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Posted on 01/07/05 09:45:45 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7000 Reply  |
Contest 52: Light my fire
In recognition of the fact that you're all a little weary of architectural subjects, I've done a deal with those fabulous people at PhotoObjects.net, who have generously agreed to let me use low res images from their superb royalty-free collection in these Challenges. If you haven't come across them already, be sure to check them out - it's a fantastic collection of cutout images. So this week, I've combined a couple of pictures from their stock to show this holiday guy trying to get his camp fire started. Can you help him spark it up? And where might he be placed? Try not to use the EyeCandy Fire filter - this one needs to be crafted by hand. High res is here. Get that dry tinder ready!  |
Posted on 01/07/05 10:01:01 AM |
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Dezolat0r
*** Posts: 159 Reply  |
Contest 52: Light my fire
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Posted on 02/07/05 1:50:26 PM |
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mj
Guest Reply |
Re: Contest 52: Light my fire
It took 5 images and lots of time but here is my entry.  _________________ -Never met a PS'er I didn't like- Will Rogers |
Posted on 03/07/05 00:58:05 AM |
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Neal
Master Manipulator Posts: 322 Reply |
Re: Contest 52: Light my fire
How to go from Kum Ba Yah to kaboom in under 2 seconds.  |
Posted on 03/07/05 03:02:48 AM |
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Neal
Master Manipulator Posts: 322 Reply |
Re: Contest 52: Light my fire
Nothing like camping in the great outdoors with your parents and their friends.  |
Posted on 04/07/05 2:58:28 PM |
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Glen
Montage Maestro Posts: 282 Reply  |
Re: Contest 52: Light my fire
Whilst he appreciated that Phil wished to admire his bushcraft skills for a little while longer, Carl somehow knew the vacation was over.... 
_________________ most of the lack of sunshine in our lives is caused by us standing in our own shadow |
Posted on 04/07/05 6:28:47 PM |
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BobbyJo
Image Imaginator Posts: 250 Reply  |
Re: Contest 52: Light my fire
Making fire is hard going but here it is   _________________ BJ - Image Imaginator |
Posted on 04/07/05 11:19:06 PM |
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BobbyJo
Image Imaginator Posts: 250 Reply |
Re: Contest 52: Light my fire
Sorry. A bit of work on it. No more I promise  _________________ BJ - Image Imaginator |
Posted on 06/07/05 08:21:51 AM |
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Atomicfog
Virtual Visualizer Posts: 238 Reply  |
Re: Contest 52: Light my fire
 _________________ -Atomic |
Posted on 08/07/05 03:19:14 AM |
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Paul McFadden
Dream Decryptor Posts: 138 Reply  |
Re: Contest 52: Light my fire
The midnight snacking scuppered Marv's diet..  _________________ |
Posted on 08/07/05 08:41:35 AM |
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Steve Caplin
Administrator Posts: 7000 Reply |
Re: Contest 52: Light my fire
It's been an interesting week, especially in London. A week that started with Live8, went on to a surprise Olympic bid victory, and ended in carnage. And on top of all that, I finally got the CD for the third edition finished. So you'll understand if I've been a little distracted! First out of the starting gate this week was MJ, with a great solution to the problem. A good sense of composition, I really like the way those logs lead us into the picture. But a couple of things would have improved this immensely: first, taking down the saturation on that grass - it's far stronger than anything else in the picture - and, second, adding a little shading beneath the man, the logs and the tents. It's not enough just to assemble the parts, you have to make them gel together! A fabulous couple of entries from Neal. The first assembles more flammable materials than I'd have thought possible - with a great sense of composition and presence. And check out those shadows! The lighting direction is all taken from the shadows on the gas tank, and it's really consistent. The camping shot is great, too - love the woman toasting her toes. Just one thing, Neal: you seem to have set the flames to Screen in both instances. Use Blending Options instead, it gives far better results! A good gag from Glen, with our guy neatly hidden in those trees. Good lighting on him, and I like the subtlety of the size! A great piece of work. It may have taken a couple of attempts, but BobbyJo got there with a really good montage in the end. The shading, the smoke, and especially the singed grass beneath the fire - all expertly accomplished. The flames themselves are perhaps a little too regular, and too close together: go over them all with a fat Smudge brush, and see what happens! And I've been following the discussion you and Maiden have been having on the other forum - great interchange. Decided not to mix in there! Best gag of the week from Atomicfog. And not only that, it's a really accomplished piece of work: the lighting and shadows on here, particularly that light flare on his back and beneath his leg, are spectacular. Love the can in his hand, too! Expert job, top marks. You know how much I love self-referential entries, and Paul McFadden's allusion to last week's contest really tickled me. Once again, there's some great lighting here. And are those flames hand drawn, or do I see the help of EyeCandy in there? Either way, you've made the fire a spectacular focus to a very strong image. For me, though, it would have been perfect if he'd been holding the stick in his other hand, and you'd put this week's man's head on there… |
Posted on 08/07/05 08:58:43 AM |
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Atomicfog
Virtual Visualizer Posts: 238 Reply |
Re: Contest 52: Light my fire
Thank you Steve. The hardest part, by far, was making the plain desert picture I got look like the way I imagined it for the picture I made. http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/6668/desert3cs.jpg _________________ -Atomic |
Posted on 08/07/05 09:12:39 AM |
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Paul McFadden
Dream Decryptor Posts: 138 Reply |
Re: Contest 52: Light my fire
no Eye Candy filter, as you forbade it! I used a Bert Monroy tutorial that was simply:draw the flames, rotate 90 CW, Wind Filter several times, Gaussian Blur, Liquify then Colorize with Hue & Sat _________________ |
Posted on 08/07/05 6:56:00 PM |
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BobbyJo
Image Imaginator Posts: 250 Reply |
Re: Contest 52: Light my fire
That sounds like a good way of doing it.
_________________ BJ - Image Imaginator |
Posted on 10/07/05 00:32:51 AM |
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Erica
* Posts: 5 Reply |
Re: Contest 52: Light my fire
I guess no one will even see this but I just felt like trying it out for myself (no filters)....just pentool, smudge tool, feathering, painting and LOTSA playing.....TOO MUCH playing probably... I just used a layer style for border for the heck of it. If anyone sees this, let me know what ya think....I'm trying to learn photoshopping better but I'm really bad at perspective and everything......I even ruined the image a bit more by compressing it so much.....but I'm learning.   |
Posted on 10/07/05 00:40:14 AM |
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Dezolat0r
*** Posts: 159 Reply |
Re: Contest 52: Light my fire
That's very good, Erica! Especially considering you didn't use any filters. And pretty effective smoke, too. Not bad at all! I'm not sure I'm really at liberty to give critisism to your image considering I didn't even enter this week, but it seems to me as though the man and the firewood itself looks a bit superimposed onto the background scene. Since it's pretty clear you know how to use the Smudge tool, I would suggest perhaps that you try using a layer mask as described on pages 38-39 in HTCIPS 2nd Edition to make the grass overlap the man a little at the bottom. It's a simple technique to learn, but you'd be suprised how well it integrates elements together in a montage. Hope that makes sense. |
Posted on 10/07/05 00:49:46 AM |
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Atomicfog
Virtual Visualizer Posts: 238 Reply |
Re: Contest 52: Light my fire
That looks pretty nice, and the fire looks great. I would redden the fire a bit to fit the hue of the rest of the scene. Also, fire leaves a glow around where it is at, and you have a bunch of darkness all around the fire, where it should be a bright-reddish glow on the grass in the rest of the scene. Also the smoke is a little bit unnatural looking, you may want to spread it out a bit more, and make it a bit more gray. I would aslo add a bit more yellow hue to the man, and some glow of the fire on him to. Good job so far, love seeing more members join up here. _________________ -Atomic |
Posted on 25/07/05 6:27:55 PM |
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Erica
* Posts: 5 Reply |
Re: Contest 52: Light my fire
Thanx for the advice! Yeah I couldnt figure out how to make the other stuff glow & look natural....I did realize it needed that though! hehe I'm learning....slowly.  |