Stargazer

[goldomega]

This evening, I would like to share with you another image from the Robin Hood Faire. If I have a photographic soft spot, it must be for shooting period and fantasy subjects like this one. This image was a study in transforming a day shot into a night shot using editing software.

- Ω -This image underwent quite a lot of change in post. At first, I

Comments

[bonjour__amour]

Oh wow! The finished product is awesome.. definetly has a different feel to it. Pondering something at night is just different from the day time. Excellent job :)

[goldomega]

Thanks. I always worry about the image looking too processed. I'm glad you think it came out ok.

kudos!

[dennisatl]

you did such a good job of softening the skin tones into something
like you would see by some soft light at night while still maintaining
the texture of the cloak.
good job!

[goldomega]

Thanks. I took great care with the skin; it's easy for people to tell if skin 'looks right' or not. If there's one thing I could change about this image, I would eliminate that huge shadow on his cloak. It sort of spoils the effect for me.

[sxe_yeti_sxe]

posting the original was nice.
thank you.
i love what you did.
something seems off with the moon though.
i'm not sure what.

[goldomega]

Looking at it from another computer, it looks like I made the shadow on the moon too dark in relation to the rest of the sky. It might be a bit too blurry as well, but I'll experiment with it a bit more.

[sxe_yeti_sxe]

i think you're right.
it seems too abrupt.

[goldomega]

Done.

[nebanebet]

Because the moon is in front of him, it seems as though he's standing next to a fluorescent light because of the way the light is. Rather un-medieval. :/

I like the composition, though, and the pose.

[goldomega]

Thanks for the kind words. I had thought of the light too. I really felt that there needed to be something out in the distance, or else the figure is looking at blank water. On the other hand, as you say, the light doesn't make sense with the moon where it is. I tried to justify it in my mind that perhaps it was light being reflected by a wall behind him, but the light isn't diffuse enough to suggest that.

I've seen many films that use this technique. That is, a pale, direct light from an ambiguous source as a night shot. The huge shadow on his cloak ruins the effect for me, though.

[nebanebet]

What if the light hitting him from behind were a bit warmer, as from a fire?

I think we are so used to shadows at night falling every which way because of multiple light sources (street lights, signs, brightly-lit parking lots) that we hardly think anything of it anymore. Darkness is never quite as deep as it used to be, and I'm not sure how I feel about that.

[goldomega]

I went on a hike with some friends of mine about a month ago at about 2am. We were in the middle of the woods, and it was pitch black. It was overcast, and only a few of us had flashlights. Darkness was never as deep for me as it was that night.

Firelight might work. Of course, fire introduces an entirely different set of connotations than peaceful moonlight. In either case, I'll try it later this evening. Thanks!

[kylecassidy]

dude! you have the mad photoshop skills! great job! very realistic (though the moon's not actually that shape unless it's being eclipsed by a smaller phantom black moon) this guy owes you a case of mead. two cases. have you published this one?

[goldomega]

I haven't published it, but I'd love to. I just need to find a market for it, I suppose.

I was definately aiming for the fantastical in this one, so who knows, perhaps it is a phantom moon. =)

[kylecassidy]

i think rennissance faire magazine....