For Those In Peril On The C, Alternative "Calypso" Version

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Ice Age (Woolly Mammoth Light Painting), Hertfordshire

Ice Age (Woolly Mammoth Light Painting), Hertfordshire, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

Mammoth sighting in Rickmansworth following this weekend's drifting snow.

As always, the painting is done in camera using torch/flashlight. In this case, the mammoth and the sun are both created in this way.

It's a night shot, so the sky started bright orange from the sodium street lighting outside of the nature reserve and the "sun" turquoise from the Cree LED torch. The quality of the end shot is a little compromised by quite a bit of processing to transform that into the day time sky you see here, achieved in Photoshop using the hue slider and then layers to blend into the treeline. I also used the recovery slider in Lightroom 3 to achieve a better contrast between the mammoth and the snow.

There's a couple of errors in this one - the flare where the mammoth's ear meets its body, and my presence in the scene (also around its ear). Whilst I did gently tone these effects down, too strident a correction was unappealing. All in all, I don't think either detracts too much from the overall impact.

Hope everyone likes it and is having a superb week in the run up to Christmas. For those celebrating it, I hope you have a superb few days and a great New Year thereafter.

See Ice Age (Woolly Mammoth Light Painting), Hertfordshire on Flickr.

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SOOC Version of Sodium On Ice, Rickmansworth

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Forever Ever? (Cartier Diamonds), Vienna

Forever Ever? (Cartier Diamonds), Vienna, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

Night shot taken with the Canon 50mm f/1.8 from a bench top. Only a quick one with company, so quite a bit left to be desired, but I liked the scene with this couple and, between them, the warm glow of the Cartier window display and a stranger, balanced by the clock and the shifting crowds beneath Vienna's wealth of Christmas decorations.

As we were on the way to dinner I didn't have time to wait for the crowd by the store's door to move, and asking them might have alerted the couple, so I dusted off my cloning stamp and have done my best to remove them. I've not killed myself over it, if I'm honest, but have posted the original SOOC below for anyone interested in seeing the scope of the job.

Wish there was a little more room in the frame, but the 50mm is a prime and the bench was set in concrete, so one takes what one gets sometimes.

Hope everyone is well and enjoying the week. I'm delighted with the Front Page showing of www.flickr.com/photos/flatworldsedge/5233410987/ - thank you all for your kind comments and other such prodding of the Magic Donkey's critical eye. I'm off for a couple of days, but will make sure that I have the time to read all your thoughts and repay your kindness as soon as I'm back. Can't wait to see all your images.

See Forever Ever? (Cartier Diamonds), Vienna on Flickr.

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Moose Light Painting

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Advent (Lamp Shop Window), Venice

Advent (Lamp Shop Window), Venice, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

Happy 1st December!

Not much to report on this, other than it's our Christmas card cover for this year. Just trying to find someone to print them. If anyone has any very good or bad experiences with such companies online, please drop me a note! I'd really appreciate it.

It's from a Venetian lamp shop window.

Hope everyone is having a great week and fun start to advent calendar season.

See Advent (Lamp Shop Window), Venice on Flickr.

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Snow White (Apple & Bokeh In Naschmarkt), Vienna

Snow White (Apple & Bokeh In Naschmarkt), Vienna, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

Another pair I had trouble choosing between. Seen large on black the main image wins through, I think - the main apple is much sharper and better isolated in its own little plane of focus (I moved several apples between shots). In the shot below there's an extra stalk and an in focus base of an apple which kind of distract. The bokeh are twice the size too in the main one, thanks to the harder zoom.

It's a night shot - f/4.5 and ISO 400 giving a nice exposure thanks to the market lights. It's a handheld shot, with the IS doing a super job, in my opinion, of keeping the apple sharp; it was taken handheld at 1/15. I only have a handful of (working) lens, and this (24-105mm f/4.0L IS USM) is the only one with IS. As I understand it the version on that lens is a little behind the curve, so new releases will offer an extra one or two stops of "handholdability" - which is remarkable.

If you have the time to see it in lightbox, I'd recommend it, and also a quick look at the one below which offers a nicer blue sky and a little extra detail in the chalk and a girl shopping.

As to the title, I hope it's not too obscure. The apple just had a landmine look to it, hiding sharp amongst the blur, waiting to do someone a mischief, and the bokeh and painterly feel of the bokeh set a kind of fairy tale mood.

I do enjoy the contrast with www.flickr.com/photos/flatworldsedge/5217086663/in/photos... taken a few minutes earlier. Hope everyone is having a super week so far.

See Snow White (Apple & Bokeh In Naschmarkt), Vienna on Flickr.

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Alternative Snow White

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