Still Life - candle

[MCB]

It was rainy so I thought I'd try something indoors. I like it, but would like to hear any comments or suggestions you might have for improving it.

The first version hasn't been sharpened. The second one has a bit of a curves adjustment to make it lighter, but keep the black, and has a bit of smart sharpen applied.

thanks

[Sean-Mcr]

Very festive for the summer:)

Prefer the second one, looks good to me;)

[Sabina]

Wow, beautiful. I prefer the second one. I'm going to try this.

[Spirit]

Ditto on #2. The only thing I would change is to use a shorter candle (to illuminate the fruit a bit more), but the picture as is is really nice.

Good job. :)

[MCB]

Ditto on #2. The only thing I would change is to use a shorter candle (to illuminate the fruit a bit more), but the picture as is is really nice.

Good job. :)

Thanks, guys. :)

I like number two a bit better as well. And I did buy a few other candles and have been playing with some related ideas. But it's sunny again, so those will have to wait a while. :)

[Reigh Higgins]

Very nice !

[Rigrider]

#2 for me as well, but would also agree that you need just a little bit more ambiant light for the fruit.

L8r,

[Big_B]

#2 for me as well, but would also agree that you need just a little bit more ambiant light for the fruit.

L8r,

Yeah, I was going to say that.

[MCB]

#2 for me as well, but would also agree that you need just a little bit more ambiant light for the fruit.

L8r,

The point was really to have this lone candle with no other light. If I have a lot of ambient light, that really takes away from what I wanted. I lose all of the negative space if I fill it with leaves and apples.

A shorter candle with light that's hitting the fruit a bit more directly could be nice, in moderation. But direct light would cause harsh shadows, and I was looking for something softer. And I want shadows more than I want to see every detail of the surface of the subjects. At leat that was the point with this particular picture. :)

That picture is heavily photoshopped. It uses 3 of about 10 different exposures I have of that scene. (as if you couldn't guess it's a merged image) So it would be trivial to unmask some light on the fruit to bring out as much detail as I like in the shadows. I just like my little candle sitting in the dark. :)

Thanks for all of the comments. They give me a lot to think about.

[Spirit]

Wait... Is it just my monitor (I replied from work, but am now viewing from home), or is picture #2 brighter? Did you edit?

It looks PERFECT from here. Weird.

[MCB]

Wait... Is it just my monitor (I replied from work, but am now viewing from home), or is picture #2 brighter? Did you edit?

It looks PERFECT from here. Weird.

Thanks! I haven't changed them since the original post. But #2 is the same as #1 except for a touch of sharpening and a little curves adjustment.

I was editing things on my wife's laptop until I realized how drastically different the gamma settings were (well, the settings were the same, things just looked totally different). It was like night and day between her monitor and mine. Very frustrating. :cry:

[xryx]

Very interesting idea. I love the second one. On the monitor here (not my calibrated home monitor) I like how the fruit just has enough light falling on it to warm it up. It seems as if the fruit is actually moving closer to the candle like you would a campfire after nightfall. I think you're onto a great idea with quite a few possibilities. I'm looking forward to seeing some more images.