(1990 novel by Ronald Frame)

OK, it's Naomi's hat not Penelope's, and it's technically a riding skull, not a hat but hey! it's the thought that counts!! I must admit, Naomi did look at me somewhat askance when I asked her to bring it into the house after she'd been at the stables yesterday afternoon. "Why Dad?" she asked; "Well, I want to take a pic of it" I replied...."Ummm....OK then....if you really want to....." she said, looking like I'd asked her to do something strange, a little bit out of the ordinary!!

A straight forward shot - nothing complicated about this one, although it is a montage of two separate images. In the first the off-camera flash was at the left and at a perpendicular 45 degrees to the hat, in the second I positioned it down and more to the front left and at a more oblique angle, catching (part of) the flourescent strip which goes right over the hat front front to back. Both shots were opened in CS3 and then merged. A deft bit of handiwork with the Eraser revealed the best bits of both pics. And that's about it - oh yes, I flattened the image and desaturated the photo, but since this was 99% a B&W image to begin with, I didn't notice any real difference :o). Easy-squeezy-peasy - all done and dusted in less time than I took me to reheat the chili!!!

Looking at it in the cold light of day, I should have stopped down a tad - the focus point was on the top of the hat and at f/2.8 the front and sides are OoF. Didn't really see this until now; too late to change it now...ah well, you live and learn!

Sunday 3rd's bonce-protector entry to the Challenge; click here for other monochromed Pbasers in January