Crystal Ball Predicts Harvest Season by taffy

Crystal Ball Predicts Harvest Season

Boring day of photography today so went back to one I'd been working on. I'd taken my crystal ball to a field with hay bales, to explore how variation in aperture and resulting DoF contribute to making an interesting image. For hay bales, I thought the most interesting shots had the shallowest DoF. Took it a step further with SnapArt processing.
Alternate that is more in focus and no SnapArt processing: http://365project.org/taffy/the-also-ran-ph/2014-07-28
Awesome picture.
July 29th, 2014  
It's so unusual seeing a crystal ball shot with shallow dof. Usually they are crystal clear from front to back. I like this variation
July 29th, 2014  
Very cool shot, must use my ball (the crystal one) more often
July 29th, 2014  
Very clever ,,, fantastic,,
July 29th, 2014  
@swilde Thanks Sue -- I just posted my alternate where I did the more conventional approach, but just blurred it a bit.
July 29th, 2014  
WOW!!! Love those crystal balls. I need one This is so lovely and creative. Super fav.
July 29th, 2014  
So much fun to play with the glass balls! And I've always liked the round hay bales better than rectangular ones.s
July 29th, 2014  
Very impressive- I've to buy one of these:)
July 29th, 2014  
This one has a very painterly feel to it.....I like it! Interestingly enough, when I first started experimenting with the crystal ball I thought I needed a shallow DOF, and then I was not happy with the results. I have since found that f8 works pretty well since the distance to the actual subject is so much greater than the focus point on the crystal ball that the blur automatically happens. It is really fun to experiment with it for different situations.
July 29th, 2014  
Very clever and beautiful!
July 29th, 2014  
Lovely soft capture Taffy.
July 29th, 2014  
Wonderful capture. What size is the crystal ball?
July 29th, 2014  
Very clever shot.
July 29th, 2014  
I looked at both before commenting and still can't make my mind up. I love the blurring of this one.
July 29th, 2014  
Also shows that great creativity, my vote is with the other one.
July 29th, 2014  
great shot. very clever.
July 29th, 2014  
I think I prefer the other one, with the ball sharp and the background blurred. It's always good to experiment and something is always taken away from it!
July 29th, 2014  
Fav love the background beautiful photo too.
July 29th, 2014  
Great shot Taffy, love that processing. I've gotta get a crystal ball!!
July 29th, 2014  
That is the joy of a digital photographer. We can play with the shot and/or the processing. This is really cool. My imagination is running away because I see an eye with an eyebrow and a big nose in the hay ball. Maybe time for more coffee.
July 29th, 2014  
Hi! Sorry I've taken so long to reply to your challenge. I was away at the commonwealth games! I love your challenge and have a few for it. Your project is great and I've really enjoyed it. I was wondering if you would like to take an "unusually beautiful" photo?
July 29th, 2014  
Very creative
July 29th, 2014  
Interesting experiment Taffy - I like the two different effects.
July 29th, 2014  
Cool shot
July 29th, 2014  
@mei_photography Glad the challenge works for you. Unusually beautiful?? I'll give it a try! Do you mean as in EOTB? Conventional definition of beauty?
July 29th, 2014  
@bizziebeeme Thanks Loupy! I think it's a 50mm -- maybe 2: in diameter?
July 29th, 2014  
Great title.
July 29th, 2014  
@taffy EOTB is one thing I'd thought of but if you find another way to interpret it that's fab!
July 29th, 2014  
@mei_photography Works perfectly!
July 29th, 2014  
Cool shot and love that you posted what you did. It looks so much like a painting inside the crystal ball. Love your processing. Now to get another camera and play with my crystal ball and f stops too.
July 29th, 2014  
Looks like a Monet! Cool effects and a pleasing capture.
July 29th, 2014  
Actually prefer this one - the blur suits the composition better makes the ball part of the overall picture
July 29th, 2014  
Very interesting presentation
July 29th, 2014  
Haha, great title and I like the vagueness.
July 30th, 2014  
Very artsy!................love the caption.
July 30th, 2014  
Yes, it's coming in clearly. :) Perfect caption. Great idea.
July 30th, 2014  
I like the blur of this shot, even has a painting-like look to it!
July 30th, 2014  
Great shot.
August 4th, 2014  
clever shot
August 5th, 2014  
Well done! Projecting a story with your magic ball . .. effective shot.
August 9th, 2014  
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