1st Place Impending Chaos by elips by Canon DSLR Challenge

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Impending Chaos
by elips


2/3/06	elips

Canon EOS 350D ,Canon EF-S 17-85mm f/4-5.6 IS
0.80s f/13.0 at 17.0mm iso100 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto

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Guest		02-Mar-2006 10:14
This is a fake and I'll tell you why. #1, a billiards ball falling would be blurred at a shutter speed of of .8 seconds, duh, and #2 look at the points of light in the reflections on the white chips, the shadow of the ball should be in multiple locations not just one distinctly defined area and you would think that light would reflect off the ball itself yet there is no reflection. Good photoshopping, not much more.

Canon DSLR Challenge		08-Feb-2006 04:14
It appears white may have a slight edge at this stage but I can't tell without seeing the whole board. In any case it doesn't matter with what's about to happen. Nice work. A traditional board is made of plain wood however this colour seems to heighten the drama. I have to say that without the barrel distortion it would look like graph paper. Great concept and execution! kt

Vikas Malhotra		07-Feb-2006 08:13
Simply fantastic, an extremely compelling shot, beautifully concetptualised and executed. I actually love the colour of the board and the ball, they suit each other wonderfully. Actually, I love everything about this shot. Sharon, this one is a stunner. Cheers, Vikas.

Canon DSLR Challenge		07-Feb-2006 05:42
Googness, the board is fine...it is a Go Board and I've seen them this color...and no, the ball in this version would not be better in red...I wish the lines were a little better squared, but you might, as I think about it, need a tilt and shift lens for this...or a different shooting angle. It is good. Best Wishes, Traveller

elips		07-Feb-2006 05:16
Thanks, Michael & Rob! As for the color of the board, if I was a more frequent Go player I would have the traditional 8" deep solid wood board with little short legs. As it is I play rarely and only have a fold open cardboard board and it is bright yellow. I don't think they come in any other color. So would this be a better image if the board was wood and the ball was red? Perhaps, but I really like the contrast between the black and white pieces, the white ball and the yellow board. Thanks for your input! ~Sharon

Canon DSLR Challenge		07-Feb-2006 02:53
Sharon, this is a very cool shot, the only thing *I personally do not like is the color of the board - but that's not down to you - so ignore that. The idea is very well thought of and executed. Now, I know the ball is actually there, ah yes I see it now, tell tale signs of shadow replacement under it I think this was actually standing on something that has been skillfully removed. Rob .

Guest		06-Feb-2006 20:01
Sharon, I don't think it will shock anyone when I say this is fabulous and I love it. Beautifully thought out and executed. The colors are phenomenal, IMHO. Like Mr. B., I don't want to make a big thing out of the lens distortion, but if you want to correct it with PSCS2 it's very easy. Just open the image in PSCS2, under the filter menu choose Filter->Distort->Lens Correction. In the lens correction window, the top slider "Remove Distortion" move to the right (+3.40 worked for me). In the "Transform Box", set Angle to 0.50. Those settings work for me, but the grid will tell you if you have what you want. Click OK, the correction will be applied and then you just have to do a very minor crop. Cheers, Michael

elips		05-Feb-2006 18:45
Thanks so much for your comments, Mr. Biscuit, and the demonstration, it really does make a difference. You have inspired me to get CS2 out of the box and onto the computer! Thanks! ~Sharon

Canon DSLR Challenge		05-Feb-2006 14:05
~Sharon, ~Sharon, ~Sharon. PS3? And PSCS2 is sitting in a box nearby? We're obviously cut from different cloth [sMiLe]. No Mac version of PTLens. If you want a flavor for what it can do...http://www.pbase.com/image/55719237. All that said, I don't want commentary about optical correction to over-shadow the fact that this is a phenomenal image. Fantastic concept and execution! --Mr. Biscuit

elips		05-Feb-2006 03:22
Thanks so much, Mr. Biscuit! Unfortunately, I am running PS3 on a Mac! Have you got a Mac app? ~Sharon

Canon DSLR Challenge		04-Feb-2006 10:59
Sharon: If using Photoshop 6 or later, try this on the original (i.e. uncropped, original size) image --> http://epaperpress.com/ptlens/. Tell it the lens used and it takes it from there. Free and quite easy to install. I use it more often than the biscuits baked into PSCS2. --Mr. Biscuit

elips		04-Feb-2006 05:53
Thanks, Lew, Lonnit and Mr. Biscuit! Lew, this is an actual game: the 17th Korean Kiseong, challenger decision match #2 played on 2/2/06 between An Joyeong (black) and Song Taekon (white). Black won by 1.5 points. Lonnit, I was trying to capture a bit of the zen of Go with this shot, and while I agree that a red ball would be more striking (pardon the pun!) it would also be more jarring. I think it is the very bland nature of this ball that makes the coming chaos even more awful. The very essence of Go is all about balance and delicate internal tensions, when you first glance at this picture you see an object that fits right in until you realize that it is falling and will, in an instant, wreck havoc on this very orderly game. At least that was my thinking. Mr. Biscuit, you are right of course. I am using a very old version of Photoshop which can't correct lens distortion. I have CS2 but haven't had time to put it on the computer. If I manage it this weekend I will correct the distortion, otherwise it will have to fly as is. Thanks for all your comments! ~Sharon

Canon DSLR Challenge		04-Feb-2006 02:47
Good one! I would have preferred a ball of a different color, though, for contrast. A red one would have been excellent! This one has such a subdued and calm color that it takes away from the impact - if you'll pardon the pun! LOL! ~ Lonnit

Canon DSLR Challenge		04-Feb-2006 00:03
Voonderbar, jose voonderbar. Likely to be a favorite come judgment day. Only nit: I would run PTLens (or something) on it to remove the lens distortion. My eyes keep believing that the sides of the image bow somewhat. I'm going to go have a beer, to see if that'll improve matters. I'll report back here. --Mr. Biscuit

Canon DSLR Challenge		03-Feb-2006 21:31
What traveler said! Wow, this one's a GO for honors!! .. Lew

elips		03-Feb-2006 18:33
Thanks, Traveller! All shall be revealed, after the voting! :-) ~Sharon

Canon DSLR Challenge		03-Feb-2006 18:00
Show off! How did you do this? You've got my vote. Really excellent! Best Wishes, Traveller