<<< o >>>maurice #1 21 comments + add yours
chromasia.com

This is the first of two shots of Maurice, a Blackpool based cabaret singer I photographed yesterday afternoon. My brief was to produce some images that could be used to promote his act, some of which needed to include a recognisable local landmark, so what better landmark to include than Blackpool Tower.

In terms of the post-production: this is a combination of a straight shot and a pseudo-HDR image. I used the HDR version to bring out the detail in his trousers and waistcoat - both of which are a dark brown pinstripe - as despite the use of fill-flash these still appeared too dark in the final shot.

As always, I'd be interested to hear your thoughts.

captured
camera
lens
focal length
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
flash
image quality
RAW converter
cropped?
3.14pm on 16/7/08
Canon 1Ds Mark II
EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
42mm
f/2.8
1/2500
aperture priority
+1/3
evaluative
100
580EX II (off-camera)
RAW
C1 Pro and Photomatix Pro
minor
 
Blackpool Tower + HDR + people [portraiture] + commissions + no print
comment by Kajsa at 08:27 PM (GMT) on 17 July, 2008

Gosh, happy! Lovely picture!!!

One thing that bugs me with you blog; I use a feedreader and your posts only show a "Hotlinking from chromasia is not allowed...", wich in itself is a totally acceptable measure from your side ( haven't even thought about mailing you about it before ), but when the image in your comment section is replaced also?! Feels like a bug! :))
Love your work anyways; thank you for all the amazing pictures!

comment by Kajsa at 08:28 PM (GMT) on 17 July, 2008

and now, having posted a comment it looks fine. bummer :)

comment by djn1 at 08:35 PM (GMT) on 17 July, 2008

Kajsa: let me know the url you use and I'll authorise it.

comment by Adam Swords at 11:36 PM (GMT) on 17 July, 2008

Love this one dave, the processing is nicely done and as ever carries your unmistakable unique style. Very cool.

comment by Xu at 11:53 PM (GMT) on 17 July, 2008

Ah wonderful shot!! Just great to look at, and I think it'll be very good for his act.

comment by mike at 03:01 AM (GMT) on 18 July, 2008

Great shot (both) together... perfect. Colors really nice. Very good work. I'll bet he liked it!

comment by kate at 03:30 AM (GMT) on 18 July, 2008

way too funny. got the detail. :)

comment by jkm at 03:56 AM (GMT) on 18 July, 2008

FABULOUS! Bring on Mauric #2. Will he be doing a headstand ;-)

comment by Kevin H. Stecyk at 05:40 AM (GMT) on 18 July, 2008

Hi David,

I really like this photograph because of its energy and enthusiasm.

It reminds me of a YouTube video: Stranger Dance, which is worth watching--especially if you've had a challenging day because it puts a smile on your face.

comment by Andy at 06:21 AM (GMT) on 18 July, 2008

man you're good.

comment by John at 07:30 AM (GMT) on 18 July, 2008

Great shot...did you use the 580ex's High Speed Synch feature to fire at 1/2500 sec? And if so, how did you do this outdoors? Wouldn't the sun interfere with the IR signal to the off camera flash?

comment by Roded at 08:52 AM (GMT) on 18 July, 2008

Wow! great composition and wonderful colors.very impressive indeed.

comment by maurice mallone at 11:51 AM (GMT) on 18 July, 2008

At first I was not sure about this picture but seeing it post production I really like it.

It gives a great sense of fun which is what my act is about (Well I think it is anyway. It's my story and I'm sticking to it).

Thank you Dave the picture looks great. :)

comment by Lorraine at 02:10 PM (GMT) on 18 July, 2008

Great photo, I thought for sure he was trying out for a part in 'Heroes' lol well done!

comment by Bill at 02:31 PM (GMT) on 18 July, 2008

Brilliant! This is a fun photo that would make anyone smile.

comment by Raffi at 03:03 PM (GMT) on 18 July, 2008

I love the DOF here. Compositon and tone is nice with the tower in the background. Great work!

comment by shooter at 06:37 PM (GMT) on 18 July, 2008

I like the idea behind this but feel it would have suited a landscape view, I appreciate your framing makes the guy stand out but it feels too tight and as a result the shadow is clipped. I love the PP'in though, the colours and treatment suit the subject....

comment by thomas mueller at 06:39 PM (GMT) on 18 July, 2008

cool one, i like jumping-photography.
the only thing: the image and the tower turns to the right, or not!?

comment by djn1 at 07:12 PM (GMT) on 18 July, 2008

Thanks all.

Kevin: I"ll take a look at the video.

John: yes, I used the high speed synch. As for the sun and the IR signal: this works ok at short range, even in bright sunlight, so I didn't have any problems.

maurice: I'm glad you like it :-)

shooter: I deliberately went for a tighter crop with this one, but I can see your point.

thomas: no, it's not leaning, it's the angle of the seafront that gives the impression that the image is tilted.

comment by Ame at 03:29 PM (GMT) on 21 July, 2008

Fun shot!!!

comment by alexandru savu at 08:51 PM (GMT) on 23 July, 2008

Cool image!