February 25, 2012

Photo Challenge: These Are a Few of My Favorite Things


It’s time for another Brenda Photo Challenge! The subject is “these are a few of my favorite things.” Please visit the link to see contributions by the other participants! 

This photo assignment was difficult! First of all, I had a terrible time figuring out what “few” things I could use in my photo shoot. I have a lot of favorites! I finally settled on a grouping of new bookends and some treasured books. The bookends are rustic, metal rabbits! They are whimsically shaped into a strenuous pose, showing their struggle to hold weighty tomes upright. I had to buy them. They make me laugh! And the treasured books are ones that my husband bought for us 30 years ago. These are collector editions of the J.R.R. Tolkien classics, The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit (or There and Back Again). Each book is encased in colorful sheaths. We adore the stories and were thrilled when the movies were released in 2001-2003. And we’re looking forward to the December movie release of The Hobbit

The second difficulty I had was setting up and executing the final image. I photographed the scene in my home office and used only natural light. Though the light level was relatively low, I had to deal with some annoying shine on the metal rabbits and the gold lettering on the books. Hot spots in a photo are not attractive. Plus, light was needed to fill in on the right-hand side. I ended up taking about two-dozen shots and half-way processed a couple of them before I finally settled on the final image. The finished product took me an hour and a half to accomplish. (I’m a slow and deliberate learner, LOL.) 

The camera settings were f/3.5 (for a shallow depth of field), 1/40 second, and ISO 320. I used an 85 mm lens and a tripod. I began the photo shoot by using a white deflector on the right-hand side of the image to bounce light into the scene. The reflections on the lettering were mottled. It wasn’t the look that I wanted. Frustrated, I started moving the reflector around to see if it would change the effect. Low and behold, holding the reflector directly beneath the scene evened out the light and eliminated the reflections that were annoying me. It was a breakthrough moment to finally figure that out! Digital processing in Photoshop was aided by multiple filters from the Nik Color Efex 4.0 plug-in program, including ones for contrast, detail, and vignette. 

And now that you know the stories behind the photo, here are the bunnies paying homage to Tolkien. 





The Lord of the Rings
Three Rings for the Elven-kings under the sky,
Seven for the Dwarf-lords in their halls of stone,
Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die,
One for the Dark Lord on his dark throne
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.
One Ring to rule them all, One Ring to find them,
One Ring to bring them all and in the darkness bind them
In the Land of Mordor where the Shadows lie.

19 comments:

  1. Wow! Your hard work definitely shows in that fantastic picture! I love the bookends! They are cute and very original! I can see why they are favorites!

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  2. Oh my...This is beautifully done Donna! Love those bookends.
    Can't wait to see The Hobbit as well!
    hughugs

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  3. beautifully done! and i'd have bought those cute, hard-working rabbits, too! :)

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  4. Many of us hardly ever imagine the concentration and work it takes to snap a good picture. You did a good job!
    Your favorites look great!
    Sue.

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  5. you are always so creative in your photo taking for these challenges. i adore your thought process and execution. very inspirational :))
    i think i tend to forget the 'challenge' part of these posts
    well done my friend - i look forward to see what you come up with next time
    have a great day-

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  6. Thank you for explaining what you did to achieve this great shot. It's starting to just begin to make sense. How redundant was that sentence? Anyway, what I mean is that the light is beginning to dawn. It'll take me forever to achieve anything similar to what you do, but I can strive to attain something closer than before. It is a marvelous photo with plenty of wit behind it, too. Great bookends those bunnies!

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  7. I have read the trilogy a few times, loved the genre well.

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  8. Super shot!! I love, love, love, the bookends!!

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  9. Oh my gosh! I love, love, love the photo. I am such a Lord of the Rings nerd, and that set is so gorgeous. The Hobbit can't get here soon enough for me!

    Now about the Martys... what awesome bookends, and how absolutely perfect for you! As always, I am so impressed by the quality of your photography.

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  10. You are very clever Donna and very meticulous. Love the photo, and the bookends and books of course too!

    Unlike me who has posted in 5 minutes, thanks for your visiting and reminding me that I was Not Ready!
    Many Thanks, Donna

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  11. You set the stage perfectly. Love the photo and the rabbits.
    I haven't done the Brenda photo challenge in ages, I should get back in to it

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  12. Love the rabbits and the shot! Have a nice day!

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  13. Aha, I do like the spring makeover Donna...very nice!
    And prayers for your Mum. I didn't get to read the post below last visit.

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  14. Well, that was a lot of work, but the result is a gorgeous photo! I love the dark backdrop ~ it lends a wonderful mood to the books and the bunnies!

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  15. Very nice, Donna. Like your new header also. :)

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  16. YOu really captured what your favorite things in this one shot. What an amazing combination of the books and bookends. The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit are also my favorite books. My brother got me hooked on it.

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  17. I love your rabbit bookends! They are really throwing themselves into their job. Also I have that same green volume! Happy Monday!

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  18. Sorry to be late visiting...I envy your photography skills. You are amazing!

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  19. Ishare your passion on this, I must say the book end are amazing! I just found you today, Iam so glad I have!

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Marty, here! Donna loves comments, and I faithfully pass them on to her. Thank you so much for visiting!