A final shell for your viewing pleasure

Rick58 · Feb 28, 2013

View attachment 37540

Let the C&C begin......

Mully · Feb 28, 2013

Very nice tones and detail....great job.

invisible · Feb 28, 2013

Beautiful work, Rick. I like the lines (curves) and all the textures that the seemingly simple lighting was able to bring out.

Rick58 · Feb 28, 2013

Mully said:
Very nice tones and detail....great job.

Thanks Mully

invisible said:
Beautiful work, Rick. I like the lines (curves) and all the textures that the seemingly simple lighting was able to bring out.

Thanks Federico. The lighting couldn't be any simplier. Bare bulb reflector to light up the ridges and a sheet of paper to bounce a little light back on to the dark side.

Majeed Badizadegan · Feb 28, 2013

It's really nicely lit.

I'd like the whole shell to be in the picture, eve the dark area. That's my main comment here.

Rick58 · Feb 28, 2013

Thanks Majeed. I might have to give that shot. Just giving the dark side enough light to hold the shape

oldhippy · Feb 28, 2013

Nice job. Almost 3D. And did I say translucent.. later Ed

Photographiend · Feb 28, 2013

Bravo. Stunning.

Rick58 · Mar 1, 2013

Thanks folks. Time to move on to another subject and I already have something in mind....

pgriz · Mar 1, 2013

Rick, if you do another take on this, you might want to experiment with a polarizer, as there is a bit more glare off the shiny parts that obscures the really beautiful shape and texture. I also like Majeed's comment, and perhaps a small reflector on the right would bring in enough light to at least outline the shape, without taking away from the detail you captured on the main side. Thank you for posting this - shells are definitely worth our time as photographers.

Rick58 · Mar 1, 2013

pgriz said:
Rick, if you do another take on this, you might want to experiment with a polarizer, as there is a bit more glare off the shiny parts that obscures the really beautiful shape and texture. I also like Majeed's comment, and perhaps a small reflector on the right would bring in enough light to at least outline the shape, without taking away from the detail you captured on the main side. Thank you for posting this - shells are definitely worth our time as photographers.

That's interesting, because I originally had a diffuser on the main light and removed it because it took away from the hightlighted ridges and reduced the sharp contrast I was looking for. This shell is varying shades of brown and without the high contrast, it just looked simply muddy in B&W.
I placed a second light on the right which also removed the high contrast. So, instead, I used a sheet of white paper as a reflector to bring up the shadows of the ridges.
A polarizer would allow me to keep the highlights while still keeping control of them. I'm also now rethinking the second light. Maybe placing it more to the rear, facing forward, to lighten the dark side of the entire shell without affecting the exposure on the face. Interesting...thanks.