POTM [09/08] BlueCAT

[Smilodon]

Edit:

Here is the final one:




---------------Original Post-------------------
Here is my POTM contribution this month:



This one is pretty straight-forward. Glowing pug with a overhead dimmed halogen light (to add a bit of warmth to the picture).


I also had to add a it of magic to get that blue glow (The transition between magic blue light, and magic blue smoke is pretty fragile, you know).



These two was going to be my original submission undet the title "blue headed snake", but the pictures didn't turn out good in a web format. (not enough detail to make it interesting) Figured I'd share them anyway.






All pictures taken with EOS 30D + EF 100 F/2.8 Macro


C&C welcome as always

Hope you like it.


edit: Yeah, and the name have nothing to do with any company with the same name. It's impossible to find a title with "blue" and some element from the IT industry that isn't already taken...

[OleJ]

The 3rd one is the best of the bunch IMO. Though you think it lacks in web-safe sRGB it still works rather well. And I think it's the one with the best composition.

[Smilodon]

I wasn't talking about colors, I was talking about the size. The smaller size meant less details, especially in the actual connector. However, i now figured out how to increase the size when using Flickr as a host, so I may change it after all. I just can't make up my mind...

[OleJ]

Originally Posted by Smilodon

I wasn't talking about colors, I was talking about the size. The smaller size meant less details, especially in the actual connector. However, i now figured out how to increase the size when using Flickr as a host, so I may change it after all. I just can't make up my mind...

I actually meant to write "lacks detail in web-safe sRGB".
You might consider rotating it 90 degrees though...

And to me it actually looks like there is more detail in the 3rd shot than in the 1st due to the low dof in the 1st.

[ssR]

i like the 3rd the most, but imo the cable itself is somewhat distracting

[Smilodon]

Thanks for the feedback. Now that i know how it looks on web I'll probably tweak it a bit more.

I have some shots that are a bit deeper DOF IIRC. That could probably work a bit better.

Ideally I will get the subject that I was originally thinking of submitting, but that remains to be seen. (That will be another thread...)

[OleJ]

Originally Posted by ssR

i like the 3rd the most, but imo the cable itself is somewhat distracting

? Quite contrary imo. The cable builds the composition... You could perhaps adjust the white balance towards the cable being a more neutral gray if it's possible without making the LED look a weird color? Or PS your way out of it (It looks a bit too reddish and yellow on my calibrated monitor).
This is really nitpicking though I think

[Smilodon]

Ok, so I ended up redoing the whole thing...

After some hours of sleep I ended up with this:



A bit deeper DOF, and desaturated the cable (I had to admit that it was too orange in the end...). I kept the magenta/purple glow in the back of the plug to keep the picture being all blue. I also toned down the blue slightly to make it more pleasant to look at.

I also added some space to the right of the cable to give it a bit more room.


This is the one I will be submitting.

[akpoly]

I like it better than your first couple of tries. One suggestion, use the red channel to gray out the cable. Those red lights at the cable end just don't feel right for some reason. Maybe its just me.

[OleJ]

I definitely prefer the last one to the rest- Good job. There's just something to the composition. Too much negative space which makes it capsize to the left. In a composition like that I would make sure to have a snippet of the subject into the right half of the frame to help balance it out.

I had a little fun in PS to try and explain some of my thoughts:


This was with the first composition in mind though.

Oh.. just noticed you wrote "this is the final one"
Anyways I hope the above is worth something to you

[ssR]

i like your last submission. agreed with what akpoly said and regarding to my previous comment i meant the cable color not the cable itself. with the cable being more subtle now in terms of colors, it drags less attention on its own while gently leading the eye towards the lit plug. imo you should leave the red lights as it is, it gives a nice touch