Vote for May Photo Contest - silhouette

[jak]

Thank you to everyone who participated in the monthly assignment.

And we have our winners:

1st - Hippy Vindalou - 300 points
2nd - asdjkl - 200 points
3rd - ttpuk - 100 points

Well done!

You have the opportunity to choose the winner for the May photo contest. The theme is "silhouette".


Entry 1 - Sunset in Del Mar - PsychoNavigator
http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/thumbnails/47/entry_01.jpg (http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/media/47/entry_01.jpg)

Entry 2 - Sky Trees and Tar - besieger
http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/thumbnails/47/entry_02.jpg (http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/media/47/entry_02.jpg)

Entry 3 - Out of the Darkness into the Light - Hippy Vindalou
http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/thumbnails/47/entry_03.jpg (http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/media/47/entry_03.jpg)

Entry 4 - Let there be LIGHT! - ttpuk
http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/thumbnails/47/entry_04.jpg (http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/media/47/entry_04.jpg)

[jak]

Entry 5 - Shadow's on the Dock - Roddez
http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/thumbnails/47/entry_05.jpg (http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/media/47/entry_05.jpg)

Entry 6 - Bassin - amj
http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/thumbnails/47/entry_06.jpg (http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/media/47/entry_06.jpg)

Entry 7 - Divine Intervention - Galdab
http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/thumbnails/47/entry_07.jpg (http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/media/47/entry_07.jpg)

Entry 8 - Power - criminy
http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/thumbnails/47/entry_08.jpg (http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/media/47/entry_08.jpg)

[jak]

Entry 9 - Antenna - Tk-421
http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/thumbnails/47/entry_09.jpg (http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/media/47/entry_09.jpg)

Entry 10 - Pump House - asdjkl
http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/thumbnails/47/entry_10.jpg (http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/media/47/entry_10.jpg)

Entry 11 - Film School - dozer
http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/thumbnails/47/entry_11.jpg (http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/media/47/entry_11.jpg)

Entry 12 - GOATboy - Thyraeus
http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/thumbnails/47/entry_12.jpg (http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/media/47/entry_12.jpg)

Entry 13 - Dark Earth - DOGG
http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/thumbnails/47/entry_13.jpg (http://gallery.zgeek.com/data/media/47/entry_13.jpg)

[Thyraeus]

Wow...there are some good entries this month....

[amj]

jesus, mine sucks!

[lostreality]

that divine intervention one is hella cool.

[asdfjkl]

I like 'Out of the Darkness into the Light'

[muga]

Some good shots in here :)
I didnt get around to entering this months.. sorry, mabey next months

Out of the Darkness into the Light got mine though - such a simple concept that looks good.

[Lord_Phat]

I like 'Out of the Darkness into the Light'

rkn, though it kinda flaunts the definition of silhouette :fag:

[berserk]

Still no multiple voting?
Anyway, Divine Intervention get my vote although Sunset in Del Mar, Let there be LIGHT, Antenna Pump House, GOATboy are all vote worthy. Contact me for rep.

[jak]

Nah no multiple voting (yet) - was going to try it out on next months theme to see how it went.

[Hippy Vindalou]

Holy fuck theres some outstanding ones this month.

[ttpuk]

isnt entry 3 a model from quake 4? or maybe unreal 3 / 2007

[HAL]

I picked 'Pump House' simply because it looks good and I'm an old mezza slut from way back.

[dozer]

entry 3 looks shopped to me, id be interested to hear the background.

[jak]

entry 3 looks shopped to me, id be interested to hear the background.


Shopped. Maybe levels?

[jak]

The person responsible for the photo titled "Out of the Darkness into the Light" as contacted me and explained how they took that photo. In addition, they have provided 3 other similiar photos demonstrating the experimentation required to get the one you see.

Basically, a bright white triple led light (bike light) was used to get the effect you see (after 20 or so shots). The only photoshopping done was to resize it to the nominated size of 1024 on its longest side.

So its definitely a legit photo and not photoshopped!

(No, its not my photo - I have not submitted) :)

So, hope this clears up any confusion.

[dozer]

i wasnt doubting its authenticity, only an opinion, sorry for suggestin rule breakage. i wouldnt mind seeing some leeway with photoshop effects.

kudos to the owner, its a well exposed shot.

i voted for pumphouse, i think someone is cheating with velvia again ;)

mine shot was a bit of an afterthought, im suprised it got any votes.

this month im going to try with my new holga and lomo.

[jak]

The reason why photoshop is limited is to try and keep the skill in the camera not on the computer. In the case above, the person who took the photo just wanted to make sure we were clear that it was legit etc.

Yes, velvia does produce the *nicest* colours huh? :)

Holga/lomo huh. "Can you say light leak?". I would be *extremely* keen to see some of your images!

[Hippy Vindalou]

I dont understand why Antenna hasnt had a vote yet. I really like it and wouldnt mind a bigger version for my desktop. Very simple and with an almost alien sense of atmosphere.

[Hippy Vindalou]

So whats this 'velvia' thing then? Sounds like girls bits. and whats a holga and lomo?
I bought a polarising lens last month, makes a bit of difference to my shots, glad I got.

[dozer]

velvia is nice slide film, its also very unforgiving and easy to mess up your exposures.

the lomo is a cult russian compact that now enjoys cult status since it has stopped being made. shots with the lomo have very rich colour, you can even get a lomo effect for photoshop like the velvia one i posted last month.

checkout
http://www.lomography.com/

the holga is a basic chinese plastic camera, known for light leaks but adds to the effect. its also the cheapest medium format camera around. im going to seal mine up though and make the usual modifications to the shutter etc, theres plenty of sites to modify your holga. the lomography site also sells the holga.

[jak]

Velvia is a type of Fuji film (http://www.fujifilm.com/JSP/fuji/epartners/proPhotoProductVelvia.jsp). It produces *great* colour (that personally I think still cant be matched by digital) and is very popular amongst the pros. My girlfriend uses it almost exclusively (she is a pro) as does her boss (http://www.andrijich.com.au/), who used a a mix of velvia 50/100F and provia 100F/400F for her latest book (released on Wed night - http://www.progalleries.com.au/francesandrijichphotography/).

Now if only I could take photos like that!

:)

[Hippy Vindalou]

Wow your Mrs takes a great photo. We're as good as fucked if she decides to enter a Zgeek photocomp.

Dozer could you post the link to the velvia photoshop effect again please. Also is the lomo effect on the site you linked just then? I am going through it now, they are pretty interesting cameras.

[dozer]

what does your gf normally shoot jak?

id love to get out of IT and become pro. i normally do portraiture for models/actors portfolios and some freelance stuff but its not enough to pay the bills.

[dozer]

lomo plugin
http://fotofects.com/v2/downloads/Page_89.html

velvia plugin
http://www.fixit-4u.net/mrk/root/photos/velvia.atn/Velvia.atn

[jak]

Wow your Mrs takes a great photo. We're as good as fucked if she decides to enter a Zgeek photocomp.

Dozer could you post the link to the velvia photoshop effect again please. Also is the lomo effect on the site you linked just then? I am going through it now, they are pretty interesting cameras.

No that link was my girfriends boss. My girfriends assists for her and shoots mainly weddings for herself on the weekends.

But she (g/f) does keep threatening to join and submit a photo to "teach me a lesson" (as she likes to say). :)

[Hippy Vindalou]

Cool, sign her up. It could only do the rest of the amatuers like me some good to learn some tricks from the pros.

[jak]

what does your gf normally shoot jak?

id love to get out of IT and become pro. i normally do portraiture for models/actors portfolios and some freelance stuff but its not enough to pay the bills.

weddings/product shoots etc. Enough to keep her going - but predominantly weddings - she is good at it, but what a pressure job! I would hate it (she asked me to help once - no way).

I am the same (re. in IT and would love to be a pro). But I'm not good enough (of course) and I am way to addicted to my salary - no artist wages for me :)

My dream job is to be an official Formula 1 photographer :)

(as an aside they were both (g/f and her boss) on the ABC (stateline I think), for the book, just now as I type - coincidence hey).

[DOGG]

Out of the Darkness into the Light & Pump House were my 2 favourites. Pump house got the vote. i'm surprised my entry received any votes at all.

[asdfjkl]

Yeah, curse those velvia cheats !

Though that said, since it is a hard film to use, perhaps they should be rewarded greater for producing the results on it ??

:-)

Wedding photography certainly is about the pressure. Most chicks turn phsyco leading up to their wedding.

[PsychoNavigator]

Hunh. Some ppl musta slipped and and accidentally clicked the wrong one... mine! Hey thanks!!! (You clumsies!) :ha:

[Sinwah]

#3 is very cool and looks like its got it in the bag :P

[Deimos]

I voted for antenna and was surprised to find that I was the only one who had. I also find it hard to believe that it isn't 'shopped. I just love the incredibly stark contrast - if the background were slightly more neon it could be an iPod ad. I really want a larger version for a desktop wallpaper, except that it is the wrong shape for my monitor. Perhaps I'll have to buy a widescreen monitor...

[Hippy Vindalou]

I just love the incredibly stark contrast I really want a larger version for a desktop wallpaper, except that it is the wrong shape for my monitor. Perhaps I'll have to buy a widescreen monitor...
Same here, I wish I had voted for it. I'm glad someone finally did. It pretty much is the text book definition of a silhouette.

[berserk]

Yeah, curse those velvia cheats
There's a Magnum photojournalist called Alex Mijoli (http://www.robgalbraith.com/bins/multi_page.asp?cid=7-6468-7844) who takes top quality photos using Olympus C-4040 & the like consumer digital cameras. http://forums.zgeek.com/gallery/data/media/1/majoli_01.jpg
http://forums.zgeek.com/gallery/data/media/1/majoli_02.jpg

[Arcane1]

The theme was such that I couldn't seem to get anything that worked. Regards to those that did all those awesome entries.

[tikdoph]

LOL... why would someone photochop a Spawn figurine?

The picture in question was taken with a Sony DSC F828 digital camera at 7:32pm on the 23rd of May.

It's all there in the image ;)

[dozer]

i can read exif info ;)

[johny_roberts]

Here is my vote: Entry 13 - Dark Earth

[DOGG]

OK, the poll's closed now. You're a good man, Johny Roberts, as Dark Earth is mine. And i'll give a little explanation of it now.

After a 2:50 minute walk along the river from a friend's house to my own, I found my way into a former open-pit mine which is very close to my house. This is the only area of the place which isn't fenced off as you wouldn't expect people to wander around there. I went into the mine, down to the lake at the bottom, snapped pics as i was making my way around the place. Then i went on top of a cliff and snapped some more, at which point a security guy came in his car and told me to stay away from the cliffs. I was done anyhow and requested him to open the gate near the security office as this would save me about 2Ks of walking around the place. He said OK but he wouldn't drive me in the car. So i had to walk. About half way to the office, i grabbed my camera and snapped a quick pic without looking into the LCD screen to see what it looked like. When i got home i saw that the ground was a silhouette and thought that if i couldn't come up with any other silhouette ideas, i'd submit that.

[Thyraeus]

GOATboy was my entry...taken in Crete early last month...I took an almost identical shot of the same goat in colour....but decided that the B&W looked best....I especially liked the "whispy" effect of the hair. BUT there was some great shots this month. Thank to the 9 who voted for me....let me know who you are for a a kiss of Rep. T

[TK-421]

This is mine before cropping (i had to resize to get the file size down). It was taken with my dad's canon EOS 300D from my balcony looking west in the afternoon. It was a particularly clear afternoon, I was having a siesta and was rudely woken up, so I thought I might aswell make the most of it.
My samsung v3 just didnt have the power to get the shot I wanted. Using the 2x zoom converter on the canon I could get zoomed right in.
It was mainly entered to bump up the numbers and anyway, someone had to come last.

This is the other shot I was thinking about entering, it is the closest beach to my house.

[amj]

bassin' is mine. Funnily enough it is me on stage, playing bass. Shock horror! :aah:

[Hippy Vindalou]

It looks even better with the antenna in the middle, just got to get rid of the powerlines and she'll be sweet.

[Hippy Vindalou]

I took my photo on the filing cabinet next to the computer. I figured there would be a lot of sunset or against the sun type photos and wanted to do something different.

I wasnt very happy with the lighting on the ones with Diablo (I used candles) they didnt give a very crisp outline to the silhouette. I used the light off my mountain bike for the rest. It has a very concentrated beam and very bright white leds. I ended up pointing it down on him as much as from behind cause it was hard to get a good all over outline.
I was pretty surprised he rated as well as he did, he had stiff competition and little colour. I really like the contrast between the background and the bright light reflecting off him though and it has been my wallpaper since I took it.

Thanks to all that voted for me! You all rock and I will rep you if you let me know who you are:D
If you want a full size copy let me know.

[ttpuk]

WOW 3RD!
mine was taken in york and its part of the emperor constantines hand.
it was taken with my kodak 2MP digital camera and shopped a little to make the sky bluer.
thanks to all those who voted for me.

[dozer]

omg shopped! disqualified!












jk, nice shots for the winners, mine was taken on film set, not a very good shot in my opinion, was a bit of an afterthought.

[asdfjkl]

There were really some quality entries this month for what was seeming to possibly be a dud theme!

A few people guessed which shot was mine, for those who didn't it was 'Pump House' taken at the ocean baths. A familiar setting for those around Newcastle and those who voted for my march photo, 'Spalsh'. I didn't go with the intention of getting this shot, or a shot for this comp at all, but while walking to my planned location i walked past this scene and couldn't let it go by unsnaped. As a result i got this photo, but missed the other one i wanted.

It was taken early (a little too early for my liking) one morning using FujiChrome Velvia 100 slide film which is great for colour saturation.

Thanks to everyone who voted!

[Thyraeus]

bassin' is mine. Funnily enough it is me on stage, playing bass. Shock horror! :aah:

Self Portrait?

[Thyraeus]

WOW 3RD!
mine was taken in york and its part of the emperor constantines hand.
it was taken with my kodak 2MP digital camera and shopped a little to make the sky bluer.
thanks to all those who voted for me.

Shopped?....