The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. ***update 09 dec 2007***

**Dr Caligari** · September 3rd, 2007, 12:00 AM

Been lurking around CA some time now and it looks like a nice place.
Did not find an introduction thread so i make one here with some photographs :-)

Train

Skyscape

Rabbit

Barbwire

Wood

Sunset

Road End

Cowman

Self

Sunset II

Sunset III

Skyscape II

Building with clouds

Melon

Building with clouds II

**Crash** · September 3rd, 2007, 01:59 AM

Some superb shots youve got there. This is the kind of style im leaning towards my self. Really, really inspiring. I love how you make ordinary things looks so extraordinary.

But i guess thats photo is all about.

What did you use for the shots?

**morf** · September 3rd, 2007, 07:09 AM

some very good shots

i like the way you play with colors and lights! i have to say that i liked all of them, so please keep them coming!

-morf

**purplerose** · September 3rd, 2007, 01:35 PM

Yay, you started your thread here!

Can't wait to see a flow of new stuff from you.

**Dr Caligari** · September 4th, 2007, 08:12 PM

Thanks for the comments and here you go Jerrica :-)

Shadowman

Landscape

Sunset IV

Angst

Rust

Veggie

35

Bridge

Ice

Victim

Train

Paint, rust and numbers

Building

Building II

Sunburn

Industry

Toy

Spoon

Windcatcher

Architecture

Architecture II

Door

Architecture III

Architecture IV

Bridge II

Fist

**purplerose** · September 4th, 2007, 10:05 PM

Pure awesomeness...

I particularly like "Windcatcher" and "Veggie".

I shall challenge you on Neo one day...

**Dr Caligari** · September 7th, 2007, 02:51 AM

Asylum I

Asylum II

Asylum III

**ivy'sgrandkid** · September 7th, 2007, 07:37 PM

wow @ the last set

**eazym** · September 9th, 2007, 03:42 PM

really diggin your aesthetic. not everyday one sees macros that are interesting.

**Dr Caligari** · September 18th, 2007, 04:25 PM

Industry II

Seaside

Zombified

**purplerose** · September 19th, 2007, 01:19 AM

I really like "Seaside." "Industry II" has a really creepy feeling to it... HDR?

**morf** · September 19th, 2007, 04:03 AM

My favourites so far:
Train. The colors are just perfect and i like the composition

Cowman. Hmmm.. funny

Shadowman. I like the idea on this and the guy looks like an alien

Asylum I, II and III. After seeing these i just wanna go and try something like this myself.
Industry II. This would be cool if you could take the noise out and on the right side the pipes or towers or whatever, has this white glow around them.. this just don't seem good on it.
but anyway, lots of very good shots, keep them coming

-morf

**Mr. Mu** · September 19th, 2007, 04:32 AM

Hi,

I'd like to just dimwittedly list the shots I really liked...

- shadowman: simple idea, really nice use of lighting.

- Angst: 100% correlation of title and imagery

- veggie: everday item turned into a source of endless wonder

- victim: hits the brakes of the viewer. You start to explore. You are alienated by your own voyeuristic interests as a viewer. Double edged sword of an image!

- sunburn: point-of-view makes the whole thing. A bit too much burning (as in dodge/burn)? Or... hang on...

- Fist: great anatomical study.

- Asylum II: great acting, nice technique.

I hesitate to give critique (given the overall quality), but screw it... here it comes...:

Overall contrast is too high in many shots for my taste (even in some of the pics in above list which I liked more than others). I guess a lot of work goes into the postprocessing of these shots (looks like a lot of careful dodging/burning and contrast control with layer masks and all) so I think that you consciously wanted the look you got and that it's the result of a deliberate choice.

Which makes the whole thing hard to debate...

It's just that I sometimes can't see the reason for stark contrast other than to have stark contrast. Then it kind of works against the rest of the shot, because I happen to notice the contrast as an element of itself, then - not really related to the rest of the composition.

Hope I got my point across in a way which makes it both understandable and acceptable.

Apart from that I am really looking forward to any updates.

**Oblio** · September 19th, 2007, 06:11 AM

great thread man... i do enjoy all of them. some crazy skyes you get there. asylum series.. could be pushed a bit more... hell i want to go and burn a new series

**Dr Caligari** · September 19th, 2007, 02:48 PM

Thanks for the comments all :-)
No HDR here Purplerose.
Mr Mu : i know the "contrast" issue, it's been hanging around me since i studied photography at art school almost 15 years ago ;-) I am a sucker for hard/harsch contrasts, always made my prints in 3 variations to show the teachers i did not screw up hehe.Nowadays i emulate the paper gradations and exposure times by playing with my high/lowlights density.No Photoshopping in any of these (no layers,dodge/burn tools).I know it is a matter of taste so i am happy you stated your opinion!

**Dr Caligari** · September 19th, 2007, 02:57 PM

Autumn

Chain

Trees

Autumn II

Autumn III

ex-Tape

Box of autumn goodies

Autumn IV

Rust II

Texture & Paint

**Mr. Mu** · September 19th, 2007, 03:15 PM

always made my prints in 3 variations to show the teachers i did not screw up hehe.

ROFLMAO!

enjoyable updates and I hope you will be having a good time around here.

**guggemmaneuver** · September 19th, 2007, 04:37 PM

nice pics but i was really hoping to see a somnambulist. what kind of cabinet is this?

**Dr Caligari** · September 19th, 2007, 05:12 PM

rofl! hush now, or Césare will predict your future :-)

**MonkeYoakum** · September 20th, 2007, 01:26 AM

damn dude, chill out with the awesome photos

**Rascar Capac** · September 22nd, 2007, 04:43 AM

I love Angst and Door. Would love to see you architectural shots without the busy skies...of course thats not under your control but its seems you are pushing them even more with contrast and it takes away from the central subject and gets a bit busy and distracting IMHO

**Dr Caligari** · October 11th, 2007, 07:53 AM

Autumn VI

Autumn VII

Autumn VIII

**purplerose** · October 11th, 2007, 08:06 AM

Nice update.

Overall I think they need better contrast. Particularly in "Autumn VI." Your highlights could get a bit brighter and shadows could be a bit darker; increasing your tonal range.

In "Autumn VII," I would probably crop a bit of the blur off the left side.

Very nice compositions all around though.

**Dr Caligari** · October 22nd, 2007, 09:32 AM

Some updates from last week :

Soup:

Cubic:

Cloudengine

Surreal Scape II

Cubic II

Cloudengine II

Road End II

Cloudengine III

Station nr13

Urban

Concrete

Cubic Tower

Concrete II

Industry VII

Concrete III

Concrete IV

Sortie

Industry VIII

Industry IX

**purplerose** · October 23rd, 2007, 07:26 PM

I really like "Cubic 2," it has some awesome tones. For a general crit, watch out for your compositions, seems a bit too centralized this time.

**eazym** · October 24th, 2007, 01:49 AM

You always have such nice angles in your photos. And the detail and tonality you're able to get is incredible. I assume you're shooting raw and combining different exposures?

**Mr. Mu** · October 24th, 2007, 09:37 AM

drive-by-posting:
"soup" is ingenious! Proof that the subject matter is not important... the eye behind the camera is.

Thanks for the reminder.

**Dr Caligari** · November 1st, 2007, 12:53 AM

@Eazym : no these are all jpeg's. Still have to find some time to dig into the world of RAW and HDR :-)

**eazym** · November 2nd, 2007, 11:20 PM

I see. You are combining exposures though, yes?

**Dr Caligari** · December 4th, 2007, 04:38 PM

No HDR or Combining Eazy-M.
It's all about curves (same stuff as you do with real darkroom work).

Thread: The Cabinet of Dr Caligari. update 09 dec 2007

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