photo sharing and upload picture albums photo forums search pictures popular photos photography help login
ctfchallenge | all galleries >> The Best of CTF Challenges >> Best of 2008 > 1st - The Angelic Half
by jstrong
previous | next
16-FEB-2008 jstrong

1st - The Angelic Half
by jstrong

Canon EOS 5D ,Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
1/200s f/2.8 at 100.0mm iso200 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
comment | share
Canon DSLR Challenge27-Feb-2008 14:53
The eye is so beautifully done. Very storybook image. ~ Lonnit
ctfchallenge27-Feb-2008 00:39
Beautiful shot. One of my favorite portraits from the team of Jano and Amber. From recent memory, makes my top5 favorite pics of yours.
-Techo
Rod 25-Feb-2008 19:35
This picy is more than cool Abs....It's freezing:-) I luv it.
ctfchallenge25-Feb-2008 17:51
hideous narrow crop is gone. good! now, this is cool ! -Abstract
sue anne25-Feb-2008 11:57
I'm the one that said earlier,
'Beautiful portrait through the keyhole.'
and I like this version just as well.
Rod 25-Feb-2008 07:06
Stop acting girly Doug, you can't change your mind mate. This picy will drag votes away from the blokes picys:-)
This might be the first off topic picy to win a challenge..............I would luv that:-)
Glad it's back Jano.
ctfchallenge25-Feb-2008 06:09
Strike my earlier comment Jano, I've changed my mind. When amazing photography combines with amazing art, this is the result. -COAmature
ctfchallenge25-Feb-2008 02:28
nice.
theFly
Canon DSLR Challenge24-Feb-2008 23:57
Yay! The original's back! Thanks, Jano. ~Lydia
ctfchallenge24-Feb-2008 20:57
http://forums.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1010&message=26924569
ctfchallenge24-Feb-2008 20:53
I liked the original better. Pity it shouted "EYE" :-) and deemed off topic by our host..... :-) /Oved
James Ross24-Feb-2008 14:56
Wonderful, I'm sorry I missed the original. :-) Carrhighlander
ctfchallenge20-Feb-2008 20:49
Beautiful portrait through the keyhole.
janewigginsphotography19-Feb-2008 03:00
Thanks CJ, Aam, Rod, and Claire for your kind comments. As I was vacuming, fuming about this topic and how Rod is such a tyrant at hosting :), I thought "wot if" and after I did the crop it really appealed to me. Sometimes everything is in the crop, as for this challenge. Obviously I could not take this image as cropped in cam; however, the original image wasn't cropped but a smidge on the right, so I didn't suffer too much loss in quality I don't think. Obviously, if not for Rod, I may have never thought of this so thanks Rod :) jano
ctfchallenge18-Feb-2008 19:59
this is so stunning Jano. I'm speechless. The whole household thinks its beautiful! (High praise!)...claire
aam1234 18-Feb-2008 17:04
If not more.
aam1234 18-Feb-2008 12:23
Agree with Rod. This is as good as the original.
Rod 18-Feb-2008 05:33
Cor blimey Jano this is not only on topic now but it's the first that's a part thereof photo:-) I hate to see you have to butcher that magnificent picy but this works great for the challenge & as you've said you have the whole thereof one to hang on your wall:-)
ctfchallenge18-Feb-2008 03:33
Rod can't call this off-topic now Jano! This is an interesting crop and it would really look great if you ever found a keyhole border - what a fun idea for this! :-) CJ
ctfchallenge18-Feb-2008 02:50
Thanks Mary Anne - I took this shot particularly for this challenge...so if it fits it fits, if not, then I have a nice picy on my wall :) I kinda like this crop though, as though someone is peaking in... in an eerie kind of way. I just wish there was a keyhole crop I could use. lol jano
ctfchallenge18-Feb-2008 02:14
This is a beautiful photo, Jano, but if it were mine, I'd rather take it out of the Challenge than crop essential parts off just to suit the requirements of the topic. Of course, it's your creation....
--Mary Anne
ctfchallenge17-Feb-2008 21:30
Will this work Rod? An interesting crop, perhaps with more interest? And hopefully on topic. :) jano
Rod 17-Feb-2008 19:41
Tell me what shots in particular you are talking about & I will see if I can explain why they are on topic. So far I've had no trouble explaining why this is off topic:-) Close the bleeding eye & it's perfect:-) Don't listen to Lydia, she's turning into a nice version of Lonnit;-)
janewigginsphotography17-Feb-2008 16:15
Thanks all for commenting. My version of the topic (not necessarily the right one mind you), given the description, is "part (there)of". An eye is "part of" a set of eyes, and the half face is "part of" the whole face. In looking at eligible, there are focal points all over the place that aren't "part of" if this is simply a focal point challenge. I think if this image is "part of" anything, it should stand as being on topic - as well as other images in this challenge. If a different cropping would work, I could try that...like half of the eye which is part of the set? Not trying to be difficult...but in looking at other shots in this challenge, I really can't see how this is off topic merely by there being a focal point. jano
ctfchallenge17-Feb-2008 15:18
This is a tough call Jano. It's an EXCELLENT picture but when I open it, I think "EYE" first and then part face. I think it's a combination of the shallow DOF and the PP that brings all the attention to the eye. Regardless of whether this is on/off topic, it is a wonderful portrait, one to be proud of. :-) CJ
ctfchallenge17-Feb-2008 14:39
I'm rethinking. When I first view this photo, I immediately think, "Half of a face". That fits the rules. I'm claiming my woman's prerogative and voting 'on topic'. ~Lydia
Guest 17-Feb-2008 12:57
Lovely Picture.
ctfchallenge17-Feb-2008 11:14
you've done those wonderful things you did to my eyelashes shot to this havent you! Looks great and certainly one to keep and keep and keep! Maybe we should have a vote on ones in pending this time if lots of great shots end up there?! Surely its a "part of"? claire
aam1234 17-Feb-2008 09:11
Debi knows how to hold a grudge :)
Rod 17-Feb-2008 08:57
You're thinking of Aamms face silly billy:-) My explaination should have cleared up the difference between the two. So stop creating havoc Debi:-)
ctfchallenge17-Feb-2008 07:52
I think Rod is discriminating. Armins face is on topic yours is not. My moon in shadow is off topic the dog in shadow is not. He is just making up rules as he goes along. Even the facde of Harrods is off topic just because it has a frame - Debi

BTW Superb portrait. Please accept my sincere compliments on this one.
Rod 17-Feb-2008 07:16
I do luv a girl wiv spirit:-) I would like to hear wot others thoughts are on this so we will be looking at this for quite a while yet. Aammms picy is sort of very similar but the eye seems to be quite secondary in his picy, it's not so sharp & defined as this eye & the illness marks on the poor girls face seem to overpower the eye. So I think we just view Aamms picy as half a face whereas we view this as an eye picy. That's why I thought if the eye was closed we would just see half a face as our brains always want to look into the eyes especially a well defined eye like this. We have had a few posts about the brief topic description & sort of added amendments on about making the focal point cut off. So your legal training pinning me to the original topic description might be in vain:-)
ctfchallenge17-Feb-2008 06:54
This is the shot I was going to go after. It is a well executed shot and the enhancements are working for me. I do see is as not quite hitting the topic mark though. The eye stands out so dominantly (which is what I like about the picture) that it is more than just part of a face. -COAmature
janewigginsphotography17-Feb-2008 03:07
Challenge topic is described as "We must shoot a part of something so when the viewer looks at the picy it looks obviously a part of a whole". This is part of a whole face. I see nothing in the topic description that says.... the focal point needs to be half there.... I'm putting on my gloves. lol ... jano
janewigginsphotography17-Feb-2008 03:01
Oh i worked hard on this rod.... :) I see that you put Aam's picy in one that you thought was on topic in the forums, after I posted this, so I thought kewllll then mine will be on topic. It's a part of a face... and half of the set of eyes.... so I think it should be considered on topic. I think anything posted will have a focus point. Not sure I understand how the eye closed could be more on topic than not. Egads... I'm hoping this isn't off topic.... :) jano
ctfchallenge17-Feb-2008 02:58
I really like this, Jano! I think the 'problem' for this challenge and this image is that the eye is in such glorious focus and the rest of the face is not. If the total face were in focus, then this would be on topic, since it would be a partial subject. But, since the eye is so obviously the focus and it is whole, it does seem to me to be off topic.
HOWEVER, I really really really like this image. That eye is fantastic, and your model is beautiful.

I recommend that you put it in pending and frame it for your wall. *smile* ~Lydia
Rod 17-Feb-2008 01:50
Geez you girls are really keeping me on me toes here & this is an awesome picy. But I really see the eye as the focal point here, & it's a whole init. I think if the eye was closed it would let us view the part face as the picy & be on topic. This is a beautiful looking picy Jano. I'm starting to dislike this topic:-)