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toothpaste
toothpaste
aplomb76


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Low Tech (Advanced Editing II*)
Camera: Canon EOS-300D Rebel
Location: Camp Casey, Sout Korea
Date: Nov 24, 2004
Aperture: f/3.2
ISO: ISO-100
Shutter: 1/100
Galleries: Snapshot
Date Uploaded: Nov 24, 2004

Adjusted exposure, temperature, tint, shadow, saturation, brightness, and contrast. Picture was cropped. Clone tool was used to remove reflections.

Statistics
Place: 168 out of 177
Avg (all users): 4.2093
Avg (commenters): 4.5000
Avg (participants): 3.9388
Avg (non-participants): 4.5676
Views since voting: 729
Views during voting: 255
Votes: 172
Comments: 11
Favorites: 0


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AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
12/05/2004 11:33:22 PM
toothpaste? low tech? Hmmm.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/05/2004 12:43:39 PM
Well, you've got some definite visual interest here. I'm not sure about how well toothpaste as a subject meets the challenge (without the title, might have gotten confused between the paste and the modern toothbrush as a focal point), but kudos to you for originality!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/05/2004 07:48:37 AM
Good choice of grey toothbrush as it seems to work well with the greyish complexion and very shallow dof. I fund the image disturbing in a way, but it is well balanced. I find very littte here to remind me of technology even low or ancient tech. My wife says sonicare, but even that seems a stretch here. No points for challenge, but points for composition and color.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/03/2004 08:45:41 PM
I like the way you chose to capture this! Good crop as well.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/02/2004 09:16:28 AM
This is rather gross, I'm sorry. I'm sure there were other ways and means to show toothpaste.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/01/2004 08:22:29 PM
When approaching this picture, I asked myself, is there any 'technology' in toothpaste? Of course, there's tartar control, whitening, advanced care, breath freshening, etc. packaged in ever advanced delivery systems: from tubes, to pumps, to squeeze bottles. Judging by this model's pearly white teeth, I am assuming that the whitening variety is currently being used.

What did people use before the dawn of Toothpaste?
"Toothpaste is not a relatively modern phenomena. In fact, as long ago as 3000-5000 BC Egyptians made a dental cream by mixing powdered ashes of oxen hooves with myrrh, burned egg shells, pumice, and water. Unfortunately, these early Egyptians didn't have toothbrushes but used chew sticks to apply their dental cream.

In 1000 AD Persians added burnt shells of snails and oysters along with gypsum. Unfortunately, at this point, toothpaste was still reserved for the rich. In 18th century England a tooth cleaning "powder" containing borax was sold in ceramic pots. One of the problems, which lasted well into the twentieth century, was that they were often very abrasive, causing damage to teeth.

Prior to WWII, toothpaste was packaged in small lead/tin alloy tubes. The inside of the tube was coated with wax, however, once it was discovered that lead from the tubes leached into the product. It was the shortage of lead and tin during WWII that led to the use of laminated (aluminum, paper, and plastic combination) tubes. At the end of the twentieth century pure plastic tubes were used.

The breakthrough that transformed toothpaste into the crucial weapon against tooth decay was the finding that fluoride could dramatically reduce cavities. Dr. William Engler tested 400 preschool children and discovered a dramatic reduction in dental cavities among children treated with fluoride. This study, along with many others done around the world, led to the widespread introduction of fluoride in the 1950s." (www.saveyoursmile.com)

So there's definitely technology in the paste and gel we apply to our teeth everyday. Unfortunately, you don't really show us with this picture the old-school toothpaste, the kind made from powdered ashes of oxen hooves and burnt shells of snails. This is most likely the modern stuff we take for granted. I believe therefore that this picture does not adequately meet the challenge theme.

Concerning the technical and artistic aspects. Wow. Aside from a slight lack in saturation, the sharpness, focus, and DOF is remarkable. Even the model's freshly shaved stubble is clearly evident. The flow of drool running down his face shows a lot of detail and minimal overexposure. I can't find much here to criticize, perhaps maybe to slightly increase color saturation.

Artistically, you adequately show toothpaste in action. Sure, a close-up shot of toothpaste being squeezed out of a bottle would be more palatable to the masses, but I can't think of a more "in your face", up close and personal way to present this subject. Well done.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
12/01/2004 01:20:43 AM
Just not appealing to look at
  Photographer found comment helpful.
11/30/2004 06:57:26 PM
I like a risk taker and am willing to accept some risks in the photos I score. This has things about it I like. Decent focus. Good DOF. Decent composition. And white teeth. Nice white points and black points. But in the end, I'm sorry to say, I can't get past the subject.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
11/30/2004 05:38:51 PM
not an appealing shot, dont know to many people who would enjoy looking at ths

Sorry
  Photographer found comment helpful.
11/30/2004 02:31:01 PM
I wouldn't call toothpaste low tech, as it is still in use everywhere with no alternatives, and isn't technology.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
11/30/2004 09:15:38 AM
This was a great idea, but something throws it off. Maybe the shot is to close.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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