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Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> Challenge 9: Complementary Colors (Hosted by Roberta Fair) >> Complementary Colors: Eligible Gallery > 6th Place (tie)
Colourful Shapes
by Olaf.dk
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15-FEB-2004 Olaf.dk

6th Place (tie)
Colourful Shapes
by Olaf.dk

Inspired by the work of Roberta, Angela and myself, I took this simple shot of some shaped
toy-blocks (you know the kind that will fit only the similarly shaped holes).

The Inspiration from Roberta, was from her trademark excellent selective cropping/framing.

The exclusive use of natural light, was my inspiration from Angela.

Finally, when taking my "Portrait of a Frog"-shot, I really liked that it was so simple, using
what I had at hand, both subject, background and lighting. Finding subjects for my
photography in my two-year-old son's toys is a big and pleasant surprise to me!


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Guest 25-Feb-2004 23:01
Olaf,

I think you're right about the background. I hadn't thought of that. -- Victor
Olaf.dk 25-Feb-2004 21:01
Thanks Rob! I took about twenty shots before this one, in my attempt at getting the composition just right. Fine-tuning from shot to shot, the relative position of the two blocks, the shooting angle, the lighting angle etc. When I saw this one on the camera display, I knew this was the one! When shooting, I intentionally left a little extra in the frame, leaving some room for the precise cropping/framing in post (the viewfinder doesn't show the whole frame anyway, so precise framing isn't really possible with the viewfinder).

Victor, I saw your votes in the voting thread at dpr. Thank you so much for the maximum score of five points - as well as for the comments that came with your vote! Regarding dark and light colors and your comparison to Vikas' "My color wheel"-shot, I think the reason why they both work, is because my background is black while Vikas' is white. In Vikas' shot the dark colors stand out more due to the higher contrast with the white background, in this shot it is the light color that contrasts the most with the background and the rest of the frame.
--
Olaf
Canon DSLR Challenge25-Feb-2004 02:37
I think it's interesting that a comment on the colored pencils was that the dark colors were cropped tightly to keep the image balanced. In this picture, we see essentially the reverse. Yet they both work very well. -- Victor
Canon DSLR Challenge23-Feb-2004 01:22
I've looked at this images about 5 times now and can't think of anything to say except I've looked at this images 5 times now! There is something going on that appeals to me, but I don't know what it is? Suffice to say it's very compelling

rob mc
Olaf.dk 21-Feb-2004 22:23
Thanks everyone!!! - I was pleased with the result of this one myself. Earl, to get the black background I used some black heavy paper, on top of which I put the blocks and then let the paper curve up behind them as a backdrop. It wasn't totally black as shot, but only a minor adjustment, using curves, brought it down to what you see here. --Olaf
Earl Waud 19-Feb-2004 01:50
Another very creative photo. I'm loving the results of this challenge. It's fun to see which colors people are selecting. This is another excellent entry. I like the crop and the shapes. How did you get the background to drop off to black? It's cool. E-
Guest 16-Feb-2004 19:02
Stunning. Great colors, light, shadows, and composition! This one has it all and still keeps the eyes begging for one more look. Fabulous! -- angela :)
Dale 16-Feb-2004 07:41
Olaf,

Plain and simple. But so much to look at. Good shot.

Dale
Canon DSLR Challenge16-Feb-2004 02:50
Olaf,
Great shot! The simplicity really adds to it. The complementary colored forms show up well against the dark background ....lots of goodies in the toy box!! The negative space takes on its own shape. Excellent balance. Roberta
Olaf.dk 15-Feb-2004 20:24
Thanks Vikas, for the encouragement! You must have seen this the instant after it was uploaded - when I saw it in page view for the first time myself, your comment was already there. Wow, what a surprise! --Olaf
Canon DSLR Challenge15-Feb-2004 19:30
Nice complementary colours and composition.... Vikas