was great fun to meet! However, at the time, I had no idea of what to shoot, so the cake was not there yet. I'm sure we'll find another occasion, the world's such a tiny place nowadays!

Message edited by author 2013-05-03 02:22:27.
 05/03/2013 02:14:03 AM
Congratulations on the red Christophe! So this is what you were working on, such a great pose from your wife! So I am wondering if I'd had the time to make it to your place on that weekend I was nearby, might I have gotten a sample of this delicious cake- in addition to having the pleasure of meeting your wife? ;)
Still, very glad we got to meet for a short while in Paris and hope we can visit again next time I am over there :)

Message edited by author 2013-05-03 02:21:28.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 12:18:13 AM
Congratulations Christophe (and Mrs. Christophe). Superb work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 12:07:25 AM
I agree, the black queen and everything else is absolutely perfect!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 05/03/2013 12:07:19 AM
I think I love your wife. Not to suggest you could not do such great work without her, but you must be a great guy to have her go the distance for your images.

Plus "The Cake is a Lie" is a favorite of mine, second only to " I Took an Arrow in the Knee"
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
05/02/2013 11:51:38 PM
Wow! What else can I say? A masterpiece. The location is incredible. The cake (lie or not) looks delicious. That is one intense look on her face and I LOVE that dress. Only itsy bitsy critique from me is the bright highlight on her chest. It's a distraction but a minor one.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/30/2013 05:37:29 PM
An interesting interpretation.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/29/2013 12:12:56 PM
I don't understand the meme, but it might be a cultural thing, Christophe.

It's well done... as usual.


(commenting only)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/29/2013 11:17:30 AM
Portal is one of my favorites. for that, high marks.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/26/2013 02:04:51 PM
Nice work, love the magic, and realism, very pro stuff here Christophe!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/26/2013 12:26:53 PM
The winner by 16 gazillion points,fab image.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/26/2013 10:37:20 AM
Looks pretty good for a lie.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/26/2013 12:47:03 AM
Holy crap... Gyaban no doubt? This is crazy good.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 04/26/2013 12:30:04 AM
Top 3
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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