A Peleng fisheye picture, taken after heavy surgery in southern France, in the sunflower field across the street.
This is some gravity russian roulette, since the camera was thrown in the air ( yes, you just read that. ).
41 responses
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Nicholas Hendrickx said (9 Aug 2007):
Sweet shot dude
it's been shot from a height, maybe on a crane or some farm tractor? Or did you throw it up? :O -
Bartek Twarog said (9 Aug 2007):
love it:) peleng rules. have to train throwing of camera some time:)
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Martin Roger said (9 Aug 2007):
@ Nicholas Hendrickx
Ahah well I just throw it up ( takes some guts ) and therefore played with gravity ( and that's why I put it under that theme ).
People often think I used a crane, but I think it would have cast some shadow that would have been on the picture ( the peleng is having some sweet 179° circular field ).
Thanks a lot .
@Barek Twarog
Well I doubt I'll do it too much. It's quite a hazardous thing, I'm lucky it didn't hit the ground. Thanks a lot :D -
Nicholas Hendrickx said (9 Aug 2007):
wow, talking about daring!
I hope you win! :) -
Amanda H said (9 Aug 2007):
Amazing-I love that as you look toward the bottom of the photo you start to see the back of the flowers instead of the fronts.
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Vanessa Marie Gonzalez said (9 Aug 2007):
really great shot from mother nature I guess =)
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Marina Veereschild said (10 Aug 2007):
The shot was absolutely worth throwing your camera!
It's brilliant! -
Martin Roger said (10 Aug 2007):
@Nicholas Hendrickx : Ah well, I guess I'm just that tad crazy so I like to send things... where they shouldn't be sent. Thanks again :P
@Amanda Heathco : Some close friend people emphasized that point too. I personally get to think of this picture as a planet portrait - the roundness helps heaps - which, speaking in image analysis terms, would be quite welcoming ( since it's green ) . I guess the straight lines, and as you mentioned it, the switch from the fronts to the flowers' backs gives another dynamics to the picture. Thanks a lot for... looking at it with so much attention. :D
@Vanessa Marie Gonzalez
You're so right ! I had this shot in mind for two days, since I HAD to do something with that great, great field across the road, and since that opulent green and yellow thing was just sooo tempting. Mother Nature didn't help, it was the reason for that shot.
@Marina Veereschild : well, you're right. In fact, I had this idea two days before the shot... I was rather excited ( I'm not throwing my camera in the air everyday, that's the reason ) and obsessed with that idea of throwing the Nikon in the middle of sunflower rows... I had that image in my mind, I wanted to see if I could get it as I wanted it. The first day I tried this, the camera wasn't correctly set. I did it again the next day... and here it is ! Thanks a lot !
@Kip Sikora : Oh well... thanks a lot ! I'm ashamed I don't know what to say... imho there are some very nice other entries for that theme too... As for art, well... some people are mistaking it with boredom or cliché, and that's sad. I guess... hmm... that the most creative part in that picture, is, rather than setting the location, connecting the sunflowers mosaïc with the idea to throw the camera - and you're right, I wondered about doing it or not 30 minutes, and then thought that I should give it a try - in the air... that was rather reckless, since the fisheye is a heavy lens ( about 500 g ) and the D70s is some nice baby... Getting it high enough for the 2sce ( and that's when you realise that 2 seconds isn't that short when it comes to gravity ) was a real challenge... and subsequently my creativity went daredevil, since challenged by technical issues ( cameras are not meant to fly, apparently ). The perspective was the goal, but the means are as worth, for me, as the picture itself. Thanks a lot. :D -
John Robert Ramos said (10 Aug 2007):
Fly Roger! fly...
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Cody Lee said (10 Aug 2007):
Amazing photo,
you def got my vote by throwing it.
again, great shot -
Jaffer Bhimji said (12 Aug 2007):
This is absolutely brilliant! Could you please explain exactly what you did? Was the camera on a self-timer?
Wonderful mind boggling image! Bravo. -
Martin Roger said (13 Aug 2007):
@John Robert Ramos : ahah I wish I could ! Thanks a lot !
@Cody Lee: well... thanks a lot ! Twice !
@Jaffer Bhimji : Sure I can ! My camera at this time was that wonderful D70s from Nikon, mounted with an all-manual lens, the Peleng 8mm . I made two session of attempts for this picture, on two days. The first day, I selected a 2 seconds self-timer on the camera, selected the maximum aperture number on the lens and went for a 1/250 shutter speed. I had to use the slowest self-timer time since the camera was a heavy baby, and then I had to throw it quite high. The thing is that when you launch the camera, it tends to turn with quite random axises... so I had to throw it some times before getting something good. When I come back from the field on the first day, I noticed that my pictures, even nice, were a tad bit blurry.
So the next day I went in again, used the same settings but the shutter speed. I pushed it to 1/500 s. This time was good, even if 2 seconds is a long time for a camera flight.
That was some gravity game, actually.
Need something else ? Please ask !
Thanks a lot
Martin -
Erin Poblete said (13 Aug 2007):
This photo is absolutely amazing. I love it. I've always wanted a Peleng, now I'm going to have to try and find one!
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Kendra Flynn gave props (13 Aug 2007):
Such an amazing shot.
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Martin Roger said (13 Aug 2007):
@Erin Poblete : Oh well, thank you ! Peleng are some very very very nice things to play with, for sure. I got mine on eBay. :D
@Kendra Flynn : Thanks for the props ! I'm very glad the picture pleased you :D
Martin -
Martin Roger said (15 Aug 2007):
@Thomas McIntosh : awe, heh, thanks alot. Not damaging the camera was a thrilling challenge, since I don't think I can face life without a camera. :D
Thanks a lot, again.
Martin -
Nimai Wong gave props (19 Aug 2007):
I've seen this photo of yours before.. and I still love it!! Really inspring fisheye photography.
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Sean Sullivan gave props (19 Aug 2007):
This is Fantatic
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Nichole Ritchey said (19 Aug 2007):
Wow! This is an amazing picture! I'm not sure I could be so brave with my camera...
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Teresa Nabais said (19 Aug 2007):
This photo is fabulous. What a crazy and great idea! It absolutely needs to be published.
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Martin Roger said (20 Aug 2007):
@ Nimai Wong : oh, where did you see it ? anyways well... thanks a lot, that's very nice ! I falled in love with fisheye photography, I think it's quite a noble technique that should not be used all the time.
@ Sean Sullivan : Thanks a lot !
@ Nichole Ritchey : well, you're right, it takes some bravery. Before I took this picture, I really wasn't thinking my method would be harmless and working. But after the first throw, you get fond of launching the camera. ahah. Not that much, actually.
@ Teresa Nabais : well, thanks a lot ! I would adore to see this picture published, that's true. Let's see in 44 days. Thanks again :D
Martin -
Ian Maclellan gave props (20 Aug 2007):
Amazing photo, I hope it gets published
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Kent Budge gave props (31 Aug 2007):
Excellent shot.
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Jessica Scott gave props (31 Aug 2007):
fantastic vision ....
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Emma Brahas said (1 Sep 2007):
I like you vision!
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Nicholas Hendrickx said (4 Sep 2007):
Wooo this one's gonna get chosen I can feel it! :) :)
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Adam Putnam gave props (6 Sep 2007):
epic
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Martin Roger said (7 Sep 2007):
@Nicholas Hendrickx : I hope so ! Ahah thank you.
@Adam Putnam : Thanks a lot !
@Jack Bower : I have to admit that without the description, it would be pretty less obvious to get the relationship with the gravity-powered theme. Thanks a lot for your very clever comment !
@Glenn Capers : Oh well ! I got stung, even though I was overly paying attention to the surrounding bees. Sunflowers are scratchy plants, so I also got a lot of scratchs, especially on the outer sides of the arms. And I was almost yellow when I finally got out of the field. Thanks alot ! -
Peter Getz gave props (13 Sep 2007):
This one I love for so many reasons.
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Olivier Mackowiak said (13 Sep 2007):
Genial !
So cool ... I like the idea :)
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melanie scott gave props (17 Sep 2007):
what a unique concept! amazing execution and take on the theme!
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Xavier Araujo said (21 Sep 2007):
you know what? good picture!!!!
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Audrey Kanekoa-Madrid gave props (8 Oct 2007):
Awesome! Love it
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Matt Sprague gave props (9 Oct 2007):
so cool
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Martin Roger said (3 Nov 2007):
Wow, long time I hadn't come here.
Thanks a lot Peter, Olivier, Melanie, Xavier, Audrey and Matt !
Martin -
Christian Herrera said (4 Dec 2007):
jaja,, pretty cucu!! It looks really cool!!
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Dylan Kier gave props (20 Dec 2007):
You are crazy, but you got a fantastic shot.
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Diana Mnatsakanyan gave props (23 Dec 2007):
Yikes! That's great ... and frightening!
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Christi G added a link (19 Mar 2008):
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visithra manikam gave props (17 Mar 2009):
awesome - but but u threw it???? faints
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hypersomnic gave props (29 Mar 2009):
wow...the risk was totally worth it!
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