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Circle of Hope
Circle of Hope
banmorn


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Harsh Environments (Expert Editing)
Camera: Nikon D70s
Lens: Nikon AF-S DX Zoom-Nikkor 18-70mm f/3.5-4.5G IF-ED
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Date: Dec 23, 2006
Aperture: f/ 4.5
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/10 sec.
Galleries: Cityscape, Candid
Date Uploaded: Dec 28, 2006

 I went out last Saturday night to return some DVD's to the video store. On the way back, I had decided to get some stuff at the little store around the corner. On my way in and out I saw this young man outside in front of a door that had "Circle of Hope" on it. I did not have my camera with me! I got out of the store and rushed home deciding if I would or not and decided yes and got the camera and went back and shot. Shot handheld at 1/10 second with ambient light. So.....

Post: Converted image twice from raw with an Exposure Compensation of +2.0. On the first, for the subject, ran the image through Power Retouche Dynamic Range Compressor and then did a heavy curves adjustement. I got a grayish tone so I did layer adjustments for levels, brightness/contrast and hue/saturation. The noise was really bad so ran it through NeatImage then sharpened. This, of course, caused a boatload of jaggies to appeared that were mostly healed though some were cloned. Also cloned, healed some small light reflections on the door. I pretty much left the second image alone to avoid blowing out the upper right (the area of the store window). I placed the second image on the first and erased down in the area of the door and subject. I did a circular stroke at the bottom to, perhaps, reiterate the title in the image. Not sure if it was effective. Merge the images down. I selectively sharpened the letters of the title on the door and drew back in the letters for 'of' to make it more legible with the pencil tool. Sharpened again. The image looked too soft and maybe a little pretty in color. Did a dose of USM, 70%, 10px, 0. Added a layer and did a layer of Hue/sturation to turn to grayscale along with a another layer of levels and Brightness/contrast adjustments. Merged the layer down in normal mode at 60% or so opacity. Did another layer of hue/sat to brighten the remaining color. Resize. Sharpen.

Statistics
Place: 20 out of 116
Avg (all users): 6.3139
Avg (commenters): 7.0500
Avg (participants): 6.3548
Avg (non-participants): 6.2981
Views since voting: 1275
Views during voting: 365
Votes: 223
Comments: 27
Favorites: 1 (view)

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AuthorThread
 01/11/2007 01:51:38 PM
Love the picture. We moved a couple of years ago. Had the church still been there, I hope another picture could have been taken.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/05/2007 07:45:02 AM
Handheld at 1/10 shutter speed and it turned out like THAT! YOU are the MAN! WOW!

This is another one of my favorites in this challenge! I'm glad you went back for your camera -- it's a scene that just calls to be photographed!

Congratulations on such a strong finish with a straight on photo!!!

  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/05/2007 07:16:29 AM
Wow - way to go pulling out the detail fom your original image. I am still impressed when I see what people are able to do with a pic that I would have tossed in the recycle bin without a second thought. Well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/05/2007 12:23:16 AM


Original image resize only.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
01/04/2007 11:16:41 PM
Very moving capture.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/04/2007 06:42:09 PM
Good candid, good entry. Looks like it might have been NeatImaged a bit too strongly. ~6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/04/2007 05:14:21 PM
Sweet setup, love the look of your shot, and the idea is excellant. Nice work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/04/2007 05:08:03 PM
Very fitting shot for the challenge. Harsh environment indeed both physically and emotionally.
TC
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/02/2007 04:54:08 PM
This is a powerful shot, good light effects. All I can say 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/02/2007 04:46:10 PM
Good
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/02/2007 03:48:01 PM
the photo and the title and mood created all match. well done! a 10
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/02/2007 10:57:53 AM
An ok shot, fit´s the challenge certainly but I have a hard time connecting to the subject without having a face there somewhere.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/01/2007 06:23:36 PM
This one MIGHT (I'm not sure) be more striking in black and white.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/31/2006 02:51:48 PM
Poor guy just lost the key to his bike lock.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/30/2006 10:07:00 PM
powerful picture. but i think i would expect more dramatic effects based on the fact that it's expert editing. 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/30/2006 10:34:04 AM
this is great!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/30/2006 06:40:07 AM
The location of the homeless man beneath a sign of Hope is an interesting juxtaposition. Makes the situation all the more poignant.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/30/2006 01:28:43 AM
Very powerful...
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/30/2006 12:41:09 AM
I like the subdued tones and desaturation in this ..the very lack of over-processing is suitable. In an "expert editing" challenge, I think the real discipline is to use what you need only when you need it..not to use as much as you can just because you can, ending up with a general mess. Nice control. Fits the challenge perfectly.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/29/2006 09:56:43 PM
I see some evidence of over-sharpening in the photo and I'd like to have seen some use of the expert editing rules. Is this a real observation? If so, yes, life can be harsh. Brightest Blessings to that soul.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/29/2006 05:32:02 PM
the picture is a bit to smudgy, which dont fit to well. some noise would be better! nice , sad capture though.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/29/2006 04:05:17 PM
Nice street shot..8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/29/2006 02:02:50 PM
Happy New Year! - 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/29/2006 01:33:47 PM
This photo could use a little more noise. Great subject and composition.
 12/29/2006 09:56:32 AM
Awesome! Poignant, troubling, provocative......stellar entry! I see it's in my home state of Pennsylvania, too!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/29/2006 12:59:51 AM
Wow, harsh indeed!
 12/29/2006 12:25:25 AM
Sad, but very well done! Great saturation of colors to give this such a rich depth.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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