Dragon.

John_05 · Aug 28, 2006

ive been trying to get a decent shot of this dragon for a long time now, and this morning i was bored so i figured i would have another try with it.

its a laser etched crystal that i bought last year. i think i posted a shot or 2 of it before, but i wasnt happy with the shots at all. since then ive tried a couple times to get a better shot of it, and still couldnt quite get it right. this time i think it came out alot better, so i figured i would post it here to get some opinions on it.

the base has colored LEDs in it that change, so thats why theres different colors. i didnt do anything at all to this shot except remove a little noise, and resize it.

if anyone has any opinions or suggestions, as always, i would appreciate hearing them. :thumbup:

John_05 · Aug 30, 2006

sorry for the bump. i came here to check the thread, and i realized i accidentally moved the pic to a different album, and i was also hoping to get some comments/critique.

John_05 · Aug 31, 2006

John_05 said:
sorry for the bump. i came here to check the thread, and i realized i accidentally moved the pic to a different album, and i was also hoping to get some comments/critique.

last bump, i promise. im just very curious to know if i could do something to make the shot better, or if its good as-is.

Scott WRG Editor · Aug 31, 2006

It's interesting and I like the colors. I would try a side or front shot. The perspective shift caused by the corner is distracting and messy, giving a cluttered feel to the image. I think a side shot might be a little more two dimensional but more interesting.

Chiller · Aug 31, 2006

Thats neat. Is it one of those glass things with the image burned inside. Thats a tough shot to get.

John_05 · Aug 31, 2006

i did take shots from the front too, so i uploaded one.

yes Chiller, its a laser etched crystal. its about 5 inches tall and the base i put it on has different colored LEDs in it. i wish i could pick which color i wanted, but it rotates between them. i like it with the mix of colors, but i think it would also be cool in just one color too.

im not sure if i posted this one here before, but this was one of my first attempts to shoot the same crystal, but with the Fuji E510. i like the new shot MUCH better.

i also have a tiger crystal that i havent shot yet, but i plan to soon. when i do, im sure ill post the pics here.

thank you both for the comments, and the advice. i really do appreciate it. i have learned alot from this forum, and for that im very grateful. i dont think i want to imagine how alot of my pictures would still look if i hadnt learned what i have from here. :thumbup:

Mohain · Sep 1, 2006

The first shot of the second post is much better. Can you get in closer still? So close you cant see the edge of the block? And maybe looking slightly down or up to it? And also have you thought about moving the light source a bit while you took the pic on a long exposure (on a trpiod)?

John_05 · Sep 1, 2006

Mohain said:
The first shot of the second post is much better. Can you get in closer still? So close you cant see the edge of the block? And maybe looking slightly down or up to it? And also have you thought about moving the light source a bit while you took the pic on a long exposure (on a trpiod)?

first, thanks for the comments and suggestions.

i dont think i can get much closer to it then i was. i was only about 8-10 inches away from it, and im not sure if i can get focused on it if i was any closer with the lens i have, but ill try. i can probably shoot down to it, but im not sure how far up i could shoot without the edge in the back of the crystal showing through the dragon. as for moving the light, it sits in a base that provided the light for the shot. i couldnt move that light, but i have a couple other ideas im going to try tonight.

thanks again for the suggestions. :thumbup: