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Doug Cruden | all galleries >> Forum Challenges >> January 10 - Monochrome > 2nd - "Buddha Da"
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01-JAN-2010 (c) Doug Cruden

2nd - "Buddha Da"

Cheltenham, Glos

(A wonderfully warm and funny book by Anne Donovan)

Not that I'm religious, but I do like my Buddhist and Hindi statuary! To me though, Ganesh isn't quite so photogenic as this wonderful little Buddha in Bhumisparsha Mudrā

Another simple shot today, and quite similar to yesterday. Once we'd cleared dinner off the table (a very tasty biryani with naan, raita and chutney) and done the washing-up, I set up the shot with the off-camera flash placed above and to the left and set to -2EV stops. A few tests with varying aperture/shutter speeds were taken until I was satisfied with the balance between the ambient light from the candles and the flash. When I was happy, I opened the file into CS3. I made a Selection of the statue and opened that into a separate layer, and used Levels to bring a bit more light into the shadows. For the background, I used a Levels Adjustment Layer to increase the contrast a bit (didn't need too much, just a smidgeon) and Curves again to tweak the Red and Green channels to get the colour in the background. I then added a Diffuse Glow to make the candles warm and, umm...glowy! Back to the statue layer, and a bit of Dodging on the (few) highlights to give them a bit of definition and make them stand out. Finally, flattened and resized for the web! Easy-squeezy :o)

Saturday's spiritually-enlightening entry to the Challenge; click here for other monochromed Pbasers in January

Nikon D300 ,Nikkor 28mm f/2.8D AF
1/10s f/3.5 at 28.0mm iso200 off-camera SB600 Speedlight full exif

other sizes: small medium large original auto
Guest 03-Jan-2010 23:06
Great lighting, it really adds to the mood! Dinner sounds delicious too :)
Carl and Racine Erland03-Jan-2010 06:10
Beautiful image and great lighting...thanks for blow by blow of the CS3 techniques.
Ed McConnell03-Jan-2010 05:03
very nicely done Doug..
Sheila03-Jan-2010 05:00
Warm and cool at the same time! Love the candles.
It sounds like a lot of work in PS.
Kerry Tingley03-Jan-2010 04:56
Beautiful lighting Doug.
Available Light Images03-Jan-2010 00:53
Again, beautifully lit and for a set up, very natural.
Jeff Lobaugh03-Jan-2010 00:37
Wonderful composition!!
Barbara Heide03-Jan-2010 00:21
excellent set -up! very good choice of lighting!
Stewart Mitchell03-Jan-2010 00:10
Super atmosphere, I especially like the cool blue of the backdrop :)
Cindi Smith03-Jan-2010 00:02
Too cool for school! Very well done. I see a lot of folks came on board this month...;)
You rock!
Walter Otto Koenig02-Jan-2010 23:11
Very serene image with a wonderful atmosphere. I especially like the lighting in the face. Very nice work Doug.
Michael Shpuntov02-Jan-2010 22:53
Very nice with this background lighting.
Mairéad02-Jan-2010 21:48
Great work - you make it sound so easy.
carol j. phipps02-Jan-2010 20:41
That is a lean Buddah!
J. Scott Coile02-Jan-2010 18:38
Quite well done. Than you for sharing the details.

So many in this month. I can't ever seem to catch up to the last post or page.
Johnny JAG02-Jan-2010 17:31
Superb lighting
Kevin Chester02-Jan-2010 17:04
The Zen warrior. I'm feeling calm just looking at him
Ronald Bijtenhoorn02-Jan-2010 15:44
Like the lighting; great mood
borisalex02-Jan-2010 15:31
So Zen like.. and paeceful. The Art of photography!
Fay Stout02-Jan-2010 15:10
WOW! You have way more time and energy to produce a photo than I have and it has worked beautifully...
Guest 02-Jan-2010 14:36
... and he's smiling....it's gonna be a good year.
Phillip Normanton02-Jan-2010 13:59
Tealighttastic - very meditational and the glowy candles are fab :o)
Robbie D7002-Jan-2010 13:50
Well done Doug, this is interesting and unusual.
I like the lighting, the toning and the composition.
Some inspiring work has gone on here.
A great idea that has really worked out superbly.
Cheers Rob.
Nancy Good02-Jan-2010 13:11
Gorgeous, Doug ... thank you, too, for the lessons in lighting and PS! Wishing you the peace that emanates from this very beautiful scene.
Yvonne02-Jan-2010 11:54
Just enough light to highlight the Buddha... so good!
Bernard Davis02-Jan-2010 11:29
Like the whole approach of this shot. Obviously got a lot of time to think these things through, and very successful too.
Kathryn02-Jan-2010 11:23
Beautifully lit shot, love it.
Guest 02-Jan-2010 11:20
Love the lighting here ...
Guest 02-Jan-2010 10:20
Wow, love this dog, the lightening and control of the light is great, interesting read as well.
Ann...02-Jan-2010 09:31
Excellent lighting and detail.
Stephanie02-Jan-2010 09:23
A lot of work went into this peaceful image Nicely done Doug! :^)
Matylda Lempel-Chareza Photography02-Jan-2010 09:22
well done !
Maaike Huizer02-Jan-2010 09:17
Difficult to keep details in the dark statue. You did very well. The mood fits the subject!
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