This is the sewer pipe in my basement. I was trying to think of something light on white while I was on the treadmill. I noticed the cool textures of the cement walls, then I noticed the pipe and the shadow on the wall. I tried a few different lenses and liked this perspective best.
Post processing was harder than I thought. I had to play around a lot with exposure, curves and color balance due to subtleties in exposure and color.
Post Processing:
Camera Raw - exposure, white balance, sharpen, clarity, brightness, blacks
CS4 - sharpen, exposure, curves, dodge/burn, tried B&W but preferred to have some subtle colors, added border, resize, sharpen again, save for web
I'm sure there will be some great portraits in this challenge that will be way better than this ugly pipe, but this was my best shot this week.
Statistics
Place: 106 out of 178 Avg (all users): 5.2030 Avg (commenters): 6.6667 Avg (participants): 5.0484 Avg (non-participants): 5.3380 Views since voting: 662 Views during voting: 219 Votes: 133 Comments: 5 Favorites: 0
This is the kind of thing I like to shoot, too - I find it interesting to see what ordinarily ignored and unloved subjects look like if we give them a bit of care - you've done a very good job with this. From your notes, I see that you tried different lenses, different processing - all indicators that you not only got a good shot out of the deal (I do like it) but you learned a bit along the way, and picked up things you can learn when you shoot other things in the future.
As for score, we have some terribly pendantic voters sometimes who might not think your background was "white" enough because of the shadow, and some who may not appreciate the beauty and interest of a simple pipe and its shadow.
I particularly like how the shadow almost looks as though it could be of a person. Excellent exposure, detail, and processing. Keep up the good work, and keep looking for interesting things in the ordinary!
If there wasn't such a strong shadow in the background I think this would do better in this challenge. I think that well-lit subjects are going to do better, and that shadow definitely makes the background feel un-white.
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