Submitter's name:	Dan Mitchell
Title:	Crystals.
Gear used:	OM-2SP + 100-300 kitstar lens + tripod + T32 flash on TTL cable + cable release
Diaphragm:	f11, I think
Shutter speed:	1/60
Film used:	Generic 100
Technical information:	I forget where I had the flash put for this one; I have a roll of shots where I was moving it around to try and get different impressions, and this one turned out the nicest. I'll be assembling a TOPE-rejects page at some point to compare.
Subject information:	Crystal (ha, I wish.. acrylic, more like) balls, stacked up with ingenious use of the fabric they're sitting on to keep everything from rolling away. I'm not sure where the flash wound up for this shot; if I remember correctly, off to one side pointing up at the balls so that the light would bounce around inside all of them. This is a crop of a larger image, but all that the rest of the picture contains is more dark backing fabric. This is the only one where the backing isn't lit up; some of those shots are interesting, too, but that wasn't what I was trying for here.
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Comment left by: Olaf Greve (no e-mail specified)

Nice abstract shot, would have been a great TOPE 4 entry!

Comment left by: Donald MacDonald (Donald.MacDonald@care4free.net)

Oh, yeah!

Comment left by: Mickey Trageser (no e-mail specified)

We have a winner for the modern art category! Really cool effect. Where are the blue colors coming from in the lower shperes? The fact that the location of the flash isn't apparant means they're in the right place! Great.

Comment left by: John A. Lind (no e-mail specified)

I can imaging how many frames you shot of this. Without a modeling light it's very difficult to tell how the lighting will turn out. Sometimes the position that works best is the unexpected one. An ingenious concept using very simple objects. Excellent background control and work to keep obvious flash usage out of the image. Square cropping works for this one.

Comment left by: Wiliam Wagenaar (wiliam@zeelandnet.nl)

Great abstract. I can clearly see the future in your crystal balls.

Comment left by: Jim Caldwell (jamesfc@gte.net)

A tougher shot than it looks! I had to shoot some crystal jewelry once for a catalog and I know how tough it can be to light objects like this. Wise choice to use a dark background - well done!

Comment left by: Dan Mitchell (danielmitchell@smarttech.com)

As someone guessed, I shot two rolls to get this shot; a lot of them didn't look bad, they just looked, well, uninteresting. The background's just a blue bathtowel; the first image below does a good job of showing the overall setup (if not really what I was looking for). The other ones are here -- now that I come to look at them again, I think I like some of the other ones better as images, though not necessarily as flash photo shots.

Comment left by: bob gries (gries@nothingrhymeswithorange.com)

superb. nice photgraph of a nicely conceived subject

Comment left by: Alasdair Mackintosh (Alasdair.Mackintosh@ntlworld.com)

I've seen the main gallery page a couple of times now, and this one keeps catching my eye. I think it's the balance between the concrete and the abstract that really makes this one work. If you look at it carefully, you can see that these are real, physical objects, with belimishes and surface marks and reflections, but at the same time it's a wonderful, ethereal composition. I think this has to get my vote as the best entry, although the competition is very strong...

Comment left by: Vicki Bean (vickibeanart@yahoo.com)

Nice. I love the contrast and composition. It almost looks like an abstract painting.

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