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Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> Challenge 4: Shadows - (Hosted by Nicholas J) >> Challenge 4: Eligible > Egg and Friend
*by Ann Chaikin
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16-NOV-2003 Ann Chaikin

Egg and Friend
*by Ann Chaikin

My dining room table

Canon EOS 10D ,Canon EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM
1/160s f/4.5 at 50.0mm iso100 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time16-Nov-2003 13:39:57
MakeCanon
ModelEOS 10D
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length50 mm
Exposure Time1/160 sec
Aperturef/4.5
ISO Equivalent100
Exposure Bias
White Balance (-1)
Metering Modeaverage (1)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programshutter priority (2)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Canon DSLR Challenge20-Nov-2003 06:32
One more change. It was still too dark on my PC, so... I selected all but the egg and ball and used levels to lighten the table a bit more. It's better than it was now on my home PC. Ann
Canon DSLR Challenge19-Nov-2003 06:41
Thanks for the ideas folks. I brightened this up using levels. Now it is a bit overbright on my mac but looks okay on my home PC. We'll see about work. This is turning out to be an interesting exercise. Thanks for all the feedback. Ann
Canon DSLR Challenge18-Nov-2003 01:10
Regarding monitors: if you can afford to get a monitor calibration device (e.g., EyeOne), it's well worth it. The other issue is that the traditional Mac gamma/whitepoint of 1.8/5000° is historical; there is no reason why you cannot calibrate to the traditional "Win" gamma/whitepoint of 2.2/6500° - if you calibrate your Mac so, then you'll see the image the same as a calibrated Windows monitor. Optionally, you could use a program like ImageReady (?) to see if you can tread the gap between gammas/white points, and fine a tonal range that works with both Macs and PCs. -Ed Hahn
Olaf.dk 17-Nov-2003 23:52
Hey, you are so right about different monitors!!! I should have thought about that. When commenting on this one, I was using my computer at home (Mac + 21" Mac Colorsync CRT-display). I am sure it looks a lot different at my work computer (Mac + Sony G520 CRT display). My monitor at home seems to be more contrasty than the one at work and the shadows are darker. Most of the time, I prefer the look of my photos on my home monitor as it also seems to be more colorful.

I don't know if this is your problem, but as you are comparing PC's to a Mac and find the shadows darker on the PC's, it could be because the default gamma on a PC is higher (2 or 2.2, I think) than on a Mac (1.8). Using Adobe Gamma should somewhat alleviate this problem though, I would think.

I guess the only way to be somewhat confident about the correctness of the way your monitor displays your images, is to have one of those monitor calibrators. My War-of-the-Roses-(opus I)-shot in the previous challenge (thanks for your vote on that one, by the way) really opened my eyes to the need for a calibrating device - looked really blah at work compared to home. --Olaf
Canon DSLR Challenge17-Nov-2003 22:21
Thanks for the comments Olaf. It is so interesting what difference a monitor makes. At home on my Apple the table shows up just fine and sets off the egg and the glass paperweight perfectly. On one of my work computers (this one) I can see the shadow but it is quite dark. On the other I can't even see the shadow. So the question becomes - how do you create an image that works on a variety of monitors? I wouldn't want the photo any lighter on my Mac but I would on my two work PCs. Have to think about this one.

As for the light source, it is natural light coming in my diningroom window to the right of this photo. The room has windows on three sides and is a great place to take photos because of the abundant light. Ann
Olaf.dk 17-Nov-2003 18:38
Well composed, nicely lit! (I tend to like sidelighting like this). The dark wood tabletop is attractive, but conceals the shadows a bit too much maybe? What did you use to lighten the shadow side of the objects? I can see there was something there (most obviously on the egg). Could this light source have made the table top slightly lighter as well? Probably could be "fixed" in photoshop - if you agree that is. --Olaf
Canon DSLR Challenge17-Nov-2003 14:19
Unusual abstract, Ann. I see the egg has been
cast in the shadow of the sphere and, I like
the composition as well. Mark J