WSA

A great image. For your first composite I think you did a really excellent job. I love the starburst in the sun and the overall warm tones.

Fantastic composite, well beyond my skill level in PS ! Beautifully done !

Thanks guys. I love doing this kind of stuff. It's a nice break from landscapes and keeps the ps skills honed and helps me improve them.

Lorna, no need to cut yourself down. Like anything in life practice and patience are the key. You yourself have some of the best bokeh flower and intimate photography I've seen. Well beyond my skill level. ;] And that spider shot has some amazing symmetry....very creative catch.

Thanks Nicolaus , I 'm thinking of myself not as having faults with PS it's more like no interest in learning it !! Art brain not a tech brain ! I do appreciate the hard work and beauty of others PS work all the same though and yours is paying off ! Cheers

Could be a billboard for a movie!

This is very striking Nicolaus. I particularly like the light on the model's face and the reflection in the sunglasses. No suggestions on my part.

pat

This is awesome, Nicolaus. I don't have those photoshop skills either, but no matter, this is just fantastic IMO. You really have an amazing feel here. I love the colors, lighting, starburst and wonderful detail...heck, I just like it all, especially the feel! I would think you got what you were after with this. Fantastic!!

Nick Bristol
Lone Rock, WI

Great image, Nicolaus.

Congrats on the EP, Nicolaus. I'll bet most of the outdoor photographers here don't have a handle on your lighting technicals. I've gotten into studio mode in the last year and I appreciated it. Shooting with PCB Alien Bees now with a couple of Einsteins and CyberCommander on my wish list.

Wow, how cool! Your first attempt?? Exceptional!
Congrats on the EP!
Sandy

Sweet, thanks for the EP. ;]

Buck, I really enjoy every aspect of photography and see no reason to limit the fun to just landscapes. Landscape photography is my favorite no doubt, but I enjoy the technical challenge and control that studio lighting allows. Get yourself the Einsteins as soon as you can. They are bar none the best lights I have ever used...and guess what? You don't have to use ND filters to get correct exposures when shooting outdoors in full light. Most studio lights are too powerful, but the Einsteins allow you to drop the power all the way to something like 2.5 watts while still keeping things super close to 5600K on color mode. And Paul C Buff is just awesome (a true visionary who does not get enough credit for his contributions and advancements to studio lighting tech)...so I'll be sticking with Alienbees for a long time.

Yup Sandy, this is my first real composite attempt. I've done plenty of landscapes where images are blended for dof and exposure (all from the same location and in the same time frame), but never two images from two completely different places under totally different lighting conditions. I have a new found respect for composite pros like Dave Hill and Chris Waind.

This is super! I am no techy...but, may have to bear down and learn....as this inspires! But, what is untouchable is your composition and vision. Congrats. Ken S

Wicked! Awesome job for a first PA composite...congrats! You denied yourself a couple more hours of PS fun though--by placing the model so you wouldn't have to deal with the ever-painful shadow challenge

Definitely very book of Eli, except not as stark as the landscape in the movie (and that's just fine by me). Very cool image. The windblown scarf is a nice touch.

Stan, check out my other post in the photo art gallery. Shadow fun...and not so fun. It's not perfect, but most people won't notice the imperfections given the average amount of time spent viewing an image before moving on. ;]

Make sure to check out the corrected version.
http://www.naturephotographers.net/imagecritique/ic.cgi?a=vp&pr=180613&CGISESSID=e6d3b48ca82e0c14c60d7e0823ff3603&u=20357

Great composite and congrats ont eh WP!

This is such a unique photo for NPN. The finished product is exceptional - I think you nailed the look and feel you were going for. FWIW, I am a "black rifle" enthusiast too.

One suggestion - if would you be willing to offer this as a desktop background, we could add it to the Wallpaper Gallery. If not, I'd love to have this as a wallpaper for my own computer, sized to 1920 X 1200.

Nicolaus,

Love the composite! Great feel, lighting, and story. Ya nailed this one... Is that a Rock River AR15 Tactical Operator2 with red dot site?

Thanks Marc. Sorry for the late reply. Been busy with portrait photography so I have not had much time to check out this site.

That's a Barrett M4 6.8 with a Leopold Prismatic Riflescope. I think they call it a REC7 now. Fires the more powerful (and expensive!) 6.8 SPC round. The round has a bit more punch than a 5.56. Barrett designed it because soldiers were complaining that the typical m4s took too many rounds to drop a target. It's also more durable and easier to clean. ;]