DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register) 
 
Challenge Entries
Portfolio Images
This image is not part of a public portfolio.
Ascension
Ascension
riot


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Afterlife (Basic Editing III)
Camera: Canon EOS-20D
Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS
Location: Living room table
Date: Mar 3, 2006
Aperture: f/9
ISO: 100
Shutter: 5 seconds
Galleries: Humorous, Still Life
Date Uploaded: Mar 3, 2006

 Started doing a shot of a woody with two strong side-lights on a whim (got a second sigma EF-500 today). I had for some time been struggling to think of how to artistically simulate an aura or beam of light painted effect... i tried pieces of paper with gradiated lighting, all sorts, then it came to me... what's DPC's idea of heaven? A blue ribbon, of course! I quickly put together a rough vector version of the DPC ribbon, worked out how big i wanted it and printed white on black.

[url=

Setup:
Woody on his pedestal, black silk covering his shiny metal pole (but not all of it, as i realised too late). Black cloth background. Printout of the DPC ribbon attached and carefully positioned. Camera on tripod, carrying case from a flash unit over the on-board flash so it could trigger the slaves but not add light to the scene.

Lighting:
Two Sigma EF-500 in optical slave mode, one on either side slightly behind the woody, zoomed to 105mm to give a strong vignette and leave the legs in shadow. Covered on-board flash to trigger, but not add light. Second-curtain sync, mirror lockup, longish exposure so i could paint the woody with light from a blue LED keyring. The logo is lit by the reflections from the woody and painted with the keyring also. Controlling stray blue light was a pain!

Postprocessing:
Slight boost in contrast and brightness to knock out the bottom end, and get rid of all the bits of background that weren't quite black. Square crop. Resize. Tiny tiny miniscule amount of USM.

Outtakes:

Statistics
Place: 27 out of 178
Avg (all users): 5.7721
Avg (commenters): 6.9000
Avg (participants): 5.4211
Avg (non-participants): 5.8945
Views since voting: 1155
Views during voting: 439
Votes: 294
Comments: 34
Favorites: 0

Please log in or register to add your comments!

AuthorThread
 03/15/2006 12:12:59 PM
A very nice study here and an outstanding use of woody.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/15/2006 09:00:35 AM
Originally posted by gsquiggle:
alienyst haha. i know its u.

He's not the only one with woodies you know!
 Comments Made During the Challenge
03/14/2006 11:59:39 PM
Sweet!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/14/2006 05:27:05 PM
Ascending to a blue ribbon?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/14/2006 08:11:15 AM
funny, almost looks like a swan dive to me. Maybe that's why I never get ribbons :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/13/2006 11:37:42 PM
nice lighting.
good luck!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/13/2006 01:22:00 PM
Very good use of logo and mannequin. Very interesting. (8)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/12/2006 04:18:58 PM
Like perspective and lighting.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/12/2006 09:06:17 AM
funny and indicative of the obseesion to which we fall victim :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2006 11:27:24 PM
I know who this is - Nice photo.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2006 05:47:18 PM
LOL. I do believe a day will soon come and a woody will walk away with the ribbon. This is just perfect.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2006 05:24:07 PM
Woody makes his appearance. Apparently his afterlife is DPC Nirvana:)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/11/2006 05:14:02 PM
LOL!! I like it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/10/2006 11:15:56 PM
This is a unoque way to employ woody. Very majestic. Bumping up.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/10/2006 03:44:40 PM
I have to tell you, I am BORED SILLY with these wooden figures, however, your execution in terms of lighting, positioning and use of the background ribbon as a stained glass church window was so well done that I gave it a 10. VERY WELL DONE, and the title is perfect.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/10/2006 11:14:20 AM
I LOVE the idea - would have given better score if the light were basic and not the ribbon.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/09/2006 10:44:59 PM
I appreciate the humor. Nice job and imagination!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/09/2006 03:37:16 PM
Hi Ken. Extremely well done! Woody + Ribbon = 10. ;^) Very, very, creative. Good job of positioning the subject in the frame. Nice job of dramatic lighting.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/09/2006 02:20:03 PM
That's too funny. Perfect lighting.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/08/2006 05:44:39 PM
I almost used this exact title for my entry. Apparently my aluminum helmet isn't protecting my brainwaves.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/08/2006 05:32:24 PM
Have you won already?lol
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/08/2006 04:35:06 PM
Hallelujah! Woody is reborn! Sweet image!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/08/2006 04:10:46 PM
Humor is good !
Lighting is excellent in this shot , good focus and good composition.
my vote : 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/08/2006 03:41:16 PM
I think I would actually like this one better without the ribbon.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/08/2006 09:51:38 AM
funny
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/08/2006 07:54:05 AM
LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOL
excellent
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/08/2006 07:26:20 AM
Nice idea beautifully captured.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/08/2006 06:29:03 AM
clever fun shot
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/08/2006 03:40:25 AM
extreme case of dpc-addiction
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/08/2006 02:07:56 AM
alienyst haha. i know its u.
 03/08/2006 01:38:54 AM
Oh man this is a great woody shot. Stellar. 10.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/08/2006 01:24:20 AM
ha ha ha that's classic i wish they had 11s 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/08/2006 12:55:18 AM
lol! Very cute.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 03/08/2006 12:23:11 AM
This is a "WINNER" for sure.....
  Photographer found comment helpful.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 04/02/2025 12:38:41 PM EDT.