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Miniature Station - With Lights!
Miniature Station - With Lights!
levyj413


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: I Bought It On eBay (Advanced Editing V)
Collection: People
Camera: Nikon D200
Lens: Tamron SP AF 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) for Nikon
Location: Arlington, VA
Date: Dec 16, 2007
Aperture: 4.8
ISO: 400
Shutter: 1/20s
Galleries: Travel, Transportation
Date Uploaded: Dec 16, 2007

 Okay, it's really National Airport in Washington, DC. I've been looking for a challenge to try this "fake miniature" look. I'm not sure I succeeded, but it's been fun playing with it.

Basically, you take a normal shot and blur in editing to make it look like much shallower DOF. Here it is as I shot it, and you can see that it just looks like a normal image, not something you could buy on eBay.


I intended to use this effect specifically to turn a normal-sized scene into a miniature for this challenge. What I didn't consider when I shot this was that it's not an infinite horizon across the frame. With a landscape shot, for instance, you can just blur everything above and below some horizontal lines. But with the wall on the right, I had to think more carefully about which parts would be clear vs. blurry. I probably should've left the bit in the upper left blurred out, but to be true to what natural DOF looked like, I kept it clear.

Statistics
Place: 19 out of 87
Avg (all users): 6.1728
Avg (commenters): 6.5714
Avg (participants): 5.6250
Avg (non-participants): 6.3525
Views since voting: 1594
Views during voting: 366
Votes: 162
Comments: 27
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
 12/29/2007 08:13:07 PM
Hello from the Critique Club!

My first impression upon looking at this image was a great one! The colors and the lights really stand out and all of the architectural lines really draw the eye through the entire scene. I also loved the miniaturized look of the shot. After reading your photographer's notes, here are my thoughts.

Upon first glance, the effect used for this shot is well done. The viewer certainly almost instantly thinks of a miniature scene, so kudos on that! After looking for a few more minutes, I started to notice some of the difficulties you commented on as well. All in all, I don't think that they really hurt the shot, but the walls on either side are certainly an obstacle when using this effect. In particular, there is a section in the upper left hand corner that should perhaps be more blurred...it tends to draw my eye away from the central part of the scene. However, the unblurred section on the right doesn't bother me...in fact, I feel like it gives me a nice anchor and compliments the walking figures.

It's a great shot and I think that the top 20 finish here certainly reflects that! I think you've really got the hang of this technique!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/24/2007 10:20:11 AM
Oooh, what a cool photo, Jeffrey! I think this would look great in the Perspective challenge too! Awesome job and not a bad finish either!

  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/24/2007 10:05:35 AM
Jeffrey, congrats on the top 20! You never shared this in our team thread, and it's a good thing. I voted this as my pick for the blue. I thought you used the effect very well here.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/24/2007 04:23:52 AM
Congrats on the top 20!

If you get a tilt shift lens, you can get the effect in camera. You also pay like $1100, but it gets you that miniature look.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/24/2007 01:44:01 AM
It's a very pretty photo, but I really don't see the smallness. I read your notes and understand what you did, but still can't see the optical illusion of a miniature.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
12/23/2007 07:24:51 PM
I like the shot. A little more depth of field would be only only suggestion I would make.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/23/2007 03:57:44 PM
Im confused as to why some parts are blurred, some are cleared, etc. I think the tree is gorgeous though
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/22/2007 10:59:46 PM
Sweet faux tilt-shift!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/22/2007 09:00:38 PM
This is neat, 7.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/22/2007 03:54:33 PM
Is this Reagen in DC??

It's a solid shot, but I don't see the necessity of the selective focus, and I think it detracts from the photo. Great sharpness where it is sharp though.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/20/2007 11:04:35 PM
I need to learn how to make pictures look like this. Awesome job. Love the tree. Good luck!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/20/2007 11:08:30 AM
The depth-of-field makes it look amazingly 3D - a great effect!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/20/2007 08:31:59 AM
Whoa! This is cool! Love the use of shallow DOF.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/20/2007 08:20:17 AM
Ooh, I absolutely love it!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/19/2007 03:40:31 PM
I like your dof. it's right on the people. cool miniature
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/19/2007 08:47:47 AM
Very nice picture!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/19/2007 08:43:55 AM
Fascinatingly narrow focal plane you've got here. I don't think I could do that. Anyway, interesting idea.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/18/2007 03:08:50 PM
I love this effect. works well here.. however, seems a little shoehorned in.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/18/2007 12:13:57 PM
That is just awsome! Would have loved the roof and more to be in focus. unless that was ur intent?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/18/2007 11:27:51 AM
Miniature? Almost had me fooled. Very detailed.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/18/2007 07:14:20 AM
Very nice work on the miniaturization!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/17/2007 08:34:32 PM
That looks real! Great capture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/17/2007 02:26:50 PM
great bokeh7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/17/2007 09:45:03 AM
In all honesty a really nice try...a really clever attempt but I think you just fell short in that it doesn't totally convey the new miniature scale - it almost does and I can really see what you're trying to do but I think the Xmas tree maybe gives away the scale (or perhaps something else, I'm not sure what it is exactly). It also looks very photoshopped with unsubtle/unnatural DoF changes all over the place. I know it's intentional to convey a new scale but it needs to be more subtle and more uniform imho. Nice try though.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/17/2007 09:22:06 AM
How neat.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/17/2007 09:00:32 AM
Massive DOF going on - its almost too much though. The upper floor on the left hand side is a bit distracting as it is in focus but distracts the eye away from the three people and the tree which is the main area of interest. Perhaps would have been more effective to crop out the left hand side altogther leaving you with a more portrait aspect ratio to complement the the high ceiling and the feeling of the people being small - even in a miniature station.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 12/17/2007 05:12:12 AM
The edited blurring for the shallow DOF doesn't work for me. It's also a longshot squeeze to get this photo into the challenge topic with the title.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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