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The White Tower & The Lonely Moon


The White Tower & The Lonely Moon
Photo Information
Copyright: Ay Da (chiaraluna) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 435 W: 90 N: 567] (2560)
Genre: Places
Medium: Black & White
Date Taken: 2005-02-01
Categories: Architecture, Experimental, Nocturnal, Mood, HPP [Heavily Post-Processed]
Camera: Toshiba PDR-4300
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): From dark to light [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2005-03-10 9:24
Viewed: 849
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 16
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
my spooky moon tower.. well.. after posting this i found that when viewed in the web browser the image was a bit distorted.. the orbital radiating circles of the omni light effect are very apparent wheras on the original image the glow is muted and blended and you can hardly see the circles.. so i was thinking to repost a 'clean' version.. i discovered that if i save the image in grayscale the banding of the light effect isn't visible on the web and it looks like the original.. however seeing as some of you seem to like the radiating circles from the moon i'll leave it as it is and post the 'web safe' version as a workshop here for you to see how i intended it to look :) i actually think the radiating rings are quite cool it's just annoying to see your original image and idea distorted this way.. so you can choose yourselves which you prefer!

the subject is the bell tower of the church next door to my house.. it's actually a very sweet looking red brick 19th century church so i never really expected something like this to come out of it! the day i took the photo i was feeling pretty sick so couldn't get the shots i wanted and came home really disappointed thinking there was nothing i could use.. there was one shot of the tower which was quite nice and made it look very different to it's usual rather 'chocolate box' prettiness but it wasn't quite right and the details seemed too dull.. so i resigned myself to not getting anything out of those photos and before closing the editor i casually inverted the tower as this is a technique that fascinates and appeals to me but with really no expectation of anything interesting happening.. but when i saw the negative image it was transformed! the detail in the architecture and brickwork which had seemed pretty dull suddenly leapt out at me and it was so dramatic and stylized it looked almost like a completely digitally generated image! i really loved the spooky gothic feel i got from it and was so pleased with this unexpected pleasant surprise :)

***

the photo was shot in monotone on a dull overcast day, freehand & without flash

post processing:
only slightly cropped, resized, sharpened & inverted to the negative image
the slight streakiness in the sky caused by the resizing was blended and blurred manually
then a crescent moon was 'painted' in the upper left corner using a large diameter round brush painting first an off white circle, then using the eyedropper to choose the nearest dark sky colour around the moon and painting another equal sized circle overlapping the first to create the crescent moon.
a low intensity omni light effect was then added above the moon to create a lunar glow and illuminate part of the tower below while still keeping the all over dark feel
finally frame and signature were added

hope you'll like my spooky tower!
quantabeh, torr, elihesamian, davidbat, ballyna has marked this note useful
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Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To davidbat: thx!chiaraluna 1 03-21 00:11
To Shutter2Think: thanks Richard!chiaraluna 1 03-14 23:10
To paul_bk: grazie!chiaraluna 1 03-14 22:41
To nova: thx :)chiaraluna 1 03-14 22:36
To quantabeh: thx :)chiaraluna 1 03-13 23:21
To elihesamian: thank you M :)chiaraluna 1 03-13 02:13
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Critiques [Translate]

Hi Ayda,

Well...you've been a very busy woman! I hope the visit to the doctors went well.

I'm digging this image. It looks absolutely great! I love the colors you used. The contrast to the black night sky is wonderful. I love the glow of the moon, too! (Speaking of moons...you know, if you want an image of a full moon...you can get one from the NASA image gallery...it's public domain; they just ask for a note saying where it was taken from...for you to know, incase for later). Unlike you, I actually like seeing the glow pattern from your omni light; looks a little like high fog. I'm thinking the reason why you see it on TL and not Photoshop is because when you save a file in Photoshop, it's optimized for that program...so, TL not being Photoshop, isn't going to give you a "fine" of an image. Does that sound plausible? Anyhow, the angle you shot the bell tower is great. And, the fact that it's a church makes it that much more spooky. Incredible!

it seems like a Saturn rocket pointed to his target....
and it seems also a study of texture....
and it seems also a study of perspective...
the result is a good geometrical image...
about your P.S. ...... unfortunatly the web (not TL) is not a perfect machine, at least is not like photoshop or gimp.
There are a lot of books and sites speacking around the colours problem in web environment.
Try a search with "safe web colours" or open the link in this page (only to start).
http://www.allgraphicdesign.com/webcolor.html

About your image... well done
Paolo

It's hard to believe you actually painted the moon, but it is nice and dramatic. The exposure of the tower is really good, and I think your post processing has helped it even more. I must say, there is already a good gradient across the tower, so I am interested to see your second version.
en todo caso, good work.
regards,
Behrang

  • Great 
  • torr Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 406 W: 50 N: 80] (1735)
  • [2005-03-11 0:16]

strange, well don picture.
Like it!!
torr

  • Great 
  • nova Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2734 W: 263 N: 864] (8651)
  • [2005-03-12 0:01]
  • [+]

I love this spooky metallic gray tower! Nice pp work,good results! Thank you for sharing this picture with us!

Very god work,Ayda!
glad to see you!

great note,Thanks for taking time,you creat a special atmosphere specially in B&W medium,and the moon is a fine element here which you drew for it,I enjoy it,Ayda,nicely done!
Sincerely
M

Hi Ayda!
Their compositions are simply wonderful! I adored the framing and the moon that you put in the left superior song, it was harmonious and pleasant of admiring! very good! congratulations.
David.

I really like this a lot. the tower looks great, and inverting it really does bring out the detail. Good job drawing in the moon too. It works quite well with the overall surrealness of this photo. Good job!

hi ayda,
a very simple composition but a strong combination of the moon and the house,it's so clear.a very powerful pic and who would resist to live in that house, noone because it look so charming.
regards

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