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Canon DSLR Challenge | all galleries >> Canon SLR Challenges - FAQ >> CSLR - Best of... >> Best of 2005 > 1st Place
Floating Rays of Heaven
by Michael Soo
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29-JAN-2005 Michael Soo

1st Place
Floating Rays of Heaven
by Michael Soo

Pigeon Point Light House

I really wished my SLR has the functionality of the old Nikon Coolpix swivel lens that I owned when I took this shot. The SLR was practically touching the dirt + pool of water when I shot this. It's an incredibly tough shot to make when the camera is so close to the ground. Even an Angle Finder C won't help too much here.

The "floating rays of light" is a big bonus that I didn't quite expect to turn out so nice.

Canon EOS 20D ,Sigma 12-24mm f/4.5-5.6 EX DG ASP HSM
1/500s f/10.0 at 12.0mm iso100 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time29-Jan-2005 16:12:45
MakeCanon
ModelCanon EOS 20D
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length12 mm
Exposure Time1/500 sec
Aperturef/10
ISO Equivalent100
Exposure Bias
White Balance (-1)
Metering Modeaverage (1)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programprogram (1)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium original auto
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ctfchallenge07-Feb-2005 02:27
Ahhh, just lovely. Works well in BW or color IMO. Maybe I do like the color one better... maybe. No matter, I just like the shot. MUCH better straightened! Would you consider a tad of sharpening? And I do mean just a tad. ~ Lonnit
Canon DSLR Challenge04-Feb-2005 08:44
I got rid of the tilt...it's a pain to get rid off though. I tried panotools but at 12mm, it's a mega pain distortion on architectures. :-( I had to resort to the perspective tool, distort and liquify...

- MS
Guest 02-Feb-2005 14:02
All kinds of interesting elements here: reflections, cloud patterns, converging lines... nice job. I'm put off a little by the off-kilter composition, it seems like something should be a plumb vertical reference (or more off-kilter, I suppose).
Canon DSLR Challenge31-Jan-2005 10:47
Disregard my request for more contrast - looks good now! My CRT hadn't stabilized yet when I wrote my first comment. --Olaf.dk
Canon DSLR Challenge31-Jan-2005 10:44
Gayle, I hope you know I was jerking you in jest? IMO, sometimes color distracts from what's important in an image - those are the times I convert to black and white - not because I think it is more 'artistic'. Typically, it is photos of people, but also sometimes when the lighting is one of the key features of a photo. Usually not in landscape shots, but even landscape shots can look good in black and white - like this one did - probably because it fell under that 'lighting as a key feature' category. I like this one in color as well, but would like just a little bit more of it, now that it is there. --Olaf.dk
Canon DSLR Challenge31-Jan-2005 09:07
Aaaah, yes, I like this one much better! All of a sudden the reflections have come to life and there is detail in the foliage.
My opinion does count.....it's true I dislike mono...but not all of it. It's just that most of them aren't very good and most of them don't benefit from mono treatment. Contrary to popular belief, converting an image to black and white does not make it more "artistic"...it just disguises the bits you didn't get right in the first place ;-)
Gayle
Canon DSLR Challenge31-Jan-2005 08:03
I liked the contrast and tonalities a lot in the black and white version. This one seems a bit "flat" in comparison. Maybe adjusting the contrast and saturation on this colored version slightly, would make it 'pop' more like the black and white version did? Gayle's opinion on b/w vs. color does not count (sorry Gayle). Gayle HATES mono - says so herself... --Olaf.dk
Canon DSLR Challenge31-Jan-2005 06:28
This is a wonderful image. I like photos that find parallel lines that converge like this one does. (I have several photos with rail road tracks in them). I like the way your photo finds the lines by using the reflection. -Earl Waud
Guest 31-Jan-2005 06:19
Ok, due to popular demands, I've changed it to the colored version. :)
- MS
Canon DSLR Challenge31-Jan-2005 04:05
This is beautiful but I'd rather see a colour version. I can't imagine that sky looking anything but wonderful in colour.
Gayle
cindyd31-Jan-2005 03:41
Beautiful - Have it in color too? Cindy
ctfchallenge31-Jan-2005 02:23
Ahhh, now this is nice. Please get rid of the tilt though. ;) ~ Lonnit