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Thread: Night Owl - Halloween visitor

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Default Night Owl - Halloween visitor

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    This creepy fellow showed up around Halloween and had fun with the trick or treaters.

    Nikon D700 85/1.4 f/8 5sec ISO 200

    Light painting in completely dark room with small LED flashlight

    I suspect it may be somewhat like what a painter feels as you add layers of pigment to make the image appear. In this case you add the light to tease out the image.

    Advice and comments always appreciated.

    Cheers

    Randy
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    "Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy" Sir Isaac Newton

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    Randy, great to see you here! This owl has certainly stepped over to the Dark Side! You did a great job with the light painting, highlighting just enough details and a bit of the interesting metal colors, while keeping the edges soft and nicely eased into the black bkgd. Good that there is a bit of a perch visible so the owl does not look suspended in space. I totally love those swirly eyes!! Maybe a Long-eared Owl gone mad !

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    BPN Member Cheryl Slechta's Avatar
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    Hey, Randy, good to see you in OOTB. I love the low key, spooky effect. Including the feet was a nice touch.
    "It is only with the heart that one can see rightly" - The Little Prince

    http://tuscawillaphotographycherylslechta.zenfolio.com/

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    BPN Member Paul Lagasi's Avatar
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    Nice one Randy, the owl sculpture is very nice(wouldn't mind having one), and the LED lighting works giving just the right amount of light....well done

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    The lighting is soft and subdued, and I like the black and blue together. Must be the browzer, but the perch is not visible in IE. Nice paint with light creation.

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    Cool owl and very nice painting -- I have trouble getting results I like. One trick I've used is to shoot a bunch and stack the best ones in PS and mask different layers to get a final composite.

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    Fantastic owl standing in the darkness. I like all the details of the owl. Making it centered works well here--an owl, all alone, in the dark. I wonder if emphasizing one part of the owl, perhaps the eyes, with a bit more light might add some drama.

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Thanks everyone for the kind comments. Always fun to try something different.

    I have done a number of versions of this fellow, with slightly different lighting patterns, including really highlighting the eyes. As you can imagine, it is a little bit of a challenge to get just the right look.

    I would like to be able to monitor the exposure real time, to gradually add layer after layer of light to build the image I want.

    Apparently some mirrorless cameras have a crude version of this function, so may look into that.

    Thanks again.

    Randy
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    I haven't tried light painting, yet, but seeing an image like this reawakens my urge to do it. It's always surprised me that it's possible to get such smooth transitions in lighting without affecting the background even if it's far away. You did a great job of that. I very much like this just the way it is, but I have to wonder what it'd be like with just a hint of diffuse light behind the owl. The downside, though, would be the loss of the edges fading so nicely into the background.

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    Avian Moderator Randy Stout's Avatar
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    Dennis:

    You have a good point about showing some background, and I sometimes do that, but to play up the spooky aspect of this one, the black background plays better I think.

    Cheers

    Randy
    MY BPN ALBUMS

    "Tact is the art of making a point without making an enemy" Sir Isaac Newton

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