I'm not normally a great fan of still-life photographs, but I quite like how this one turned out. It's shot under natural light in front of a purple chair; and the post-processing involved the addition of a Gaussian blurred copy of the image set to 'overlay' blend mode, a minor curves adjustment, and a very minor change to the hue for the greens and yellows.
captured camera lens aperture shutter speed shooting mode exposure bias metering mode ISO flash image quality RAW converter cropped?
4.28pm on 15/9/05
Canon 20D
EF 50mm f/1.8 II
f/5.0
1/50
aperture priority
+0.0
evaluative
400
no
RAW
C1 Pro
minor distortion
comment byChristopher at 08:50 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
Wow this image it outstanding! The green and purple perfectly compliment each-other. The symmetry really works well here with the cactus. This is already one of my favorites of yours :)
after about a year i'm finally first :)
Keep up the great shots
comment by Monika at 08:57 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
gorgeous! The colors are exquisite!
comment byAdriana at 09:11 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
I am not fan of that kind of cactus either but I love the stones that are used on the container. In this case the combination an contrast of colors turned out pretty well. I also like the square container that is not that usual for me. I usually see rounds. :p
comment byBeth at 09:12 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
I love the composition, but I'm not a big fan of the purple - I don't know, it gives it an 80's feel.
comment byBrian at 09:17 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
Wonderful.. the green draws me in, but I think it's the purple background that really makes it for me. Great job.
comment byKevin at 09:24 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
The cactus looks furry as opposed to spicky.
Great colours.
comment by GP at 09:38 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
I like the colours and especially the background one. Great work as usual! ;-)
comment byRock at 09:50 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
The yellow "crown" is outstanding and the background is even better. I would have liked to have seent he green of the cactus a little less vibrant - it has a kind of mutant look. The stones have a lovely soft feel to them in stark contrast toe the cactus.
comment by markus from aut at 10:18 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
i´m visiting this site for a long time now and got suprised several times but i wanted to wait for my first c o m m e n d till i get blown away by one of your shots!!!!!!
and here it is: wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow
(sorry for my english)
comment by A.R. at 10:26 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
Stunning with the black chromasia skin.
comment by:::ARMOKS::: at 10:36 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
Very nicely done...love the contrast of colors...
comment by Max at 10:44 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
Awesome photo...so much going on that compliments the shot.
Thank you SO much for describing your Photoshop processing technique as well. This is very useful for us beginners. I'd like to try doing some layer blurs on some of my photos to see how they turn out.
comment bySkauce at 10:49 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
Please stop with the gaussian blur............man. please.
Nice colours though.
comment byPatrick Gage at 11:14 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
color is a weapon
comment bycool daddio at 11:30 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
"Damn! "
It just came right out of my mouth as the picture loaded.
I guess it's why I keeping stopping by.
comment by Shane at 11:34 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
I'm looking at buying a 50mm 1.8 and i was wondering is that the lens you use the most often? your pictures with it are amazing and its one of the reasons why i want one
comment by angela at 11:40 PM (GMT) on 15 September, 2005
All the opposites compliment each other beautifully in this image;
form - ovals/squares, texture - smooth/prickly, highlights/shadows and colour contrasts ... you sure have that woW factor happn'n again!
comment by Joe at 12:03 AM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
Hey, I was wondering if the original source images are available for some of your shots? I'm learning photoshop and trying to practice techniques.
comment bylisa at 12:09 AM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
ouuuuuuuuuuu. I love the richness of the colours.
comment by Tubby at 12:10 AM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
Fantastic. It looks like Prince would look (if he were vegetable)
comment byNeil at 12:42 AM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
I love the colours & the cactus, but I'm really not a fan of the Gaussian blur overlay, very occasionally it will work, but I find it quite distracting.
comment by Bryan G at 04:07 AM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
excellent
comment byf.d. rahman at 04:39 AM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
man, I love this shot.. its so cute and perfect.
comment bysari at 06:14 AM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
this is great! wonderful colors
comment byLeo at 07:52 AM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
First of all, according to a friend, purple and green are the international Horny colors. Horny being US slang for randy I believe.
But yes, great colors. The background is intriguing. Composition works well. I like the DOF. But mainly I like the colors.
comment bySteveO at 09:23 AM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
This is great, i love the colours, i like the use of the overlay layer to get the kind of dreamy soft focus effect, very nice.
comment bystefan at 09:46 AM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
That's a bit different to the usual image - gave me quite a surprise. Whilst there's a lot I like about it - it feels a bit over processed. I'd like to see a version without the gaussian blur.
Shane - at £75 anyone who has a canon should buy the 50 1.8. If you're not at the widest aperture the sharpness is stunning and as you can see here it's fantastic for portraits. It's also quite useful at dusk when you can continue shooting without a flash for much longer.
comment byCharlotte at 10:18 AM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
Great photo! I did a composition a bit like this once but with those "living stone" (lithops) cactus once - anyway, this looks great.
comment byIoannis at 10:30 AM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
Excellent colours and I love the softness. Thanks for sharing the technique.
comment byNeil at 11:02 AM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
Outstanding! This is a marvelous image and a very welcome change from recent portraits, which haven't really moved me. This shot is one of your best. I hope you do more in similar vein.
comment bydistilled eye at 12:28 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
Marvelous, marvelous colors & DOF. All my efforts like this one fail to inspire.
comment byRob at 01:28 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
Wonderful! I love the complementary nature of the colours. Another great shot
comment bysanjin at 02:42 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
it is nice, but to me it looks very commercialized shot. it feels like it's shot for a magazine ad.
great site though.
comment by AT at 04:22 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
David,
I've always been a fan of your work but I've noticed lately that some of the pictures you post are pixilated. This one and the one from yesterday are very visible. This of course has nothing to do with your photography skills, which are an example of where I would like to be in a 100 years if I can :-); its the post processing.
Today's picture is pixilated on the left and right side above the purple haze (the right side is more visible). Yesterday's had a black hole right in front of your daughter's mouth.
I'm seeing this on a Powerbook G4 that I spent hours calibrating, to make sure I also viewed the picture on a DELL FPW2005 that is also well calibrated and got the same results.
Cheers,
AT
comment byEd at 05:15 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
Beautifully done. I love the colours. Good choice using the purple chair.
comment byJan at 06:11 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
wow. i opened your page and wanted to stroke it and then saw what it was. ouch!
comment byDavid at 06:50 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
Very, very, very, very beautiful -- truly exquisite. I love it. The rich colors, the selective blur, the composition. This shot brings elegance to a very commonplace piece. I must say, "WOW."
Ciao.
comment bymari at 07:31 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
The colors work wonderfully together. Complimentary colors. Love the details but it doesn't really give me any feeling. Not that you were trying to do that. I think I just don't like the subject matter enclosed in the vase.
comment by*~*flying cow*~* at 08:00 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
~the colours are exotic.
~the composition is fabulous.
~the shot is unique.
lovely~!
comment byMike at 08:37 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
Wow. I have seen so many of those little cactuses in those jars just like you have here. You make it look so fantastic!
comment byjohn [shots] at 09:08 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
Great picture Dave, lovely tones
Yes this image is showing quite severe pixelation on my monitor as well which is also well calibrated.
Having said that it may not be apparent on every monitor.
comment by Vijay at 10:05 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
That's simply breath-taking... the colors complement each other quite well and the processing is just perfect!
comment bydjn1 at 10:45 PM (GMT) on 16 September, 2005
Thanks everyone.
Shane: no, the lens I use most often is the 17-40, but it's a lot more expensive than the 50mm. To be honest though, and if I could afford it, I'd buy several more prime lenses as I much prefer them to zooms - they're just not as convenient.
Joe: I'm afraid that I don't have the time to put one up at the moment.
AT: I can't see the pixelation. Is there any chance you could send me a version of this shot with the areas you mention highlighted in some way?
John, and AT again: I'm puzzled as there's no pixelation – at all – on my screen. I'll ask for some advice on tomorrow's shot.
comment by AT at 01:27 AM (GMT) on 17 September, 2005
David,
I'd like to apologize about my calibration claim. for some reason my Mac was defaulting to the un-calibrated profiles for both monitors. I guess because I was expecting it to be calibrated my eyes didn't complain !! After switching to the correct profiles (on both monitors) the image looks vivid beyond imagination.
John: Check you calibration, you may have been victim to the same problem (if you're using a Mac I guess all the switching gets things confused after a while).
Cheers,
AT
comment bydjn1 at 01:34 AM (GMT) on 17 September, 2005
AT: no worries, glad you got it sorted.
comment bySirio at 12:39 PM (GMT) on 17 September, 2005
i had the same glass from ikea yesterday : )
comment byezrider at 01:23 AM (GMT) on 18 September, 2005
nice !!
comment by Olegário Costa at 12:27 PM (GMT) on 21 September, 2005
Bela foto. As cores complementares relmente ficaram muito bem distribuídas. Só não entendi a necessidade de acrescentar o desfoque gaussiano.
comment by eugenio at 09:54 PM (GMT) on 1 October, 2005
Sorry, may be for low res and Jpeg detail, but I love 'hard' still-life and this pic doesn't seem (to me) to be the same level of other posted by you, especially concerning people and... 'landscapes'?. May be for the huge use of post production in developing this specific image. I saw today others from you (I was about a month late!) and they are great as usual. Sorry for this post about the cactus. Is the pot from IKEA?
comment by3 at 11:00 PM (GMT) on 22 November, 2005
Hi there
I have been given the task of getting links for our websites that have good page rank on the links directories.
In addition we have many categories so your site will be place on an appropriate page.
If you would like to trade links please send me your website linking details.
Our apologies if you do not wish to take part in a link exchange.
Best Regards,
Mariana Snider
mariana_snider@o2.pl
comment by3 at 10:06 AM (GMT) on 23 November, 2005
Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to you in order to inform you about the fact that I have sites with good Google page rank and I am seeking for other sites to exchange links with.
If you find this offer useful, send me your website details.
If, on the contrary, it does not draw your attention, excuse me for wasting your time.
I'm not normally a great fan of still-life photographs, but I quite like how this one turned out. It's shot under natural light in front of a purple chair; and the post-processing involved the addition of a Gaussian blurred copy of the image set to 'overlay' blend mode, a minor curves adjustment, and a very minor change to the hue for the greens and yellows.
camera
lens
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
cropped?
Canon 20D
EF 50mm f/1.8 II
f/5.0
1/50
aperture priority
+0.0
evaluative
400
no
RAW
C1 Pro
minor distortion
Wow this image it outstanding! The green and purple perfectly compliment each-other. The symmetry really works well here with the cactus. This is already one of my favorites of yours :)
after about a year i'm finally first :)
Keep up the great shots
gorgeous! The colors are exquisite!
I am not fan of that kind of cactus either but I love the stones that are used on the container. In this case the combination an contrast of colors turned out pretty well. I also like the square container that is not that usual for me. I usually see rounds. :p
I love the composition, but I'm not a big fan of the purple - I don't know, it gives it an 80's feel.
Wonderful.. the green draws me in, but I think it's the purple background that really makes it for me. Great job.
The cactus looks furry as opposed to spicky.
Great colours.
I like the colours and especially the background one. Great work as usual! ;-)
The yellow "crown" is outstanding and the background is even better. I would have liked to have seent he green of the cactus a little less vibrant - it has a kind of mutant look. The stones have a lovely soft feel to them in stark contrast toe the cactus.
i´m visiting this site for a long time now and got suprised several times but i wanted to wait for my first c o m m e n d till i get blown away by one of your shots!!!!!!
and here it is: wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow
(sorry for my english)
Stunning with the black chromasia skin.
Very nicely done...love the contrast of colors...
Awesome photo...so much going on that compliments the shot.
Thank you SO much for describing your Photoshop processing technique as well. This is very useful for us beginners. I'd like to try doing some layer blurs on some of my photos to see how they turn out.
Please stop with the gaussian blur............man. please.
Nice colours though.
color is a weapon
"Damn! "
It just came right out of my mouth as the picture loaded.
I guess it's why I keeping stopping by.
I'm looking at buying a 50mm 1.8 and i was wondering is that the lens you use the most often? your pictures with it are amazing and its one of the reasons why i want one
All the opposites compliment each other beautifully in this image;
form - ovals/squares, texture - smooth/prickly, highlights/shadows and colour contrasts ... you sure have that woW factor happn'n again!
Hey, I was wondering if the original source images are available for some of your shots? I'm learning photoshop and trying to practice techniques.
ouuuuuuuuuuu. I love the richness of the colours.
Fantastic. It looks like Prince would look (if he were vegetable)
I love the colours & the cactus, but I'm really not a fan of the Gaussian blur overlay, very occasionally it will work, but I find it quite distracting.
excellent
man, I love this shot.. its so cute and perfect.
this is great! wonderful colors
First of all, according to a friend, purple and green are the international Horny colors. Horny being US slang for randy I believe.
But yes, great colors. The background is intriguing. Composition works well. I like the DOF. But mainly I like the colors.
This is great, i love the colours, i like the use of the overlay layer to get the kind of dreamy soft focus effect, very nice.
That's a bit different to the usual image - gave me quite a surprise. Whilst there's a lot I like about it - it feels a bit over processed. I'd like to see a version without the gaussian blur.
Shane - at £75 anyone who has a canon should buy the 50 1.8. If you're not at the widest aperture the sharpness is stunning and as you can see here it's fantastic for portraits. It's also quite useful at dusk when you can continue shooting without a flash for much longer.
Great photo! I did a composition a bit like this once but with those "living stone" (lithops) cactus once - anyway, this looks great.
Excellent colours and I love the softness. Thanks for sharing the technique.
Outstanding! This is a marvelous image and a very welcome change from recent portraits, which haven't really moved me. This shot is one of your best. I hope you do more in similar vein.
Marvelous, marvelous colors & DOF. All my efforts like this one fail to inspire.
Wonderful! I love the complementary nature of the colours. Another great shot
it is nice, but to me it looks very commercialized shot. it feels like it's shot for a magazine ad.
great site though.
David,
I've always been a fan of your work but I've noticed lately that some of the pictures you post are pixilated. This one and the one from yesterday are very visible. This of course has nothing to do with your photography skills, which are an example of where I would like to be in a 100 years if I can :-); its the post processing.
Today's picture is pixilated on the left and right side above the purple haze (the right side is more visible). Yesterday's had a black hole right in front of your daughter's mouth.
I'm seeing this on a Powerbook G4 that I spent hours calibrating, to make sure I also viewed the picture on a DELL FPW2005 that is also well calibrated and got the same results.
Cheers,
AT
Beautifully done. I love the colours. Good choice using the purple chair.
wow. i opened your page and wanted to stroke it and then saw what it was. ouch!
Very, very, very, very beautiful -- truly exquisite. I love it. The rich colors, the selective blur, the composition. This shot brings elegance to a very commonplace piece. I must say, "WOW."
Ciao.
The colors work wonderfully together. Complimentary colors. Love the details but it doesn't really give me any feeling. Not that you were trying to do that. I think I just don't like the subject matter enclosed in the vase.
~the colours are exotic.
~the composition is fabulous.
~the shot is unique.
lovely~!
Wow. I have seen so many of those little cactuses in those jars just like you have here. You make it look so fantastic!
Great picture Dave, lovely tones
Yes this image is showing quite severe pixelation on my monitor as well which is also well calibrated.
Having said that it may not be apparent on every monitor.
That's simply breath-taking... the colors complement each other quite well and the processing is just perfect!
Thanks everyone.
Shane: no, the lens I use most often is the 17-40, but it's a lot more expensive than the 50mm. To be honest though, and if I could afford it, I'd buy several more prime lenses as I much prefer them to zooms - they're just not as convenient.
Joe: I'm afraid that I don't have the time to put one up at the moment.
AT: I can't see the pixelation. Is there any chance you could send me a version of this shot with the areas you mention highlighted in some way?
John, and AT again: I'm puzzled as there's no pixelation – at all – on my screen. I'll ask for some advice on tomorrow's shot.
David,
I'd like to apologize about my calibration claim. for some reason my Mac was defaulting to the un-calibrated profiles for both monitors. I guess because I was expecting it to be calibrated my eyes didn't complain !! After switching to the correct profiles (on both monitors) the image looks vivid beyond imagination.
John: Check you calibration, you may have been victim to the same problem (if you're using a Mac I guess all the switching gets things confused after a while).
Cheers,
AT
AT: no worries, glad you got it sorted.
i had the same glass from ikea yesterday : )
nice !!
Bela foto. As cores complementares relmente ficaram muito bem distribuídas. Só não entendi a necessidade de acrescentar o desfoque gaussiano.
Sorry, may be for low res and Jpeg detail, but I love 'hard' still-life and this pic doesn't seem (to me) to be the same level of other posted by you, especially concerning people and... 'landscapes'?. May be for the huge use of post production in developing this specific image. I saw today others from you (I was about a month late!) and they are great as usual. Sorry for this post about the cactus. Is the pot from IKEA?
Hi there
I have been given the task of getting links for our websites that have good page rank on the links directories.
In addition we have many categories so your site will be place on an appropriate page.
If you would like to trade links please send me your website linking details.
Our apologies if you do not wish to take part in a link exchange.
Best Regards,
Mariana Snider
mariana_snider@o2.pl
Dear Colleagues,
I am writing to you in order to inform you about the fact that I have sites with good Google page rank and I am seeking for other sites to exchange links with.
If you find this offer useful, send me your website details.
If, on the contrary, it does not draw your attention, excuse me for wasting your time.
Best Regards,
Soffi Smith
soffi_22@o2.pl