View Full Version : PCT: Refractions & Reflections (August 2010)
Gargoyle
2010-08-02, 17:03
I have had a look for past PCT: threads, and I don't think this has been done before... But I apologise if it has.
I have always really liked the effects of reflected and refracted light, especially when water is involved. Most of the time it's not a deliberate choice to capture a reflection, but a side effect of a larger scene. However, I want you to go and get searching for cool deliberate reflection or refraction shots.
Remember to think outside the box a little bit, technically every surface reflects light, we just don't always think of them as reflections.
Here's an old picture (so it's not my entry) to get you thinking...
http://ga.rgoyle.com/an/PCT_August_Example.jpg
We were deliberately trying to get as many people as possible in the reflection on the goggles, but that pink stripes from the light on the tinsel was an accidental capture. I imagine, if you were deliberately trying to capture the light from the tinsel, then some cool effects could be had (without the need for Photoshop too!).
Enjoy...
Great topic choice, this one should be good!
Oh wow, this topic is made of win. I love this sort of stuff...
julesstoop
2010-08-03, 08:58
I'm posting this one outside competition. It's over a year old :) But I still wanted to show it for inspiration. Almost no photoshop:
http://gallery.me.com/julesstoop/100032/drops1/web.jpg
Maybe repost this at the beginning of every new thread?
June 22, 2010 - July 31, 2010
PCT: Respiration and Photosynthesis
Winner: Gargoyle
Runner up: Bryson
Creator: billybobsky
May 18, 2010 - June 21, 2010
PCT: Self Portrait
Winner: billybobsky
Runner up: Turtle
Creator: Chinney
April 16, 2010 - May 15, 2010
PCT: The Delicious Dish
Winner: Chinney
Runner up: AWR
Creator: Brad
March 17, 2010 - April 15, 2010
PCT: Spring is in the air
Winner: Brad
Runner up: billybobsky
Creator: GSpotter
February 17, 2010 - March 15, 2010
PCT: Transportation
Winner: GSpotter
Runner up: not specified
Creator: Dorian Gray
January 16, 2010 - February 15, 2010
PCT: Abstract (or, in other words, "What the heck is that?")
Winner: Dorian Gray
Runner up: not specified
Creator: Chinney
December 15, 2010 - January 15, 2010
PCT: Winter (original contest)
Winner: Chinney
Runner up: julesstoop
Creator: PB PM
I'm posting this one outside competition. It's over a year old :) But I still wanted to show it for inspiration. Almost no photoshop:
http://gallery.me.com/julesstoop/100032/drops1/web.jpg
Dude, you blew the color out of the bottom with that drop!!! :eek:
Nice shot.
Embarrassed to say I didn't notice you guys had a series of threads going. Sort of like our own version of the DP Review photo challenge threads, eh? Not a bad idea. I have a shot that might qualify for this. Was just a fun shot I took with a point-and-shoot. Give me a few minutes to set up a Flikr account...
does this count as refraction? Dunno if it's off the atmosphere or the lens...
http://gallery.me.com/evan.wingfield/100018/_MG_0897/web.jpg?ver=12808503390001
30 second exposure of the Moon out in the Texas Hill Country. Should have got the camera out the 2nd night (you could see the cloudiness of the milky way! it was awesome!), but I was too drunk to operate my camera safely.
DOESN'T COUNT FOR CONTEST - TAKEN TOO EARLY (although only by a few days)
[Never mind, I found the link thingy. Kind of sucks because it even sized it down from 800px. I do need everyone's Flikr info though so you guys can be added to my contacts, comment, etc. Just PM me or whatever you're comfortable with.]
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4137/4856789209_4e72f5e01a.jpg
julesstoop
2010-08-03, 16:14
Dude, you blew the color out of the bottom with that drop!!! :eek:
Nice shot.
Thanks :)
The colours and pattern are a reflection on the water surface, the bowl containing the water is black.
Nice! Really well shot. :)
billybobsky
2010-08-03, 21:28
Thanks :)
The colours and pattern are a reflection on the water surface, the bowl containing the water is black.
That's crazy talk.
Gargoyle
2010-08-04, 16:44
Nice idea evan, but a bit long... How about this below, I've added the links so that you can go and see who won - and look at the past entries.
Previous Challenge
Jul 2010 - Respiration and Photosynthesis (http://forums.applenova.com/showthread.php?t=34704)
Winner: Gargoyle
Runner up: Bryson
Creator: billybobsky
Older Challenges
Jun 2010 - Self Portrait (http://forums.applenova.com/showthread.php?t=34547)
May 2010 - The Delicious Dish (http://forums.applenova.com/showthread.php?t=34402)
Apr 2010 - Spring is in the air (http://forums.applenova.com/showthread.php?t=34241)
Mar 2010 - Transportation (http://forums.applenova.com/showthread.php?t=34102)
Feb 2010 - Abstract (or, in other words, "What the heck is that?") (http://forums.applenova.com/showthread.php?t=33667&page=2#post670937)
Jan 2010 - Winter (original contest) (http://forums.applenova.com/showthread.php?t=33667#post664199)
Mine was taken way too early (obviously)... but I figured I'd put it up anyway. Sure it's just a dingey great lake but I still like the patterns on the surface.
julesstoop
2010-08-04, 19:42
That's crazy talk.
If you like me to explain to you how I did it, just ask :)
billybobsky
2010-08-04, 20:40
I am guessing you illuminated a plate with the crazy colors on it from below positioning the plate at the same angle that the camera was at on the opposite side of the bowl ensuring that the surface of the water was fully reflecting the colored plate into the camera lens.
There are probably other ways of doing it...
Was this how you did it?
julesstoop
2010-08-05, 03:24
With the addition of 2 flashes and the notion I had to use a very small aperture f/29 for a large depth of field, You basically nailed it. :) (Well, the plate was a color print on photo paper)
But the setup was the easy part, getting the drop to fall at the right spot and releasing the shutter at the right moment, however...
I am looking forward to the pics in this thread. I love reflection and refraction in photos. I'll likely add something of my own, although it is unlikely to be quite as nice as some of the other ones already posted.
GSpotter
2010-08-14, 01:48
My entry is a street view of Braunschweig (Brunswick) where some old buildings are reflected in a glass store front.
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4116/4890281822_cd206d9ffd_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/iphotograph/4890281822/)
http://bryson.albassamtheatre.com//Boatspre.jpg (http://bryson.albassamtheatre.com//Boats.jpg)
Click to embiggen.
This is out at Garry Point in Steveston near Vancouver. It was an absolutely perfect sunset, green flash and everything.
Taken with an iPhone 3GS.
I think this may be my entry.
http://robdphotos.smugmug.com/Landscapes/Travel-Photography/RD17922/969785943_eAHAn-XL.jpg
Colors of the sky are gorgeous in that one!
I lurve pictures like these with well-framed reflections and mind-bending refractions, but I couldn't set up a good shot to save my life. As much as I'd like to contribute, I'll be sitting this competition out. :)
The best loosely-related alternative I could offer up is a crop of a 3D scene I'm working on again recently (after having started it and put it off for a few months), in which I'm trying to get some transparent and slightly reflective materials to bounce light correctly.
http://i35.tinypic.com/2jf0ikx.jpg
OMG that is amazing. :D :D :D
Colors of the sky are gorgeous in that one!
Vancouver looked like that every night this week! Forest fires make for great sunsets....
Gargoyle
2010-08-15, 03:32
Ohh, some nice ones starting to come in. Loving the sunset with the moon crescent right in the middle!
Keep them coming.
Gargoyle
2010-08-31, 17:22
Nothing since the 15th! Come on, most of you are 1/2 a day behind me here in the UK, so you have any extra 12 hours to get some entries in and I'll big a winner at lunch time (UK) tomorrow.
julesstoop
2010-08-31, 18:48
Finally made something which didn't require elaborate post-processing. One long exposure from a tripod, four manual flash fires and just a few tweaks in post-processing.
http://lh6.ggpht.com/_QTZjZxsRNe0/TH2T72EhCaI/AAAAAAAACuw/sOWXW1XwgkU/weilandklein.jpg
Ach. I'm on vacation and I forgot the cord to download my photos from my camera to my laptop. I guess I will not be submitting this month (first PCT contest that I have missed). Sorry.
I may do a late entry. Not to win, obviously, but I did take a snap specifically for this thread, so it would be a shame not to post it at all.
billybobsky
2010-08-31, 20:11
gah! where did the month go? (besides moving etc etc)...
RowdyScot
2010-08-31, 20:24
I lurve pictures like these with well-framed reflections and mind-bending refractions, but I couldn't set up a good shot to save my life. As much as I'd like to contribute, I'll be sitting this competition out. :)
The best loosely-related alternative I could offer up is a crop of a 3D scene I'm working on again recently (after having started it and put it off for a few months), in which I'm trying to get some transparent and slightly reflective materials to bounce light correctly.
http://i35.tinypic.com/2jf0ikx.jpg
LURVE
Totally loving the Ice Rod. :D
Drat!!! Totally didn't think about it. I'll see what I can come up with in the time left. If I miss it, it'll be two challenges missed in a row. :(
Edit: Nothing like what I wanted to get done and it only served to show my dirty sensor. :\
http://kellyent.dyndns.org/an/IMG_3399.png
Not sure why the image isn't showing:
http://kellyent.dyndns.org/an/IMG_3399.png
Gargoyle
2010-09-01, 16:42
OK, so bit later than I planned due to a hectic day, but here we go... drumroll please....
... and the winner is ... (Dramatic pause, for effect) ...
julesstoop for this entry. Loving the colours and the ghostly figure - You also managed to kind of bend time too! Brilliant!
http://ga.rgoyle.com/an/PCT_August_winner.png
(http://lh6.ggpht.com/_QTZjZxsRNe0/TH2T72EhCaI/AAAAAAAACuw/sOWXW1XwgkU/weilandklein.jpg)
After you posted the photo of that "black" bowl, I was hoping for something else from you, and you didn't let me down.
And an honourable mention has to goto PB PM. My eye keeps getting drawn to the moon and its reflection right in-between those two red dots!
Onward with September then J.
Congrats julesstoop, that is a great image.
Yes, Congrats to you! I really liked it as well.
I even almost feel bad for what I submitted. I was planning to do a bubble on a plant outside but it never happened.
julesstoop
2010-09-02, 11:23
Thanks Paul, guys! I'm honored!
I even sort off doubted if I'd place this picture, since it's relation to the subject is of a philosophical nature, and not really literal. So I'm pleasantly surprised you got it :) Never underestimate AppleNovans!
I'll come up with a new challenge this weekend.
billybobsky
2010-09-11, 18:39
Jules?
Should we have PB PM come up with a topic?
Give Jules a few more days, and we'll go from there. I was kind of surprised to come back from my trip and not see a new topic.
Has anyone PM'ed him yet? He's been on the board since being picked. I'm guessing he just forgot about it.
billybobsky
2010-09-14, 20:49
Alright, I shot him a PM, and haven't heard back (he was last on this site on Sat...)... Its been almost two weeks, so PB PM, you up for coming up with a challenge?
holy crap it's been 2 weeks. SLOW DOWN SEPTEMBER
Alright, I shot him a PM, and haven't heard back (he was last on this site on Sat...)... Its been almost two weeks, so PB PM, you up for coming up with a challenge?
I have a few ideas, so I can put something together tomorrow.
I know that it is too late to actually enter the contest, but as I posted earlier, I did take a photo for it that I had intended to enter, if I had gotten myself together in time. For what it is worth, here it is:
http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4126/5005539068_7e78399d81_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/18678497@N03/5005539068/sizes/l/in/datetaken/)
I called it "cottage life" on my flickr page. It's a pic from a summer evening at our cabin in Quebec.
billybobsky
2010-09-19, 15:46
stalky stalker father.
I rather like that one. :) It took me a second to figure out what the woman was doing at the coffee table.
I rather like that one. :) It took me a second to figure out what the woman was doing at the coffee table.
:) Ha. "The woman". It is hard for me to get used to her being called a "woman", since she is my daughter. She is now 14, but she is taller than my wife. They grow up so fast. Anyways, she is working on a puzzle. My other daughter, 16, is playing her violin. Her boyfriend (also a difficult concept, but I am getting used to it), is doing the dishes at the sink (at least he is doing the dishes). Just out of the picture is my wife, sitting at a couch just past the left side of the picture frame.
Dorian Gray
2010-09-20, 11:57
Who's the old man reflected in the window? ;)
I like it, Chinney.
Congrats to julesstoop for winning the comp (not so much for then disappearing! :lol:).
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