Challenge 3 entry: Eye of the Beholder (attn Link)

[MHD]

Link has told me how he achieved a really different perspective that looked photoshopped.... No one has guessed how he did it and it is really ingenious, So I invite and encourage link to explain to the crowds how he did it

[xerubus]

yes please... how was it done... it's an impressive image...

[Glen]

My guess is already on your site MHD, an eye glued to a mirror and then a shot taken of the mirror? Very imaginative, however it was done

[MHD]

WRONG

[yeocsa]

My guess is that there are 2 mirrors. One mirror reflects the camera and the photographer. A magnifying glass or lens on top of the second mirror to reflect only his eye.

My 2 cent.

regards,

Arthur

[kipper]

Maybe in future the competitions should detail how the shot was taken so that technical merit can be taken into the voting?

[Nnnnsic]

Maybe in future the competitions should detail how the shot was taken so that technical merit can be taken into the voting?

Not relevant to the theme, unless the theme is "technical skills".

[Link]

Hi all,

I didn't use a proper mirror but yes, the idea was to play with reflections... It was actually a very simple set up: a girlfriend + a CD

Here are a couple of photos:





Basically my gf holds the CD with the hole right in front of her eye. My aim is to capture both her eye and my reflection on the CD! On the above photo, her eye is sharp but there is no reflection and it's too visible she's holding a CD.





On this second shot, you can clearly see me shotting the D70 - I'm reflected in the CD. But then, her eye is not sharp and not right in the middle of the hole

The whole shoot took about 20 minutes, and the challenge was essentially to align 3 elements so they fit perfectly: the eye, the hole of the CD, and the reflection of the camera itself (so it looks like the CD hole is the lens)

The idea didn't come suddenly to me... I basically played around with the camera, taking photos of CD and the colourful flares it does, before having the idea to use the CD hole to frame something or someone. The reflections of myself & the D70 in the CD were fun, but it's only after a few more test shots that I found out exactly what I wanted: an eye right in the middle of the camera reflection.

I then cropped the final image to remove any obvious trace of the round shape of the CD, and turned it in B&W. Again, I didn't have any expectation that my image should or shouldn't in B&W, but after playing in photoshop, I realised that removing the colours also makes the CD flares more mysterious (they seem to converge on the "lens" and are particularly bright around the place, in the reflection, where I push the shutter button)

So that's how I got to this final result:

[Glen]

Link, very very innovative! Well done.

[stubbsy]

Link

Impressive. Thanks for the explanation as this one really had me guessing. Like others I knew a mirror was involved (hey Nikon was back to front), but beyond that couldn't work it out.

[Oneputt]

Now that is really creative. Like it very much.

[MHD]

heheh.... When I first saw it I questioned it's validity... and Link said "I knew you would ask"
")

[dooda]

Yep, this really makes you look twice. A great shot, and probably a winner IMO. I only wish that the eye was bloodshot and crying for drama, but otherwise a great shot

I really admire how this happened as well. Goes to show how cool effects can be achieved through fiddling around. Thanks.

[Link]

Thanks all for your comments, I was actually a bit afraid it would be discarded as a cheat because people think it was made of two separate images.

I'm grateful to Scott to have replied to forum members who were questioning the technique, he did a great job and checked thoroughly it was not a cheat before putting my image up in the gallery!

Link.

[sirhc55]

Well done Link - imagination combined with a great shot is a winner

[xerubus]

wow... i'm very impressed... nice and creative...

[the foto fanatic]

Great innovation!

[Onyx]

If I had known then what I know now, my voting preferences would have been different. Well done Link, it really is an innovative and "different perspective"!

[boxerboy]

Link, just amazing!

Not just to be able to do it, but to think of it in the first place.

I sort of feel, you should have kept us guessing a while longer, it's a bit like a magician giving away his secrets.

Cheers
Peter

[johndec]

If I had known then what I know now, my voting preferences would have been different. Well done Link, it really is an innovative and "different perspective"!

ditto

[kipper]

Onyx, yep....hence why I feel that how a shot is achieved should be included. I think I've read quite a few competitions in photo mags where they tell you equipment used and technique.

[PlatinumWeaver]

Very cool... I also wondered whether it was legal and asked.. I thought perhaps a printed eye as well, then last night when looking at it again wondered if there was a hole in the mirror, but I couldn't work out the radial spikes..

Very nice

[christiand]

Hi Link,

great shot(s).

CD

[johndec]

Onyx, yep....hence why I feel that how a shot is achieved should be included. I think I've read quite a few competitions in photo mags where they tell you equipment used and technique.

Perhaps in hindsight Link should have used the "Blurb" section allowed under the entry to explain how it was shot. Even so, I hope it wins anyway. It's miles ahead of my entry

[kipper]

I quite liked Links, and also the one of harbour bridge and the one of the stairs. The stairs got me thinking which way was up. It confused me for a while

[Deano]

This is a great image and knowing how it was done gives me a new respect for the creativity involved. However, I agree with Leigh that the image should stand alone for the purposes of assessing it against the theme for the competition. Of couse this assumes it is ligit which MHD verified before putting it up.

Good job Link.

Cheers
Dean