Still life - retake - and chat

Challenge #11 in the Photo chat series. Hosted by AndrePooh, barb_s.

Challenge has finished

This is a complex challenge, please read the instructions and the and the comments first.*** Enter one photo of a still life with objects of your choice, which you can rearrange and reproduce later. Also enter a -dummy- photo as shown in the example below as a second picture. Then make comments about the compositions and arrangements and pp of the other photo's in this challenge. Eventually you can take and enter the second picture of your rearrangement of the same objects, by withdrawing the dummy photo.

Show full rules

Announced:

Sunday, 12th February, 2012 (GMT)

Submissions:

Sunday, 19th February, 2012 – Saturday, 25th February, 2012 (GMT)

Voting:

Sunday, 26th February, 2012 – Saturday, 3rd March, 2012 (GMT)

Processing rules:

Post processing is as cosmetics, use a little and it enhances the end result artistically. Use too much and the result is blatantly artificial, which is frawned upon in this challenge. So HDR and standard basic post processing is okay, as long as it is not overwhelmingly noticable.
No composites, we want honest pictures

Capture date rules:

No restrictions.

Additional rules:

•ENTRANTS MUST HAVE >25 POST/COMMENTS!
•Each entrant must, on their honor, write a helpful Comment/Critique for the other 19 entries during the entry pase. It should be describing what they like and/or dislike about the photo, and what they may have done differently,
After receiving comments you can enter a second improved version of your first picture after withdrawing the dummy
Include "second version" in the title.
DO NOT WITHDRAW THE FIRST PHOTO THOUGH. we should be able to compare them.
To allow proper evalutation and balance loading times, the longest side of the submitted picture should be between 1000 and 1600 pixels
The number of participants is limited to 20. It will be announced in the comments when the challenge is full. Expect DQ if you enter after that.
Comply with the standard DPR decency rules.
Failure to comply with these rules may result in DQ.

Maximum number of entries per user:

Maximum number of entries in challenge:

submission
phase has

ended

22 entries

voting
phase has

ended

346 votes

Slideshow 10 / 24 Full size Next Challenge Previous

Yellow Pepers

by CG33

10^th place

2.672

low

high

Camera:	Canon EOS 550D (EOS Rebel T2i / EOS Kiss X4)
Lens:
Submitted:	Friday, 24th February, 2012 02:54 (GMT)
Taken:	Thursday, 23rd February, 2012
Focal length:	60 mm
Shutter speed:	1/8 sec
Aperture:	F11
ISO:	100
Notes:
Views:	112
Galleries:	View this photo in CG33's gallery

Provide complaint details

Your complaint (along with the complaints of others regarding this entry) will be reviewed by the challenge owner. Depending upon the nature and applicability of the complaint, the entry may be disqualified. In extreme circumstances the user who submitted the entry may receive a ban from the challenge or series in question.

Reason:

	Violates rules of the challenge
	Spam / Commercial
	Trolling / Abusive
	Sexual content / Not family friendly
	Other

Comments:

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Entry comments

Total comments: 9

Too many shadows in the background.

0 upvotes

You are right. The background is too strong, and the color of the peppers is not that punchy. I tried other arrangements and did not get a better (more pleasant) composition. I will keep this photo and will do the corrections (selective sharpening, etc.) on it.

0 upvotes

Not bad at all - and no doubt about it being a still life.
I would have preferred 3 different colored peppers (but that would not match your title anymore ;-) )
The blue silk, mostly the highlights on it, stand out more than the peppers.
Next to the pure blue, the color of the peppers is a greenish yellow - especially the top one. I'd love them more pure yellow, and the green parts more pure green - That could all easily be addressed in post.
Selective sharpen on the peppers, and selective blur on the cloth would further help making the peppers stand out more.
The shadow on the right is a bit dark - something to bounce light on the right would have helped there.

1 upvote

Very well executed picture and composition, I like it. The choose of the colours is also great.
I would add more contrast to it. The blue seems for me somewhat overaturated. Nevertheless a very beautiful background.

Comment edited 21 seconds after posting

1 upvote

This seems to me to be a rather gentle Still Life, and I'd like to see it with a bit more Zing. The peppers need to stand out more from the background, rather than being overwhelmed by it. I like their arrangement, but I'd like to see more sharpness, saturation and brightness.

1 upvote

I guess ( ? ) you may have blurred the whole photo? Try selective sharpening of the peppers and soften the blue highlights, if possible. Still a good traditional "still life" and great for this challenge.

1 upvote

A traditional still life - there's a lot about it I like. Possibly the background is a bit too strong: it tends to lead my eye away from the main subject. Also, the peppers don't seem as sharp as they could be.

1 upvote

Thanks Patty,
I would like to point out that the pictures and comments in the "challenges" of DPR have motivated me to learn this art. Two years ago I knew too little about exposure, composition, etc. (I still do not know much), I did not have a decent camera or lens, but now I am really interested in photography and can perceive the difference between my old pictures and the new ones.
Thank you guys.
In reference to the Yellow Peppers, I tried my best to take a good picture. I used a gray card to get accurate colors, an extra fluorescent light fixture, and a white reflector. No Photoshop yet. To me the picture looks ok, but it is still too static and maybe too vivid.
I will take another one with the peppers arranged in a more random way and will increase the contrast.
Please let me know what do you think.

0 upvotes

This is simply lovely. An "old-world" type still life, with the angle of using strong complimentary color. You know....there isnt a single thing I could suggest to improve this one! -composition is good. shading and highlights are spot-on, and the color saturation seems just right to me. Really wonderful right out of the gate! -Congratulations!

0 upvotes

Total comments: 9

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