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Deedee

If this photo seems right side up, then my illusion is working. The model is sitting on a stool (with weights on her feet) and doing a backbend toward the camera. The lighting is reversed from the usual, e.g., the main light is on the floor, shining upward.

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Silvino González Morales 6 months ago

Awesome capture, the tone is perfect.

King Douglas Thanks very much, Silvino.

moonjoon lee 8 months ago

Excellent~ nice shot~

King Douglas Thank you, moonjoon.

Sergio De Rosa 11 months ago

wonderful shot !

King Douglas Thank you, Sergio.

Clyde Beamer 1 year ago

Great to see this today on my Hpmepage in Random section!!

King Douglas Cool...thanks. I think the Random section is good. I wish it would refresh on reloading the page, but it's fixed for a certain period of time.

Alexey Komissarov 1 year ago

good light , well done. professional image

FrankBa 1 year ago

As you understand French !!

cette photo est incroyable
la gestion de la lumière est excellente
le resultat final est superbe !!!

King Douglas Un petit quelque chose pour tromper l'?il. Je vous remercie beaucoup.

I understand only a little French. I use Google Translate.

FrankBa un petit quelque chose that works perfectly !!!!

medmuh 1 year ago

muhte?em bir çal??ma

tebrikler

King Douglas te?ekkür ederiz. Sadece hüner bu görüntü ters olmas?d?r

medmuh muhtesem b?r cal?sma
tebr?kler

Patryk Morzonek 2 years ago

breathtaking...

King Douglas Thank you, Patryk.

Johannes Tallroth 2 years ago

Amazing!
And yes - the illusion really works!!!
Great shot!

King Douglas Thanks very much, Johannes.

Tayseer ALHamad 2 years ago

wow this is amazing shot

King Douglas Thanks, Tay seer...glad you like it.

LazyCat 2 years ago

First Favorite. Well done - killer concept.

King Douglas Thanks, LazyCat...sorry for the long delay in replying. I had some surgery and a long recovery.

Lancet 2 years ago

Excellent work with lights that enables the illusion to work so well. Congrats.

King Douglas Thank you, Lancet.

id-fotos 2 years ago

I am more than impressed. The idea is awesome. Congratulations!!!

King Douglas Thanks, id-fotos. This is one of my favorites.

mapiguerrini 2 years ago

the best shot for me

King Douglas Thank you, mapiguerrini.

jimmy hoffman 2 years ago

Wow!

King Douglas Thanks, jimmy hoffman.

Patrizia Burra 2 years ago

wonderful work! congrats..

King Douglas Thank you very much, Patrizia.

yazeed jalili 2 years ago

What a beautiful work .................

King Douglas Thanks very much, yazeed.

Catalin Parau 3 years ago

This image has a certainy type of magic in it, magnific!

King Douglas Thanks, Catalin...I'm sorry I didn't see your comment much earlier.

Sandra 4 years ago

Wow...GREAT!

King Douglas Thanks very much, Sandra.

Jörg Hubrich 4 years ago

Great idea and execution - I am very impressed and am enjoying my journey through your amazing portfolio ;)
/Jörg

King Douglas Thanks, Jörg. Your comment is very gratifying.
King

Leif Westling 4 years ago

Great, one of the best on EO.

King Douglas Thanks, Leif, for the very high compliment.
King

Thiago Sanna F. Silva 4 years ago

Extremely creative and astonishing in its simplicity. Truly unique, congratulations.

King Douglas I like simplicity in composition. If I keep it simple, I am less likely to make complicate mistakes. My mistakes are usually simple mistakes. :>)

Thanks for the compliment.
K.

Thiago Sanna F. Silva That's true, and yet way less easy than it sounds. Achieving simplicity have been my main struggle currently. Thanks for the inspiration. Cheers!

Fernand Hick 4 years ago

King, si j'ai bien compris tu comprends le français... Tu sais, j'adore cette image, sa composition, la couleur du fond, la pose, du travail de pro parfaitement exécuté... Félicitations,
Fernand

King Douglas
Merci beaucoup pour les compliments.
Ma compréhension de la langue française vient de mes nombreuses années comme un danseur de ballet. Le français est la langue du ballet. Je ne parle pas le français ou lisez très bien, mais je parlait à la fois en espagnol. Qui aide.

Je lis les messages en français puis d'utiliser Google traduire. La combinaison des deux fonctionne bien.

Merci encore,

King

Fernand Hick Si tu est d'accord, à l'avenir je te parlerai en français, ou j'ai toujours plus de facilités pour exprimer des nuances, et tu me répondras comme avant en anglais. Ce serait sympa non !

King Douglas Si je vous comprends, vous voulez écrire en français et je vais continuer à écrire en anglais. N'est-ce pas?
Je suis d'accord.
Merci, mon ami.

If I understand you, you wish to write in French and I will continue to write in English. Is that not so?
I agree.
Thank you, my friend.

Fernand Hick It's so, thanks King, Fernand

tomaz crnej 4 years ago

wow.congrat.

King Douglas gee.thank.

:>)

King

Renato Manzi 4 years ago

Congratulation :-)

King Douglas Grazie.
K.

Andrea Orioli 4 years ago

King, this makes me know what's professional photography. I couldn't believe it's been done without post-processing. I started to take pictures 1 year ago with my first digital camera; I've often had the impression that we don't have to pay so much attention during the shoot since we can recover it in PS; sometimes I just don't have the time to do it. Today you taught me what real photography is: set up the light and all the other elements in a way that is so close to excellence as we can. Thanks.

King Douglas Andrea,
I'm so please that you got so much out of this photo. The way I work is not common on OE. I come from a profession where ideas were the thing, followed by sketches, then execution. I'm very used to creating images I'd like to see on film. The same approach works for digital and I do it habitually, except that, as you say, Photoshop can do much of the work that I used to get paid to do in the camera.

Thank you!
King

Monique Leone 4 years ago

grat impact and light !!!!
BRAVO
monique

King Douglas Thank you, Monique. So you are a friend of Fulvio Pellegrini?
Cheers,
King

Alojz Zavolovšek 4 years ago

Fantastic!

King Douglas Thanks, Alojz...glad you like this.
King

Sandy Powers 4 years ago

GENIUS!!! This photo takes my breath away. How beautiful is your work!

King Douglas Okay, folks, top Sandy's compliment! LOL!

Thanks very much, Sandy.

Knig

Gale Rainwater 4 years ago

Beautiful excellent image.
Gale

King Douglas Thank you, Gale. It is clear from your portfolio that you have a fine sense of what is beautiful.
K.

Gale Rainwater Thanks King I'm a big fan of your work although it's not my shooting style (so far at least) I would really love to learn some techniques from you.

Pete Chennell 4 years ago

excellent and striking image..love this

King Douglas Thanks, Pete. Your "someones watching" is a great shot.

K.

Ralf Stelander 4 years ago

The illusion certainly works, what a crazy idea! Brilliant!

King Douglas Ralf,

Thank you very much.

I come from a peer group (long ago and far away) where the idea was the thing, then to execute it well. Once accomplished, it was de rigueur to casually drop by the studio of a friend/competitor, show them the result and say, casually, "I'm working on something and I wonder if you think I'm on the right track." The more attention they give to the piece, the closer you were to impressing a very tough critic. It was a game we played.

Christopher Scott 4 years ago

Love it!
Will put that in my new office soon.

King Douglas Hi, Christopher...I'm pleased that you have a print--I still wish I had remembered to sign it before mailing it to you.

Thanks for writing.

K.

Fedor Soreks 4 years ago

Great, so much more than http://onexposure.net/?action=view&id=6181

King Douglas Thanks very much, Fedor.

I am aware of Joseph's photo. I've seen other images very similar to this, but nothing before I created this around 20 years ago. I think the difference is that, of necessity, I was very accomplished at studio lighting and had at my disposal many years of experience in creating this type of image.

It is true that this was shot in my living room (my wife was not happy about it), but I had gone back to school and had given up my studio. I had all my equipment, though, and was free lancing at the time.

Santtu Särkäs 4 years ago

Nice to meet you too King!:) I like your other photographs very much, but this one just dont click for me. Tones are very nice but somehow it feels too "technical" (dont know better word rihgt now) for me.

*Santtu*

King Douglas Santtu,

Thank you very much, and please pardon this long response and I want to convey some things I want you to know, so we can be friends.

Please feel free to criticize my work. I am quite open to dialog regarding photography in all its forms and very broad in my tastes and in my interests.

This image was conceived by me and executed with no Photoshop tricks to fit between two existing images and to link them:

http://www.kingdouglas.com/DANCEweb/Pages/Triptych%20Two.htm

That is why the lighting and the symmetry are so important. The original of this shot is not an image that happened by chance. Every element was carefully controlled, as is my usual style.

In case you don't know, I will soon be 64 years old and have been a photographer for 40 years. Nothing in photography is foreign to me, yet I have so much more to learn.

I have had many colleagues and friends who are exceptional photographers--among the best on the planet--yet from time to time one or another of their images will not move me, or I may consider it not to be among their best work. We feel free to disagree with one another.

We all differ in our opinions. As artists, we have to trust our feelings and our judgment, otherwise how can we make the many decisions demanded of us in our work? I like all photographs, from old family albums to snapshots to the works of the great masters. It is not surprising to like one photo more than another, or to dislike an image others hold dear.

Please feel free to discuss photography with me at any time.

With respect,

K.

Renato Manzi 4 years ago

Essential and beatutifull, all your work are mesterly done!
Best regards.
Renato Manzi

King Douglas I think one dares not submit anything less than one's best to OE. It is too embarrassing, otherwise.

Thank you very much.

K.

aR 4 years ago

je viens d'aller voir comment vous avez fait-c'est super-bravo, je pensais que vous aviez attaché cette femme au plafond ;)lol

King Douglas aR,

J'ai joint une autre femme pour le plafond, juste pour vous. Vous verrez la semaine prochaine (si elle est publiée).

Merci beaucoup!

aR 4 years ago

beauty realy_k

Angelo Antonio Facchini 4 years ago

Beautiful and elegant.
Angelo

Nicole Goggins 4 years ago

truly breathtaking!

Aleksandar Sosic 4 years ago

Really fantastic!
Well done!

MarieM 4 years ago

an angel !
Beautifully done

King Douglas Thank you so much Marie. I like your work and I hope you continue to contribute to OE so we can get to know each other.

MarieM Yes King I will continue to contribute for sure.
I appreciate either people and site here, and I will learn
from both, no doubt.
And, yes, we can get to know each other. Thank you.

Santtu Särkäs 4 years ago

This looks like plastic, not nude skin. Pretty horrible editing, sorry!

*Santtu*

King Douglas Santuu,

That's really funny! Nice to meet you, too!

Jacek Stefan 4 years ago

Great one!
All the best,
J.

King Douglas Thank you, Jacek...love your work. Give me time and I'll post some comments on my favorites.

Alexandre Buisse 4 years ago

Such an amazing shot. Light is gorgeous and the position of the body poetry in itself... The illusion is working great, btw!

King Douglas Thank you, Alexandre. I appreciate all the support I have received from you in my first week at OE.

Willy Marthinussen 4 years ago

great job.. love it:)
All the best --willy--

King Douglas The downside of getting lots of comments...all these thank yous!

Thanks to everyone and thanks to you, Willy!

Elisabeth Gustafson 4 years ago

Aero dynamic in a very visual way. Lovely proportions due to her performance and how the light is handled. Beautiful and artistic work.
/
Elisabeth

King Douglas Thanks, Elisabeth, for the high compliment.

Kiki Plumier 4 years ago

stunning, splendid and magic !

King Douglas Thank you, Kiki.

For those who might be interested, here's the link to the triptych, of which this is the center image, referred to below by Codrin:

http://www.kingdouglas.com/DANCEweb/Pages/Triptych%20Two.htm

lucian olteanu 4 years ago

unbelievable and stunning,maestro!

King Douglas Thank you, Lucian...I'm humbled by your praise.

Fulvio Pellegrini 4 years ago

perfect composition and magical feelings
F

King Douglas Merci beaucoup, Fulvio!

Laurence Garçon 4 years ago

Absolute elegance...
Huge bravo !

King Douglas Thank you, Laurence, I'm please that you like this.

Daria Endresen 4 years ago

Very impressive!
I took a look at the links you gave.. can't believe she's actually sitting!
That's what I call a real mastery - a brilliant image by all means :)

King Douglas Daria...I thought you might like this, especially as it was taken in my living room (against seamless paper), in very cramped quarters. The basic shot is very simple, but the result packs a lot of impact. I know you can appreciate these things.

Daria Endresen Nice to know I'm not the only crazy one shooting in cramped bedrooms/livingrooms :D
Anyway, just wanted to say that you got outstanding result and your illusion is working 200% :)

Angela Bacon-Kidwell 4 years ago

King, Very dramatci and beautiful. Love the symmetry and light. Perfect.

King Douglas I could hardly wish for a compliment from anyone whose work I admire more.
Thank you!

Michael Jakesz 4 years ago

Wow, really amazing! This one has so perfect symmetry, it almost looks unreal!
Great!

King Douglas Yes...it has Photoshop symmetry, unlike real human beings. I hope you will enjoy the reveal I posted below, along with my really good drawing.

Michael Jakesz I did not see this coming... Thanks for showing us how you did it though. It's like a magician sharing the magic behind his illusion!
all the best
Michael

King Douglas Michael,

Thank you a second time. I was president of the Dallas Chapter of the American Society of Media Photographers for a couple of years in the early 1980's. I made it a policy then that I would hold no photography secrets from my colleagues. If they needed advice or to borrow some special equipment, I would help if I could. That way, I fostered a sense of community where we could freely share ideas and accomplishments. Except when necessary to compete, we tended to be a cooperative group.

I still hold to that idea and am happy to share with any photographer the things I have learned over the years. Now if some fine young photographer will teach me how to reduce digital noise, I can die happy.

Michael Jakesz Sent you a PM. Not sure of how much help I can be, but I try.

Thomas Ljungberg 4 years ago

Great shot and the illusion work perfectly.
/Thomas

Eddie Wong 4 years ago

Love this image from your homepage; glad you uploaded and shared it with OE.

King Douglas Eddie,

Thank you for having visited my website and remembering this photo.

One of my great pleasures these days is seeing what I can recover from my archives and restore using Photoshop (which I'm working very diligently at mastering). My first post, "Lorenzo" is one such image, which had always been a bit of a disappointment, although it had potential.

I shoot new images from time to time (e.g., my second post, "Pamela"), but don't yet own a decent digital camera (I borrow a friend's Nikon D70) and can't bear to pay for film processing--and I'm a big fan of digital imaging, anyway. So working in my archives is a totally free activity that keeps me immersed in photography.

Claudio Solera 4 years ago

Masterpiece!! Congrats.Ciao,Claudio.

King Douglas Well...masterpiece is a strong word, but thank you! You might enjoy seeing what the original of this photograph looks like when right-side up:

http://www.kingdouglas.com/OE/Deedee.htm

Claudio Solera Thank for info, congrats for your site and the greats shots. Ciao,Claudio.

Thomas Ljungberg Your drawing skills are exquisite ;-)
/Thomas

King Douglas Now you have really hurt my feelings, Thomas. I will have to post my drawing of a bunny that I think is pretty good.

Codrin Lupei 4 years ago

A really wonderful picture! A graceful and unbelievable flight! Very beautiful work, King!
all the best
Codrin

King Douglas Thank you, Codrin. You might enjoy looking at this:

http://www.kingdouglas.com/OE/Deedee.htm

Codrin Lupei Thanks for the link, I've already seen there a lot of wonderful work! The triptych with this picture in the center is really wonderful! Truly great!
all the best
Codrin

Jacob Jovelou 4 years ago

Impressive shot and post processing.

King Douglas ...and thank you for the compliment. The original is just a straight photo. The illusion is created by the lighting--nothing more. When I look at this image right-side up, it looks upside down to me. It's a strong illusion.

King Douglas Post Processing: When I first shot this, I wanted the dancer's arms to be perfectly symmetrical. She got close and this image was always very successful before I had any skills in Photoshop. I tried many variations to balance her. This version uses her left arm on both sides, her right hand on both sides and her face is just a mirror image of the left side of her face.

If you want to see the original, both right-side up and upside down, go here

http://www.kingdouglas.com/OE/Deedee.htm

Codrin Lupei, gerard sexton, ALi Essa and 116 more people added this to favorites

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