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Exhaling



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When her trees die, Mother Nature comes out for a brief moment to watch Autumn's final breathe.
I glued over 300 craft and real leaves onto her dress. She...
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When her trees die, Mother Nature comes out for a brief moment to watch Autumn's final breathe.
I glued over 300 craft and real leaves onto her dress. She is also standing on a foot stool. I had a PCB Einstein with a softlighter II modifier, camera left and high.
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13009

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Awards

Action Award
Chatter Award
Zenith Award
Creative Winter Award
Curator's Selection
Legendary Award
Top Shot Award
Contest Finalist in Once Upon A Time Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Fall 2016 Photo Contest
Featured
Contest Finalist in Image of the Year Photo Contest by Snapfish
Runner Up in I Love This Color Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in I Love This Color Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Fantasy Portraits Photo Contest
Contest Finalist in Amazing People Amazing Places Photo Contest
Featured
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Outstanding Creativity
Superb Composition
Absolute Masterpiece
Peer Award
Top Choice
Superior Skill
juratealaseviien PitbullFuzo RickL Portraitsbydanailya teresafinnerty CarlaK rinkarnatz +42
All Star
HermannKlecker izam ColinDixonPhotography Arzhtatiana millefiori67 robwill236 ThomasJerger +26
Magnificent Capture
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Genius
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Virtuoso
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Emotions

Impressed
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Happy
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Top Ranks

Change Of Seasons Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Change Of Seasons Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Wonders of the World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
ViewBug Photography Awards 2018Top 10 rank
ViewBug Photography Awards 2018Top 10 rank week 2
ViewBug Photography Awards 2018Top 10 rank week 1
The Colors Photo ContestTop 10 rank
The Colors Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Unique Sceneries Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Unique Sceneries Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Unique Sceneries Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
The Beauty Of Fall Photo Contest 2018Top 10 rank
The Beauty Of Fall Photo Contest 2018Top 10 rank week 2
The Beauty Of Fall Photo Contest 2018Top 10 rank week 1
Anything People Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Anything People Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Everything Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Everything Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
The Talent AwardsTop 10 rank
Once Upon A Time Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Once Upon A Time Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Fall 2017 Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Fall 2017 Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
World Photography Day Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank week 2
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 2Top 10 rank week 1
Our Natural World Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Our Natural World Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 1Top 10 rank
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 1Top 10 rank week 2
My Best Shot Photo Contest Vol 1Top 10 rank week 1
Fall 2016 Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Fall 2016 Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Worldscapes Photo ContestTop 20 rank
Worldscapes Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 2
Worldscapes Photo ContestTop 20 rank week 1
Image of the Year Photo Contest by SnapfishTop 10 rank
Image of the Year Photo Contest by SnapfishTop 10 rank week 3
Image of the Year Photo Contest by SnapfishTop 20 rank week 2
Image of the Year Photo Contest by SnapfishTop 10 rank week 1
Inspiring Shots Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Inspiring Shots Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Inspiring Shots Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
I Love This Color Photo ContestTop 10 rank
I Love This Color Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 3
Fantasy Portraits Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Fantasy Portraits Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
I Love This Color Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Fantasy Portraits Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
I Love This Color Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
ViewBugs Best Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank
ViewBugs Best Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
ViewBugs Best Nature Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Amazing People Amazing Places Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Magical Portraits Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Amazing People Amazing Places Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Magical Portraits Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 2
Amazing People Amazing Places Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Magical Portraits Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1
Photographer Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 6Top 20 rank
Photographer Of The Month Photo Contest Vol 6Top 10 rank week 2
Outdoor Portraits Photo ContestTop 10 rank
Outdoor Portraits Photo ContestTop 10 rank week 1

Categories


65 Comments | Report
loriblackburn
 
loriblackburn November 09, 2014
Amazing image!
hannagrace
 
hannagrace January 13, 2015
stunning image!
Remraf
 
Remraf February 14, 2015
Great shot!
MarkKock
 
MarkKock February 14, 2015
Wow, that is so fantastic beautiful, my words cant express... Thank you so much for using so much energy and creativity to make such a great shot :-). PERFECT :-)!
jhonnyyang
 
jhonnyyang February 14, 2015
amazing work
kathymuhle PRO+
 
kathymuhle February 14, 2015
Gorgeous photo - love it - congrats for winning a feature!
kathymuhle PRO+
 
kathymuhle February 14, 2015
Stunning - voted magical portraits
kathymuhle PRO+
 
kathymuhle February 14, 2015
Voted amazing people
naturalmoments
 
naturalmoments February 14, 2015
Just simply GORGEOUS!!! The landscape blending into her is just stunning. GREAT job
hotpixel PRO+
 
hotpixel February 14, 2015
Stunning work !! Congrats !!
AlanJakarta
 
AlanJakarta February 14, 2015
Beautiful image. Congratulations on being Featured.
robhansen
 
robhansen February 14, 2015
Fantastic Artistry !!
Joanna101
 
Joanna101 February 14, 2015
This is unbelievably beautiful.Thank you for your creativity - and hard work!
p_eileenbaltz Platinum
 
p_eileenbaltz February 14, 2015
GORGEOUS!!!
BrianpSlade
 
BrianpSlade February 14, 2015
Great artistic work & vision....well done and congrats....Brian
tetvet PRO+
 
tetvet February 14, 2015
WOW, great shot, nice concept and staging, congrats
PatleV
 
PatleV February 14, 2015
What a beautiful image, amazing creativity
lindamcbride
 
lindamcbride February 14, 2015
Fantastic image, great composition well deserved and effort
chuckrickman
 
chuckrickman February 14, 2015
Artistically magnificent. Congrats on a well deserved feature.
JosiahMendoza
 
JosiahMendoza February 14, 2015
Thanks everyone!
sweetpea72
 
sweetpea72 February 14, 2015
Love this.. Congrats!
Ingleman
 
Ingleman February 14, 2015
Clever, and very effective. Super shot!
melissapapaj Platinum
 
melissapapaj February 14, 2015
Wow!!! Gorgeous!
PaulHenryStudios
 
PaulHenryStudios February 14, 2015
Nice work. congrats
juliedrummond
 
juliedrummond February 15, 2015
Stunning image, very creative!
pfairchild
 
pfairchild February 16, 2015
"Leaves" me speechless!! Honestly, just beautiful :)
dareco
 
dareco February 19, 2015
WOW! voted!
gabajo
 
gabajo February 19, 2015
Stunning Capture! BRAVO
BirdyBug
 
BirdyBug February 22, 2015
Incredible work!! Congratulations!!
LCdutch
 
LCdutch March 05, 2015
What a creative presentation of Mother Nature. All captured in the old world colors and lighting... Like capturing time. Larry
VHiggins
 
VHiggins March 06, 2015
This is magical! congratulations!
Tom_Floor
 
Tom_Floor March 06, 2015
Wow!
Simonalesbrook
 
Simonalesbrook March 07, 2015
Superb atmospheric composition
Angana
 
Angana March 20, 2015
Exalting,rather! :)
Desha
 
Desha April 13, 2015
LOVE!
wenchejostad PRO+
 
wenchejostad May 13, 2015
Congratulations....I love the light, the colors and the creativity :)
karlvoss
 
karlvoss May 20, 2015
This image is very creative and has impact. Great shot. This is far superior to the winner. I don't see anything exciting about the winner. You won in my eyes.
HappyTree
 
HappyTree May 28, 2015
This is lovely!
cherylmuir Ultimate
 
cherylmuir May 28, 2015
Absolutely gorgeous!
Angel1957
 
Angel1957 June 17, 2015
Great idea!! Do you make your waredrobe?
michaeltillman Platinum
 
michaeltillman August 10, 2015
This is fantastic. All I can think about is how patient you had to be to prep the modal and scene for the shot. You should be doing movies. great shot.
Tiphara_Art
 
Tiphara_Art August 10, 2015
Brilliant!
stephenwong
 
stephenwong August 21, 2015
Beautiful use of colour. Great concept and execution. Spectacular image.
kevinroyal
 
kevinroyal August 24, 2015
I love this type of photograhy
CarloBaroncini
 
CarloBaroncini January 03, 2016
very goog work indeed!,I love it,you are great!
nandoharmsen Platinum
 
nandoharmsen October 12, 2016
amazing
christianmadsen Platinum
 
christianmadsen October 28, 2016
Wonderful embodiment of Autumn, creative and striking capture and wonderful processing!
JanHalls PRO
 
JanHalls November 13, 2016
What a great idea having the dress look like fall leaves too.
adavies PRO+
 
adavies September 29, 2017
Lovely image! Really well done! If you haven't done so already, please consider joining my People Enjoying the Leaves of Fall challenge:)
https://viewbug.com/challenge/people-enjoying-the-leaves-of-fall-photo-challenge-by-adavies
julieohara
 
julieohara April 12, 2018
Absolutely stunning! The colors and the landscape and the blending and the lighting Just amazing!
gumervega
 
gumervega May 17, 2018
awesome
non_dairy
 
non_dairy January 22, 2019
Beautiful work
gman176
 
gman176 September 27, 2019
Wonderful image!
Arzhtatiana
 
Arzhtatiana October 06, 2019
Nice work!
khoitranduc
 
khoitranduc November 13, 2019
Wow! Lovely style & capture
tysonator
 
tysonator November 25, 2019
Great composition and well presented iamge
1WolfPhotography
 
1WolfPhotography December 22, 2019
Enchanting!
stigfagerli PRO+
 
stigfagerli March 22, 2020
Fantastic foto
RickL PRO+
 
RickL March 23, 2020
Exceptional portrait photography
FriezeFrameFotos
 
FriezeFrameFotos May 02, 2020
What a masterpiece! So much work went into this.. and I'm one of the many to thank you for this creation! Just BRILLIANT!
FergalBrady
 
FergalBrady May 09, 2020
There should have been a child fairy book story with this type of thinking v well done
Seisselberg
 
Seisselberg July 15, 2020
The Autumn Witch! Nice!
tysonator
 
tysonator October 29, 2020
wonderful image
tysonator
 
tysonator August 03, 2022
wonderful image
Romea PRO+
 
Romea August 12, 2022
Magic in the day!😊
See all

Behind The Lens

Location

I am a self-taught photographer living in Northern Virginia, just outside of Washington DC. This shot was taken at a park near my friend's house(model) because we wanted to make it as easy as possible, since we had to put the dress on at the house with the craft leaves already glued on. It was cold outside, so we were definitely trying to do this fast!

Time

We went out there around 5pm, just as the sun was setting, and it was happening pretty fast. I do things on the fly, so I didn't plan the amount of time it would take to complete the dress. We had to glue on about 20% in the field, since we wanted to use about 100 real leaves. Everything in the photo is real, except a few areas that I had to stamp in with extra leaves. She's also standing on a foot stool to "stretch" the dress and make it look more elegant.

Lighting

I used 1 PCB Einstein 640 in a Photek Softlighter II. It was a little higher than her and angled. I put it camera left and just out of frame.

Equipment

I used a Canon 5d Mark III with an 85mm lens and on a tripod. I composited separate shots of her throwing leaves in the air for the falling leaves effect.

Inspiration

The most influential person that inspired me to take this shot was Kirsten Mitchell's Wonderland photos. All of them were so thought out, along with the fact that everything was 100% real. Those are the artists that inspire me. The ones that do 99% in the field instead of sitting at their desk on Photoshop.

Editing

I imported the shot straight to Photoshop and did some color grading, along with changing the leaves to red and yellow, since most of them were turning brown by the time. I composited the leaves falling from other shots I had of her throwing them in the air. I clone stamped some gaps in the dress where I didn't put a few leaves and left holes.

In my camera bag

If I could afford to have multiple camera bodies and lenses I would! I just have a Canon 5d Mark iii, Canon lenses 85mm 1.2 ii, 50mm 1.4, and the 24-70 2.8 ii. I also have a few Canon speedlights that I only use for events. I love bringing my Einsteins out in the field, even though it's more work. I have more variety with those.

Feedback

ANYONE can take a shot like this! That's the easy part! The hard part is actually coming up with it. Creativity is the hardest part in fine art photography.

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