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12 Day Santa
12 Day Santa
banmorn


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: 12 Days Of Christmas (Advanced Editing V)
Camera: Nikon D70s
Lens: Sigma 50mm f/2.8 EX DG Macro for Nikon
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Date: Dec 31, 2006
Aperture: f/ 16
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/2 sec.
Galleries: Vintage, Still Life
Date Uploaded: Dec 31, 2006

 So I was at Mom's on Christmas Eve and Day. I told my sister about the challenge and she said "Oh....I have a 12 Days of Christmas Santa". She collects Santas, has 100's and puts a selection out each year.

I originally shot this at Mom's on Christmas Day. I set up some wrapping paper as a background and shot the figure on the dining room table using daylight from bay windows. But it was handheld and I was too tired (I never sleep well at Mom's or anywhere else for that matter) to hold the camera steady and the image was not as sharp as I would like.

I got a microwave for Christmas and had made arrangements to go and pick it up on New Year's Eve and give my sister a present that had not arrived in time. Bev and I went to a church out by Mom's. We had a real long lunch from which I suffered from information input overload and we finally left and went to Mom's. I gave Barb her present and picked up the microwave. I also asked to borrow the Santa and she said OK.

I re-shot in studio with a black background thinking colors would pop better and my lighting on any wrapping paper would suck. I toyed with a couple of different compositions and decided full on would do best.

Post: Convert from raw in PSElements 3.0 with a +0.33 exposure compensation. Layer adjusments for levels, brightness/contrast and hue/saturation. Layer of curves adjustment. Lots of dust on the black velvet background so I selected and reset the black to lose all of that. Dodged the bottom of the skirt and then burnt the background there. Hopefully it is even cause I just cannot tell on this monitor sometimes. The color need a little oomph so I did a layer of hue/saturation then a small dose of Kyoto Color twice. Sharpen. Resize. Sharpen.

PS: Happy New Year Everyone!

Statistics
Place: 37 out of 58
Avg (all users): 5.2254
Avg (commenters): 6.0000
Avg (participants): 5.0000
Avg (non-participants): 5.2759
Views since voting: 1320
Views during voting: 299
Votes: 213
Comments: 10
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 Comments Made During the Challenge
01/07/2007 11:27:42 PM
A little too straight-on of someone else's art.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/07/2007 09:10:31 PM
YOur focus and colors are right on target. Not sure how it relates to the song but only commenting in this challenge.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/07/2007 04:35:58 PM
Great Santa - Weinachtsman?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/04/2007 02:17:14 PM
The composition is rather static in nature, but the lighting and liveliness of the sculpture more than make up for it.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/04/2007 01:06:53 AM
Oo very nice I want one
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/04/2007 12:35:36 AM
Technically well done, but not a lot to keep my attention.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/03/2007 06:03:18 PM
He's pretty ornate!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/02/2007 12:12:10 PM
I would of liked this better if it was centered.
 01/01/2007 06:53:01 AM
Gorgeous ornament.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 01/01/2007 12:32:24 AM
Happy New Year - 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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