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Sony Forums Challenges | all galleries >> Challenge 108: Look Up, Look Down (hosted by Roberta Fair & Helen Betts) >> Challenge 108: Eligible > edit image
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20-DEC-2005 Denise

5th Place
Up,Down,Round and Round*
by Denise

We had a break in the rain and I saw this web from my window. Outside I went, sat in the mud and took this photo looking up ;-)) Feedback please, so that I can make adjustments on PSE3. Thanks!

Sony DSC-H1
1/40s f/3.7 at 72.0mm iso100 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time20-Dec-2005 10:11:28
MakeSony
ModelDSC-H1
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length72 mm
Exposure Time1/40 sec
Aperturef/3.7
ISO Equivalent100
Exposure Bias
White Balance (-1)
Metering Modecenter weighted (2)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programmanual (1)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium original auto
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LizzieB 31-Dec-2005 17:43
Wow! This is exquisite!! You have come a long way girl, and I am proud of you!!
Denise28-Dec-2005 20:20
Fremiet, no forgiving necessary just many thanks for taking the time to look at this image and then give me more ideas!! I am truly thrilled with every suggestion and attempt to try out what has been suggested. Please, keep the info flowing, it is a gift to all of us who are looking to learn more about our craft. Thanks again, Denise
Sony Forums Challenges28-Dec-2005 14:24
Denise: Forgive me for pitching in too....but here goes. Bottles and Mike have said pretty much all, except that if you wanted to make the top right orange a bit less striking, at the same time you did a blur, or instead of the blur, with the orange selected, you could go to image/hue saturation and desaturate it a tad to bring it a bit more in line with the others which are a less intense orange. That being said you have every reason to be proud of this piece just as it is. Fremiet
bottles 27-Dec-2005 21:40
Denise,
Yeah the best way to learn anything is by practicing, that's for sure. Just for the fun of it, I downloaded a trial version of Elements and tried the web thing again. For some reason, I was not able to flip one layer horizontally, without flipping all of them???? Guess I'd better stick to CS. This challenge is so much fun and so helpful. I can usually hold my own in Photoshop but I'm trying to improve my photography skills (not easy for a 72 year old goat) :)
Denise27-Dec-2005 21:01
MFC and Bottles, you are just wonderful to take the time to explain and suggest all these PP methods and ideas to me. This is way more than I had ever hoped for. To me the more I learn the happier I am and I can't think of a better way to learn that by folks who really are interested. I truly cannot thank you enough. That said ;-)) I tried blurring the orange and leaf, please let me know how I did. Bought a Photoshop CS Bible even though I have PSE3. There is way more info and I have almost all the tools. No channels or curves.

Bottles, I will actually attempt to do what you did with the image. I love it. You are amazing and it may take me a while, so I will post my efforts in the STF if I get it close to right. As it stands because this Challenge is almost over, I am leaving the original version because I do quite like it.

Link to Blur Version in Demo Galleryhttp://www.pbase.com/image/54041020
Sony Forums Challenges27-Dec-2005 19:55
Denise, I really like the orange there too...it looks great as it is...no change needed! The oranges make a super background for your web. (*)I was just trying to think of a way to very "slightly" lessen the visual impact of that corner to give even more attention to your lovely web. I thought blurring it a tiny bit might do the trick best. You would select the orange/leaf with a lasso tool to make an outline around it. Then, in the filter section (PS7), you would select "blur", then "gaussian". The slider that comes up is then placed all the way to the left & slowly moved toward the right until it's just the way you personally like to see it. That's it. Since you had an (*), I just wanted to offer a personal impression. Bottles, you do things that I can only imagine doing in post...you have some wonderful processing skills/knowledge :) MFC
bottles 27-Dec-2005 18:49
Denise, I personally like the orange in the upper right corner. As Mike said, it looks fine the way it is. If you would like to experiment with a change however, maybe you could add a little more web to cover the orange. I gave it a quick try and posted the result in the Demo folder. For the web over the orange, I copied some from the left side and flipped it horizontally. I then selected the white web (magic wand - tolerance 26), inversed the selection, and deleted all except the web. Had to use free transform a little to shape it up after moving it into place. The web below the orange was just cloned in. Turned out to be a fun experiment :) By the way, thanks so much for your help with my images looking lighter in the challenge!
A link to the Demo folder -http://www.pbase.com/stfchallenge/challenge_108_demo

bottles


http://www.pbase.com/stfchallenge/image/54036602
Denise27-Dec-2005 18:33
MFC, I tried cropping and like it better without the crop. Blurring the orange and leaf sound like a good idea but I have no clue as to how ;-)) If you would give me suggestions, I will attempt to make the changes. Thanks for your input. Denise
Sony Forums Challenges27-Dec-2005 05:08
Denise, the oranges make a colorful and interesting background for this wonderful web...nice how you captured the pattern here all bejeweled with water droplets. (*) Maybe try to blur the leaf/orange on the right just a tad more or crop a little off the right side instead. It's lovely just the way it is too. Nice shot...and a good effort to get it! :) MFC
mexiwolf 25-Dec-2005 21:49
very nice, looks good to me
Denise23-Dec-2005 19:59
Thank you, thank you. This was my very first attempt at shooting a web. Truly tricky making sure I focused on the web and not the oranges. Thanks again for your comments, they are greatly appreciated. Denise
Katherine Stanback's Photos23-Dec-2005 16:57
Beautiful image - I love the clarity of the droplets on the web, the DOF, and the colors of the orange tree in the background!
Ann Chaikin22-Dec-2005 20:04
Wow. I just love the oranges behind this web. Ann C
Helen Betts21-Dec-2005 23:50
Excellent shot, Denise -- great color, perspective, DOF and composition. You have really gotten into these challenges,!:-). Helen
Helen 21-Dec-2005 13:54
Absolutely beautiful. I have a thing with spider webs and capturing them. Excellent job - great on the orange background.
Guest 21-Dec-2005 05:24
Oh Denise this is nice! I really like the way the web is in perfect focus and the background is slightly blurred. The oranges give just enough color to make the whole thing beautiful. Very nice indeed, it was worth the muddy seat - hee, hee.
roberta21-Dec-2005 00:53
Denise,
Really lovely background colors that enhance your macro shot of the wet web. The droplets are beautiful!