dj.tigersprout's photoblog
Meeyoung Snaps a Pic (Chena Ice Museum)
Posted by dj.tigersprout (New York City, United States) on 16 September 2009 in Architecture and Portfolio.
this was the very first post i had here on am3 -- and i remember feeling very anxious about how it would be received as i had never participated in an online community-gallery before. fast forward basically 1.25 years and i find myself often looking back at where i started to see what i was achieving then: subject, composition and light-wise -- and then comparing those states to where i have gotten to most recently.
one thing is for sure -- i have certainly learned a lot about post processing!! ;)
here i have taken that original photo and processed in photoshop instead of picassa as i had done before. and as opposed to trying to work with the funky colored yellow lighting, i have opted for a light yellowish-gray duotone -- which i believe strongly relates back to the original atmospheric light, while at the same time giving me something completely different... something colder, something harder, more solid and with more depth.
i certainly couldn't have achieved these types of results when i first started out -- i had never truly thought much of black and white! sure, i had loved famous black and white photography (ansel adams, warhol, alfred stieglitz, georgia o'keefe, manray, mapplethorpe) as a kid, but being a watercolor enthusiast since the age of 7, i never really envisioned working without color.
so much has changed in the last 15 months! i really love black and white processing now -- and in some situations, even more than color! figure that! :)
**about the pic: this is inside the famous ice-hotel / museum on the Chena Hot Springs resort grounds -- about an hour and 20 minutes drive out of Fairbanks, Alaska. a beautiful place -- i highly recommend!!
all work protected by Creative Commons
@k@: thanks much darling!!! can you believe when i first started i was nervous about this shot -- even though deep down i really loved it!!! of course -- now with the new processing, i love it even more!!! :D xoxo
Paco Díaz from Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Incredible! Very beautiful ice palace! I have to go there right now! :))
Thanks for posting it.
16 Sep 2009 7:08am
@Paco Díaz: muchas gracias Paco!!! thank you my friend!! :)
@Ana Lúcia: thanks Ana!
MrsAmber from West Wickham, United Kingdom
Yes, good lighting and processing from the original shot I looked at! Wonderful as ever!
16 Sep 2009 9:10am
@MrsAmber: thanks Amber!! i hope you enjoyed your trip!! :)
grouser from Ludlow, United Kingdom
You are just a glutton for cold DJ. Lovely light here though
16 Sep 2009 10:11am
@grouser: lol -- i am chasing the light!! twilight lives in cold places...!!! ;)
callemie from Belgium
freezing cold but great shot
it's a little quiet I know but the lessons are taking a lot of my time hihih
16 Sep 2009 10:45am
@callemie: enjoy those classes Callemie!! tell me all about them if you get the chance!! :) xoxox
akarui from Kagoshima, Japan
Amazing structure with only ice! It should be a great spot to visit. Very nice processing.
16 Sep 2009 12:35pm
@akarui: thanks Olivier!!! :)
@Stefan: thanks Stefan!
@Onlymehdi: thanks Mehdi!!
Monique from Koh Samui, Thailand
You've certainly improved! I like this one much better, it's more sparkling, sharper and clearer and the color toning is just fantastic. Wonderful photo!
16 Sep 2009 1:24pm
@Monique: thanks very much Monique!!! :)
Framed and Shot from Houston, United States
Great light coming through the ice. The black and white highlights it well.
Nice work!
16 Sep 2009 1:39pm
@Framed and Shot: thanks very much for the visit and comment! cheers! :)
@MARIANA: thank you Mariana!!! :)
john4jack from Corvallis, Oregon, United States
Dynamite monochrome. Wonderful tones. Excellent composition.
16 Sep 2009 2:48pm
@john4jack: thanks very much mate!
hugo poon from hong kong, Hong Kong
Absolutely spectacular!!! While I do share your joy in being able to enhance the image through advanced processing skills, I admire just as much (if not more) your eye for the shot in the first place! Beautiful pic Jaycee!:-)
16 Sep 2009 2:57pm
@hugo poon: Sincere thanks Hugo! :) one thing i can say -- for better or for worse -- is my compositional style has changed the least... although i now prefer vertical shots, where in the beginning i did prefer horizontal shots...!! thanks again mate -- cheers to you!! :)
Steven from Chicagoland, United States
What beautiful light and how it is differentiated between all the cubes with their lines. I love your review of the last 1.25 years. I wish I could say the same about learning. You've come a long way quickly!
16 Sep 2009 3:09pm
@Steven: thanks Steven!! yes -- i have had a bit of an accelerated path -- i got 'fused' quickly. i think my life longhistory of painting and drawing and my college major in fine arts has made the quicker progress possible. in essence i am only learning to use 'new' tools to create a differing set of images. still got a long way to go -- but i too am happy with my progress thus far! cheers to you!! :)
Michael Rawluk from Williams Lake, BC, Canada
I love that lamp (?) that looks like a big cut gem.
16 Sep 2009 3:54pm
@Michael Rawluk: yes -- it was a big blue ice lamp!! very cool carving -- all those bumps -- a big gem for sure!! thanks Michael!!
Laurie from New Jersey, United States
This is certainly a beautiful version of the image.
16 Sep 2009 5:01pm
@Laurie: thanks Laurie!
Yvonne Simons from Tilburg, Netherlands
You become a photoshop expert, this is a perfect version!!
16 Sep 2009 5:26pm
@Yvonne Simons: thanks Yvonne!! :)
MadScientist from Düsseldorf, Germany
This is indeed a stunning progress, the joys of concerning oneself with image post-processing couldn't be illustrated better! Go on this way, this is just great!
16 Sep 2009 6:08pm
@MadScientist: thanks heaps Manfred!! :)
Daryl Johnson from Farnham, United Kingdom
An interesting contrast. And I'd love to visit an ice hotel!
16 Sep 2009 6:40pm
@Daryl Johnson: thanks Daryl! they are certainly fun places to visit -- i would love to stay in one -- but they are quite costly!
Graham Russon from Cape Town, South Africa
Nice work, its amazing to go back over time and see how we improve.
16 Sep 2009 7:36pm
@Graham Russon: thanks mate!!
Twelvebit from Victoria, United States
I remember; and I like them both. If it was me, I'd have just caused myself another of my frequent dilemma's trying to choose between two different versions.
16 Sep 2009 9:53pm
@Twelvebit: LOL. luckily for me i almost always prefer one version over the other... but i can feel your anguish! ;)
Brian Chen from Seattle, Venezuela
That is one amazing shot, i've never been to a ice museum before, must do some research now!
16 Sep 2009 11:44pm
@Brian Chen: i think this is the nearest one -- central alaska. i am sure there is one in canada somewhere too... otherwise: iceland, norway, sweden, denmark, amsterdam are your other choices!
@PD: thanks Paul!!
Stephen Phillips from San Francisco, United States
Were I showing students an example of light control - this image would top the chapter. Excellent!
17 Sep 2009 3:15am
@Stephen Phillips: thanks kindly Stephen!! i can't wait to get lightroom 2 and see how that affects my workflow! :)
Ivar from Indianapolis, Iceland
Very nicely done... and a cool shot. The b&w really brings out a different feel to the photo as well. Nice work
17 Sep 2009 3:34am
@Ivar: thanks Ivar!!
shoti from Everywhere in the, Philippines
very elegant structure! b&w processing is superb! :)
17 Sep 2009 6:41am
@shoti: thanks Shoti!!
jamesy from christchurch, New Zealand
what an amazing difference between the two shots. The processing of this is superb. Well done you should be very proud of what you have done
17 Sep 2009 6:56am
@jamesy: thanks much Deb!!! :) x
@missparis: thank you Veronique!! :)
Zing from Hamilton, New Zealand
Great work, love the processing. I want to visit this place!
17 Sep 2009 8:17am
@Zing: thanks mate!! yes -- ice museums / hotels are a very cool (sorry for the pun) experience indeed! :)
@Seb!: thank you Seb! :)
P.J. from United States
Quite the difference! I like this image in black and white. It really works well!
17 Sep 2009 5:54pm
@P.J.: thanks very much for the visit and comment PJ!!
Steve Rice from Olympia, United States
A brilliant image both literally and figuratively. Amazing work!
17 Sep 2009 6:02pm
@Steve Rice: thanks Steve!! cheers!
Jason Kravitz from Brussels, Belgium
one of my fav things about keeping a photoblog is going back to the start - I find my first few photos to be so different too ! It's also nice to take an old image and see it in a new way - I like what you've done with this one - it does bring out the light much better I think.
btw - thanks for catching up with my blog and all the great comments
17 Sep 2009 7:40pm
@Jason Kravitz: thanks Jason! :)
@One: thank you Leone!!! :)
Laurent from Lyon, France
crystal ice!!! superb.
I like the b&w choice that focus on the light and textures
18 Sep 2009 4:56am
@Laurent: merci a toi Laurent!
@rem_la: thanks Rem!! :)
@ripple: cheers mate!
Aurore from Pekin, France
Excellent luminous b&w, really like it !! Bravo Jaycee, great idea, and tou composed it very well.
18 Sep 2009 6:46pm
@Aurore: thanks very much Aurore!!! :)
@shygefe: thank you!!
Elaine- from Canada
and people STAY in an ice hotel? lol i can't imagine sleeping in the cold like that lol... but how gorgeous, its like crystal only more beautiful somehow... and i do really like the processing now, well done grasshopper, you have come far :) kiss kiss
19 Sep 2009 3:16am
@Elaine-: lol -- yes hey can -- and they pay an extraordinary amount per night to do so!!! ;) kisses to you darling!! xoxoxo
Mike from Lichfield, United Kingdom
The black and white works very well here. The picture also looks a lot sharper than the original one.
19 Sep 2009 8:24am
@Mike: thanks Mike -- (and thank goodness for photoshop)!!!
@Ken: lol -- work it Kenny! ;)
Giovanni from Milan, Italy
Much better after the excellent b&w processing!! Love it! It should be a very nice place!
19 Sep 2009 8:49pm
ManuelaR from Hainburg (Frankfurt/Main), Germany
Incredible beautiful and much prefer this one than the original!
I agree with you Jaycee, in many occasions b&w has more character than colour. I am a big fan of b&w but have not reached your quality yet... maybe one day :)
20 Sep 2009 2:12pm
Evelyne Dubos from Le Mans, France
A magic place. A good version, B&W suit well and post-processing is better, especially the sharpness.
20 Sep 2009 10:47pm
Magda from Vancouver, Canada
Wow! Fabulous! Would love to see it with my own eyes!!! Gorgeous!
21 Sep 2009 4:59am
bluechameleon from Vancouver, Canada
This is just incredible! I can't even imagine what this must have been like to see, and you have captured the essence so well.
I don't recall having see this original post, but I do remember you being so well received by the community at AM3 and the photoblog community at large...and still to this day!
I am so happy to have met you here and to be able to see your beautiful work :)
21 Sep 2009 12:40pm
@bluechameleon: thanks so much BC!! it has certainly been a very wonderful 1.25 years -- and very inspiring as well!! if i had not joined Am3 -- we would have never met and i would have never had the wonderful, magical pleasure of viewing and whole-heartedly appreciating your brilliant monochrome processing styles -- you are still the one that originally sold me on the intriguing, deep 'velvety' black shadows that would eventually lead me to experiment with b&w!!! so THANKS a million!!! :D this community has really propelled me to where i am now -- living in NYC and chasing up a career in photographic images!! best wishes and heartfelt thanks from NYC!!! :) x
Howard F. from South Pasadena, Calif., United States
That's a nice and soothing view especially under today's temperature (98)! I just need to close my eyes and think of giant ice cubes surrounding me ah~ Nice shot.
21 Sep 2009 6:31pm
@Howard F.: oh -- i wish we had 98 degrees! i think it was only 65 today -- and it has been quite cool now for 2 weeks!!! :( but all the best to you -- enjoy the heat til it goes!! cheers! :)
Emilio Garcia from Pleasanton, United States
I have enjoyed tremendously your comments and comparisons (B&W versus Color). I have been toying with the idea of "doing" some B&W work. This will be a clear inducements to this now. The same goes for processing, I also started without much processing and it certainly adds to the photographic experience. Your B&W shot is gorgeous.
21 Sep 2009 8:32pm
@Emilio Garcia: thanks Emilio!! great to hear from you -- hope all has been well on the west coast!! :) yes -- it was a slow start for me, but it quickly gained speed! i remember messing around with b/w about a year ago -- never to much real effect. since moving here to nyc, i had quite a few months of un-distracted focus on mono processing -- and what an effect i feel it has made!! now i am getting into duotones, tritones and quadtones!!! it just gets more and more interesting!! pick up scott kelby's photoshop cs3 book -- you won't be disappointed!! and you will learn a TON! :) cheers to you mate!
peter from new york, United States
such intricate and lovely detail. i'd love to go there one day!
22 Sep 2009 2:50am
10Fraction from Rennes, France
you began with a marvelous picture, I do love it, the transparencie of the ice is stunning, the sculpture of this arch an excellent subject and there is even someone on the picture, a very good begining
22 Sep 2009 4:18am
Kurt from San Francisco, United States
That's so helpful and enlightening to see the images side-by-side. I can see how the original was lovely in its own way...but then how your sharpened, more experienced eye has honed in on what was so captivating in that image, yet managed to ease out elements that were, now we can see, somewhat distracting and unbalanced. The result here is stellar.
22 Sep 2009 5:02am
'Paul from Minneapolis, United States
.. nice crisp shot! well done. looks like a great place to visit also.
22 Sep 2009 5:52pm
grant from kansas city, United States
it's very interesting to see how you see this image over a year later. they are distinctly different - both very fine, but quite different i think.
22 Sep 2009 11:11pm
@grant: thanks heaps Grant!! :) yes, what a difference a year can make!! hopefully by this time next year, i will have tackled HDR processing and begun experimenting with large format photography too!!
Canon EOS REBEL XT
1/13 second
F/3.5
ISO 400
18 mm
ice-museum
chena-vicinity
hot-springs
central-alaska
winter
duotone