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ctfchallenge | all galleries >> Challenge 148 - Outside the Box >> Challenge 148 - Eligible > 9th tied: floating boxes
by Kelly Bellis
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15-DEC-2007 Kelly Bellis

9th tied: floating boxes
by Kelly Bellis

Ellsworth, Maine


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Julie Bird17-Dec-2007 23:37
Kelly, you have done it again. What a wonderful image. Julie
Canon DSLR Challenge17-Dec-2007 20:02
Well done Kelly. An amazing image. dtallakson
Rod 17-Dec-2007 19:30
I wrote ""I can understand a montage of picys done in PS but this is getting silly"" This you call a rant, I would call your tirade in response a rant mate:-) If you have read past discussions then your recollections are deeply flawed as the photoshop creations garner far more praise than the criticism from a lone luddite such as me. I've often stated that we live a short life & people should do whatever they enjoy doing but I will speak up to defend the art of photography against the computer generated graphics being passed off as photography. In doing this the newer people coming into photography via the internet may investigate the skills they need to learn with the camera & not just concentrating on computer generated eye candy.
Why you would spend the time making this box graphic to generate discussion is beyond me as the discussion is already in full flight under other posts without any contribution from you.
The word creativity isn't a licence to pervert an art form but it does create new ones so just call your creative pursuit's like this picy something other than photography. This is a photography forum.
ctfchallenge17-Dec-2007 17:16
Wow. What a mathematical wonder!
Penny Street
ctfchallenge17-Dec-2007 16:31
Thanks Jano, but don’t get queasy – numbers are our friends :)

Thanks Lydia for your kind comment and general support.

Armin and Rod, I perfectly understand your dissatisfaction with this creation and all of the other images created by folks who chose to use Photoshop beyond what you feel is on one side of a line or another. I totally respect your distaste for such images, but I didn’t create this image for you. I created this image largely for myself and thought, possibly in error, that this was the place to share my images and to encourage others in their artistic pursuits while exploring old and new avenues in photographic expressions. But I also created “floating boxes” to foster this dialog.

I’ve read many of the past discussions on the ctf forum and beneath various ctf challenge submissions where the matter of personal taste in post processing has been tirelessly demurred with excess contempt and disgust often followed by some quasi flame retardant LOL or :) In most instances, too little or no encouragement was offered to the person making the submission or even a defense on their behalf that it was their prerogative – not the ranters’ – to process the image however they wished; increased dynamic range, blown highlights, montage, etc. Troubling, this condescending behavior seems to be tolerated even at the expense of “driving people away” as others have acknowledged or even bragged about. It’s hard enough for folks to overcome all of the issues that prevent them from participating without adding to their list as to whether or not they’ll be rebuked and scorned for, heaven forbid, a drop-shadow border – oh the horror!

Whether or not it’s chosen to use any post processing or massive amounts of it should be the artist’s decision without the worry of being ridiculed for it. Sober participants and lurkers alike are perfectly capable of deciding for themselves if they like the submission or not without the vociferous editorials on post processing. It is my fervent hope that these challenges will not only help anybody interested in digital photography, but will foster the creativity and imagination of us all and that whatever means of expressing that exploration would be encouraged rather than condemned. - Kelly
Canon DSLR Challenge17-Dec-2007 14:25
This is way beyond my scope of PSing skills. It's a work of art. ~Lydia
janewigginsphotography17-Dec-2007 10:36
It is expertly done for sure... but it sounds like a small part of math was involved which makes me queasy :) You certainly have a knack for making something beautiful out of a plain cardboard box!! Thanks for the explanation - it would be fun to try sometime. jano
Rod 17-Dec-2007 08:47
I can understand a montage of picys done in PS but this is getting silly.................I think:-)
I like the border.
ctfchallenge17-Dec-2007 08:05
Hm, I really like the outcome, but maybe we should discuss the extent to which we would like the use of PP within a challenge. I could imagine, that there are some that will loose fun in posting 'real' shots if too much PP is allowed here ...me included :o)
Cheers, Armin
ctfchallenge17-Dec-2007 04:13

Thanks your kind comments and for asking how this image was created, and yes, of course a photograph is in there (somewhere) just to keep everybody happy ;)

The box that my external hard drive arrived packaged in was still sitting around and was photographed using a single work light (500 watt halogen) bounced off the ceiling. This provided the model bathed in a warm light from which I then constructed the three-point perspective, but first, the 9.5” x 10” x 7” box had to be trimmed down to a 7” cube. After increasing the size of the canvas (about 34” x 34” @ 240 dpi) and using the pen tool, rays following the edges of the cube were drawn until they intersected and established the three VPs. Then each visible face of each of the other 18 cubes was drawn, again using the pen tool (for techniques in accurately measuring in perspective, refer to O’Connor’s texthttp://www.amazon.com/Perspective-Drawing-Applications-Charles-OConnor/dp/0136330258). Next, using the marquee tool, rectangular sections with refined edges from each of the three faces of the original box were copied to their own new layers. This provided the basis to be copied over again and again for each face of the drawn cubes. It’s worth noting that the rectangles were square with the page starting out and then Ctrl+t, right click, Distort (Edit>Transform>Distort) dragging the grip points into alignment with the drawn perspective grid. Once all of the faces had been applied, their previously feathered edges were eased using a small soft brush cloning nearby colors at about 20% - 30% opacity. After rotating and cropping the whole document, the last bit of editing was to individually tone the various cube faces using greater or lesser amounts of brightness and contrast. - Kelly

ctfchallenge17-Dec-2007 03:01
I tried to find a hint how you did this but it wasn't fun; so I just enjoy it for what it is. Well done. -tv
janewigginsphotography17-Dec-2007 02:14
There is a fine line between a graphic image and a photographic image and I think for the most part we recognize that here in the challenge. It is an interesting concept so I wonder about how it was done. jano
ctfchallenge17-Dec-2007 02:09
I trust that Kelly at least started with a photo ... he spent 8 seconds running around in the dark knocking the props out and illuminating the subject ... it's not all photoshop because we haven't dropped photography altogether have we? John
janewigginsphotography17-Dec-2007 01:50
This is very cool! You definitely have a talent- please pray tell explain how you did this :) jano
Canon DSLR Challenge17-Dec-2007 01:21
Kelly's just showing off again. *grin* And very well. PhotoShop bows to his talent, John. *smile* ~Lydia
ctfchallenge17-Dec-2007 00:16
Wow. I even begin to understand how you did this. Is it a light or something? John