7/25/2006 1:59:41 AM

I love love love this!!!!

7/25/2006 3:14:11 AM

Thanks Paul and Carolyn for your comments.

This is a different version of a similar photo I submitted last month.

Bob

(p.s...Carolyn, I like your new mini-pix.) :)

7/25/2006 5:09:12 AM

This is GREAT, Bob!!!

7/25/2006 5:12:21 AM

Thanks Colette.

7/25/2006 2:33:10 PM

This is excellent, a real winner!! Congratulations!

8/26/2006 6:47:20 PM

Beautifully done! The background is marvellous!

8/26/2006 7:41:53 PM

Congratulations Bob!

8/26/2006 9:45:08 PM

Congratulation on a great finalist, Bob.

8/27/2006 2:02:39 AM

Great composition, superb.

8/27/2006 8:04:00 AM

OOOh, so pretty...I love this. Congrats!

8/27/2006 8:20:43 AM

Thanks everyone for your kind words.

The setup for this photo and others like it were created on one of days when there was "nothing to shoot".

I've used this same background in the past for other subjects.
A wide aperture setting...and how you direct the auxillary light source are the primary factors in creating these out-of-focus halos of light.
A simple prop found lying around in the woods can be turned into a work of art when light is utilized as the primary point of interest.

Bob

8/27/2006 2:33:47 PM

So pretty! These are my favorite colors and kind of pictures. Congrats!

8/28/2006 10:22:58 AM

And now, an amended Congratulations, on this winner!

8/28/2006 2:02:54 PM

Fun with light and DOF! Congratulations, Bob, on your win for this cool image!

8/28/2006 3:28:11 PM

Thanks Claudine Christopher and Kay for your nice comments.

It's definately fun to play with light.
It's subtle nuances and intricacies is what makes photography so intriguing and challenging...(for me, anyway).

Bob

8/28/2006 5:04:19 PM

Bob, excellent detail, lighting, exposure and composition; congratulations on your Second Place Win.

8/28/2006 7:16:47 PM

Thanks Janine!
(...love your hummingbird photos!)

Bob

8/29/2006 5:01:45 AM

This is one of my favorite shots out there! I love it... Love the lighting! I am always working on this beautiful type of in-camera lighting...Have you ever heard of Bokeh form of photography... This depicts is to perfection.. Congrats on your win!! It's so well deserved, even if it WAS with a Nikon (lol, ;0)

8/29/2006 5:52:56 AM

Congratulations on your WIN, Bob!

8/29/2006 7:30:18 AM

Awesome and amazing, Bob! Congratulations on your VERY stunning WIN!!

8/29/2006 11:18:25 AM

Very creative work, Bob - a beautiful winning image! Congratulations!

8/29/2006 1:05:46 PM

Thanks Sheila, Colette, Nadya and Deborah for your comments.

Actually,...I'd never heard the term "Bokeh" before. (I had to Google it to see what it was.)
I've been experimenting with this technique for a few years with macro subjects and studio shots...and with each session I'm becoming even more fascinated in this process of playing with light.

Bob

Bob

8/29/2006 4:38:06 PM

Big congratulations on this gorgeous win, Bob!!! Well done!

9/2/2006 7:30:10 PM

Thanks Sharon!

9/2/2006 10:03:39 PM

Wow! This is awesome and better yet, created 'in camera'...I am so jealous! Wonderful Bob and well deserved WIN!

9/4/2006 4:43:00 PM

Wow, fabulous shot!!!
Many congrats, Bob!!!
...what's keeping this from the 1st?..., just superb!!!

9/22/2006 2:20:26 PM

Thanks Glenda and Nobi for your nice comments.
Sorry for taking so long in responding but I just returned home from a road trip and I'm trying to get caught up.

These types of in-camera background effects are not real difficult to create.
A wide aperture setting, a close-focusing lens or accessory and an auxilliary light source are all that are required (and of course, a subject to place in the foreground).
You also need to be aware of the color temperature of the light you are using to create the background highlights and be extra careful not to let it spill onto the subject.

In this particular scenario the aux. lighting was a simple flashlight...which I always carry in my pack. The background was a flat slab of granite encrusted with mica crystals.
A smaller piece of mica-encrusted rock was utilized as a base to display my subject, a dried out snail shell which, like the rocks, was found lying around in the woods at the scene.

...As to "what's keeping this from the 1st?"...:
Maybe Sheila F. was on the right track...I did use a Nikon ;)

Bob

9/22/2006 3:10:47 PM

Belated CONGRATZ on your stunning Winner!!

UB.

11/10/2010 11:41:05 PM