Candle in the wind

[subrataofkris]

A slight flcker of the flame, undecided about where to place the candle, messy ISO, but still a shot worth asking for a critique, that's what I felt



EXIF
F/6.3, 1/40, 0.7 ev, Aperture Priority, 200 mm, ISO 800

I don't mind a good shake up

[wulf]

What is your "vision" for the shot? Just another lit candle or is there a story to tell (or at least hint at)?

Wulf

[clockdoc]

As a record shot of a lit candle, hopefully you learned something about exposure values. As a photo, it is lacking interest. If it had been used to illuminate something in the shot or if multiple candles had been used in some artistic fashion, it would make for a stronger image.

[wulf]

It would probably make a good stock image - shift the candle to the right (without truncating the flame... and perhaps rotate the candle a little straighter) and you have a graphic that would make an excellent background for a poster or flyer.

Wulf

[Drax]

Hi, subrataofkris!
I couldn't figure out what you had in mind when you made this shot. Well, i also took took the liberty to re-edit it. These days, I'm a kind of playing around with my post-production softwares; and i took a "try" with your shot. I just hope i didn't worsen it.

I used Picasa2 to focalise the color, Paintshop pro X2 to reduce the noise and add a hand painting effect, and lightroom to adjust the exposure.

Dear Wulf, will you please instruct me on how to remove the wave effect in the halo of the fire?

Peace!!!

[wulf]

Originally Posted by Drax

Dear Wulf, will you please instruct me on how to remove the wave effect in the halo of the fire?

Although I'm not too shabby at post processing I think there are a few others on the site who probably deserve to be called on more than me. However, I can tell you what my initial approach would be - select the flame, invert the selection (and trim down to cut out the candle) then blur (with a feathered edge to the selection to avoid the transition being too obvious). This would remove the noise - I would also experiment with making the background a bit darker (your processing has lightened it a lot).

Wulf

[Drax]

thx for your advice, i will try this as soon as possible. (And by the way, don't be too humble; i often find your advices very helpful)

[subrataofkris]

Wulf, I took this shot thinking of breaking the rules, the only thing I liked about it is the warm yellowish glow. You are right, not much planning behind this makes this just another mundane candle shot.

clockdoc, I agree with you whole heartedly.

Drax, this is just a practise shot for you, I enjoy when anyone does someting with my photos.