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Dark Voodoo: A Broken Heart
Dark Voodoo: A Broken Heart
cutlassdude70


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Superstitions & Urban Legends II (Basic Editing III)
Camera: Canon EOS-20D
Lens: Canon EF 50mm f/2.5 Macro
Location: Apartment Dining Room - Riverside, CA
Date: Jun 26, 2006
Aperture: f/2.5
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/10 sec
Galleries: Still Life, Macro
Date Uploaded: Jun 27, 2006

 Voodoo is pretty well-known around the globe (albeit by different names and spellings), so I thought it would be a good idea to run with. I wanted to do the shot so bad that I ended up making my own voodoo doll after not being able to track one down. :)

One piece of burlap, some spanish moss, a little hemp string, and two sticks - wallah! Voodoo doll! :D I tried to make it as authentic as possible to match a New Orleans variety of doll (and not the poppet-style dolls of Europe). This was the trial run of my new macro lens, so hopefully I'll get some good feedback. :)

Raw adjustments. Adjustment layers for Levels, Hue/Saturation, and Brightness/Contrast. Cropped and resized down with Bicubic Sharper.

Statistics
Place: 13 out of 97
Avg (all users): 6.2597
Avg (commenters): 7.6522
Avg (participants): 5.9565
Avg (non-participants): 6.3038
Views since voting: 1716
Views during voting: 558
Votes: 362
Comments: 30
Favorites: 2 (view)

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AuthorThread
 07/10/2006 10:59:10 PM
---Greetings from the Critique Club!---

First impression - OUCH! :-)

First off - this is a very strong image as evident by the 6+ score. Technically very good. Rather than go through the exposure, composition, technique issues, let me try to tell you what would have kicked this score up into the top 10 or higher.

When I first saw this image I didn't get the heart thing. I don't always read the title although I should. My feeling is if you have to rely on the title too much you're probably not going to score very high.
The heart thing along with the voodoo is an excellent idea. Titling the voodoo doll up a bit would accomplish 2 things:

1. The viewers could make out the heart shape of the pins better,
2. The DOF would not be as shallow.

I like the shallow DOF, but I think it is distracting from the image here instead of enhancing it. Positioning the camera a little higher and s little more on top would have the same effect as tilting the doll up a bit.

Again, I think this is one of the stronger images in the challenge. These are just my ideas to improve the placement. Congrats on a top 20 placement!

I hope this was helpful. Feel free to contact me if you have any questions.

David
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/05/2006 07:15:43 PM
Congratulations on your top 20 finish. Great shot!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/05/2006 03:15:51 AM
can't talk... chewing...

Originally posted by rinac:
Boy, if this doesn't get 1st place, I'll eat my shoe...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/05/2006 01:22:16 AM
One of my top three picks for this challenge. I love the DOF, and I love how the heart (not a central piece as far as meeting the challenge goes, you could take it or leave it really) is not entirely obvious at first - inspires a second look.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
07/04/2006 05:19:26 PM
very nice, but why do you have a voodoo doll :-O
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/04/2006 11:26:44 AM
Technical: 2/3
Aesthetic: 2/3
Personal Tilt: 3/5
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/04/2006 07:31:05 AM
Like the shot
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/04/2006 04:23:11 AM
love the concept and shot
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/04/2006 03:34:36 AM
Great shot. I wish the pins were a little more front on, so we could see the heart shape. However, the bokeh is fabulous, and the focus is sharp. Wonderful work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/03/2006 08:31:40 PM
Meets Challenge: 1/1
Lighting: 1/2
Focus: 1/2
Creativity: 2/2
Aesthetics: 1/3
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/02/2006 03:45:41 PM
Nice concept, great focus.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/02/2006 02:27:21 AM
Ooooh...that looks like it could hurt.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/01/2006 04:25:21 PM
Great DOf, love it!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 07/01/2006 10:19:01 AM
out of focus.
 06/30/2006 11:54:11 PM
great depth of focus, liked it a lot, 9.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/30/2006 12:14:01 PM
Yikes! Hope you never get angry with me!!! ;^) Fun concept and well executed. Well positioned composition. DOF is right on for this image and does a nice job of bleeding out the bg.

Smile and keep having fun! ;^)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/30/2006 11:59:10 AM
This will definately get a good placing.. good DOF
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/30/2006 06:27:55 AM
My favorite of the challenge. I like the way the pins are nice and sharp (no pun intended), and the rest of the picture is out of focus.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/29/2006 03:51:27 PM
Wow.. A really strong pic with good emotive quality.. made me giggle :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/29/2006 01:02:55 PM
voodoo is bad but your photo is good, in fact cute 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/29/2006 03:10:13 AM
The only image out of all submissions to this challenge, that eloquently characterises a superstition AND is technically flawless.

A big 10 from me. I'll keep my fingers, toes and eyes crossed for you! :D

Boy, if this doesn't get 1st place, I'll eat my shoe...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/28/2006 11:36:09 PM
a little longer depth of field would be nice, still a good photo.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/28/2006 10:52:36 PM
Love the texture, wish there was a little more dof. Great photo
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/28/2006 10:29:29 PM
The pins look great. It would be nice to see a little more of the doll though - without the title it would have been a bit confusing.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/28/2006 05:09:27 PM
awesome DOf. I'm not sure the border works for this picture though. 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/28/2006 05:08:40 PM
I like this one. Maybe a touch more DOF? not the end of the world though. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/28/2006 12:00:25 PM
Very fun dof on this image. with the red pins and single black also very fun. but, maybe a more humoniod shape L()L. but its fun. But, its not really a superstition or a Urban legend, more of a religion.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/28/2006 10:27:37 AM
Bravo. Finally a decent image. The best one I've seen so far. GREAT dof and interesting subject. I like the way you did a tight crop. The red head pins really give it pop. Good job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/28/2006 10:07:54 AM
good idea
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 06/28/2006 02:08:37 AM
Love the persimmon colors here ;) Great use of DOF :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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