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Lightness of Being
Lightness of Being
levyj413


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Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Macro VI (Advanced Editing V)
Collection: Macro
Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Nikon AF Nikkor 50mm f/1.8D
Location: home office
Date: Oct 14, 2007
Aperture: 8.0
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/15s
Galleries: Abstract, Macro
Date Uploaded: Oct 14, 2007

 This is a plastic plant thing that I bought to try to mimic Ursula's Sweeping in the Rain for the Deja Vu III challenge. I failed at that, but when this challenge came up, it occurred to me to try using it. This non-macro shot of it is about 8 inches across. Those tiny little fibers you can see are the large ones in the entry.


Here's an outtake (original and what I entered in Best of 2007:


I've seen lots of things on DPC use water droplets to add interest, so I used a mister on a water bottle.

The background colors come from some stickers I found lying around.

This is the best of maybe 20 shots. One thing about macro shooting - moving stuff around by as little as 1mm yields a whole different shot.

It's lit with the setting sun from behind and a couple of lamps from above me pointed down into the bristles.

Editing was minimal: selective sharpening on the droplets, a little deepening of the blacks using a selective color adjustment layer, and some noise reduction.

I owe this shot to DPC - it's here that I learned about DOF, using a remote shutter cable and mirror lockup mode to avoid vibrations, and how to use extension tubes on a normal lens to get macro-level magnification. With 68mm of extension, my 50mm gets about 1.4:1.

Post-challenge: yahooo! Most faves ever during a challenge: 6. Plus my first wishlist ever.

Statistics
Place: 29 out of 248
Avg (all users): 6.3400
Avg (commenters): 7.5000
Avg (participants): 6.3086
Avg (non-participants): 6.3768
Views since voting: 2504
Views during voting: 287
Votes: 150
Comments: 24
Favorites: 10 (view)

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AuthorThread
 12/28/2007 12:24:23 PM
Very beautiful. Seems so very natural!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/28/2007 01:24:45 AM
WOW! That's a GORGEOUS image! I just love the colors!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 11/12/2007 08:50:05 PM
Congrats Jeffrey. Way to go!!! And ya know I love Ursula's inspiration shot too.
WOW!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/28/2007 07:06:26 PM
Very appealing entry.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/23/2007 12:23:05 PM


WONDERFUL FINISH!

Still wishing !!! LOL I only wish I could have voted.

Heartiest congratulations! ~ Vic
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/23/2007 08:23:44 AM
I thought this was quite beautiful Jeffrey, glad to see it was yours. I think those background colors really help make the subject stand out.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2007 01:26:18 PM
Very original idea. The soft pastel colors work in concert with the round shapes. Terrific placement of items. Congrats on the wonderful score.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2007 01:18:40 PM
Nice finish, Jeffrey! And look at those 6 faves! Congratulations!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2007 11:59:39 AM
Delicate and beautiful...a lovely entry!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2007 08:42:22 AM
Jeffrey, you did GOOD ! I love the image and how you achieved it- amazingly clever !
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2007 07:12:48 AM
very cool image Jeffrey! nice finish too, in what I see as prettytough field of contenders!
~Anni
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2007 03:06:40 AM
WOW - the colours are beautiful!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2007 12:26:02 AM
Beautifully delicate, gorgeous dof and colours. Lovely work!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
10/20/2007 04:14:35 PM
Hmmmm --- almost ursular but not quite, HE, HE, HE!!!!! ;-P [no vote]
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/18/2007 04:20:16 PM
I love the delicate feel to this shot. Beautiful bokeh, DOF, and such soft light colors. Very pretty. Back to bump you up to 9. Adding to favorites.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/18/2007 10:31:14 AM
Amazing photo; The lighting works great with the water to reflect the light.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2007 03:52:13 PM
Marvelous shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2007 11:47:03 AM
I think I found my absolute favourite. Name is perfect too.

This is perfection!

If it doesn't win, I don't understand why.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2007 05:47:55 AM
I really like the composition of this photo. It just look so fresh, probably a combination of the dew drops with the pastel colours in the background.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/16/2007 04:30:19 AM
Outstanding. More than just another droplet shot. Whimsical and engrossing, fairy-like.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/15/2007 09:58:45 PM
Nice water drops, and the colors are incredible. Nice work.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/15/2007 05:30:23 PM
Nice colors and the play of light through the droplets. I might have sharpened it a touch more, but I'm not sure if that would really help or hurt it. Only real nitpick is the composition does not lead me to anything in particular. A different crop may have pulled me in better. I think it is the large drop in the lower right quarter that is the culprit, when I cover up the right 1/3, it flows better.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/15/2007 11:08:21 AM
these colors are wonderful!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/15/2007 07:17:04 AM
lovely.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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