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Let Earl Grey put a "zing" in your day
Let Earl Grey put a "zing" in your day
IreneM


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Advertisement III (Basic Editing)
Camera: Nikon D2X
Lens: Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8D
Location: My kitchen
Date: Feb 4, 2008
Aperture: f16
ISO: 100
Shutter: 1/125 s
Galleries: Water, Food and Drink
Date Uploaded: Feb 5, 2008

 n/a

Post Challenge:
First of all, a huge THANKS for the votes and comments.

I didn’t have a clue what to do for this challenge. I thought there would be a lot of beer ads so I went for my own favourite drink. Tea.
Bought a glass cup and saucer and some Earl Grey teabags (I figured Earl Grey was known in most countries).
First problem. The tea didn’t look good in the photo. The colour was off so I ended up using orange food colouring with a touch of coffee to get the right tea colour.
Next problem: Tea, on it’s own, in a cup, looks pretty boring. What about a droplet? I figured a crown droplet would suit the “zing” in the title best.
The biggest problem was the lighting. I spent one evening practising the lighting on the cup, ended up with one flash taped to the top of my cooker and the other sort of behind and to the back of the set-up.
Next evening set everything up again to get the splash I wanted. I decided to risk it and tilt the shot to give it a more dynamic look. Spent ages cropping, discarding, cropping differently, tilting more, tilting less… arggghhh, didn’t notice that I had missed cleaning up the very tiny drops of water in the saucer trying to get the splash (Oliver eyewave remarked on the “dirt” but it’s actually water). I couldn’t remove them because of basic editing and no way was I setting everything up again.
There were a couple of comments that I should have placed a teabag in the image. That was my original intention but I couldn’t get the lighting right on the cup AND the teabag, so the teabag had to go.

Statistics
Place: 4 out of 157
Avg (all users): 6.8727
Avg (commenters): 7.7742
Avg (participants): 6.5758
Avg (non-participants): 6.9701
Views since voting: 6393
Views during voting: 443
Votes: 267
Comments: 44
Favorites: 10 (view)

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AuthorThread
 02/18/2008 12:12:36 AM
This is so my kinda shot. I love tea too. So refreshing. Love the tone and lighting. Congrats on the HM :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/14/2008 03:16:09 PM
You just keep getting it right, absolutally outstanding from an advertizing POV,the clarity in the water is amazing.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/13/2008 01:48:11 PM
Best 5th place shot I've seen here!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/13/2008 12:28:26 PM
Congrats on a great finish and shot. The lighting is just perfect and the hard work you put into this really paid off. Congrats again and keep up the great work!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/13/2008 10:34:42 AM
Perfect, Irene! I love how you always make these kinds of shots fresh and unique. This is really awesome.

  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/13/2008 06:50:59 AM
Congrats on your 5th place. Excellent shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/13/2008 05:20:37 AM
brilliant shot. It isnt my kind of photography, but u are really inspiring me to give it a try. Great how you managed such a clean photo in basic. Congrats!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/13/2008 04:27:02 AM
I used to drink Earl Gray before switching to green- I can't sleep anymore. And this is just some picture. I love how the splash is so defined and still so far away. Decision to crop right edge is a good call, helps make the splash stand out more and remain main focus.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/13/2008 02:58:04 AM
Of course that was yours, Irene, congrats on your 5th, well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/13/2008 02:53:47 AM
another great finish, Irene! Congrats on the 5th and this very good work!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/13/2008 01:19:48 AM
no matter what I do or what I see I'll never be as good as thee.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
02/12/2008 11:07:25 PM
Well done. An impressive shot. 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/12/2008 08:54:44 PM
Very nicely done from a technical perspective. great colors and clarity and interesting composition. As an ad, I feel like there should be a tea bag or something to identify the brand.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/12/2008 06:02:08 PM
Typically I'm pretty tired of "drop/splash" photos, but the fact you pulled back and filled the frame with the clear cup and saucer somehow breathes new life into the concept. I can imagine this photo in a tea ad. You could probably have cloned out the specks in the lower-left and stayed within the editing rules. Overall, very well done!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/12/2008 06:15:07 AM
Colour, clarity, composition... all excellent.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/12/2008 12:17:11 AM
very sharp, modern way to go. I like the choice of cup for this. the colors work well together. Excellent dof. 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/11/2008 12:09:57 PM
The water droplet makes a good focal point and adds texture to your photograph
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/11/2008 09:36:58 AM
I really like the action shot and the angle of this photo but the spash is a little blurry. I also like the complementary colors.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/11/2008 02:54:40 AM
very appealing, makes me thirsty for earl grey tea
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/10/2008 04:48:32 AM
No DPC challenge goes without splash.
Technically well executed but boring.
 02/10/2008 02:14:36 AM
Nice photo. Great color and lighting. Great timing
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/09/2008 08:53:25 AM
classy & zingy...fun image! makes tea almost exciting :)
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/08/2008 07:18:24 PM
OH no! Another "Splash shot". As tired as I am getting of them, this was really well done and very appropriate to the challenge.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/08/2008 06:34:24 PM
Because this is an advertisement challenge, I would have liked to see a brand name teabag or something. It's a great shot, I just think it's not as an effective advertisement as it could be with a product in the shot.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/08/2008 10:08:30 AM
you have a nice camera and good ideas for using it. nice picture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/08/2008 09:44:17 AM
Rushing to the kitchen to make myself a cup... OK, I'm back. It works!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/07/2008 08:34:21 PM
Beautiful eye candy. Crystal clear with a lovely palette. The shot of the glass and saucer alone would be lovely but the nigh-on perfect droplet makes this an insanely good shot for me. Nice job.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/07/2008 08:22:56 PM
Nice way to include a technique in your ad. I'm certain to what your selling but perhaps if you included the tea bag you'd have a more complete package.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/07/2008 08:17:32 PM
wonderfully clear and sharp.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/07/2008 06:42:10 AM
Well lit, sharp, inviting.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/07/2008 03:45:36 AM
A 9 from me...,......
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/06/2008 09:54:43 PM
Great capture. Love the angle.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/06/2008 07:27:03 PM
i have to admit that i am bored with these "splash" shots. but i like this one because of your fresh approach with the use of transparent cup with translucent liquid. tilt with diagonal composition helps too. nice job!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/06/2008 05:00:23 PM
Very nice shot. Should finish top 10, and hopefully top 5. I hate earl grey and I want some now =(
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/06/2008 03:14:11 PM
Great sharp picture, I want one!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/06/2008 01:32:12 PM
Great capture, i can see this on a menu in a high class restaurant
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/06/2008 10:15:37 AM
nice photo but doesnt fit title.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/06/2008 10:06:31 AM
I really like how you did the water splash. nice.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/06/2008 09:43:13 AM
great motion shot..nice composition too.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/06/2008 09:36:39 AM
Absolutely beautiful shot. However, I dont think I like the splash in a hot tea beverage. Just my thoughts!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/06/2008 09:02:12 AM
WoW present here, even when i think a bit more of the cup would be even great this image is a Top 10 for me. Voting 10 because your angle, drop, and perfect management of light to avoid those bad reflections we all know.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/06/2008 04:29:47 AM
nice clean shot (well, except for the dirt in lower left corner). good colors. good lighting. like the tilt.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/06/2008 02:56:23 AM
Wonderful shot, outstanding lighting and colours. And ...... the perfect drop!!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 02/06/2008 01:17:10 AM
Great
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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