stunning crisp clear shot..........good luck author

Excellent work here, nicely done

lovely

Yes I do like it.

In color maybe....?Very good!!!

Thanks everyone. It didn't work as well in color. The eye went first
to the band rather than the diamond. B/W highlights the stone more.

Very nice macro. Superb focus, especially in high res! You should place.

Congrats for your first place!

Congrats on your 1st, well done.

Thanks everyone for all of you votes and comments. You have made me SOOO happy!

nicely captured............do they still do this sort of thing now!

I don't know... It's been a long time since I was in high school!

A rea gem!!

I love how you set the ring on the yearbook. It gave it so much more depth and detail without taking the focus off the ring and stones.

EDIT: Author, you have some pretty nice photography. You may be new but you are definitely experienced.

And also congrats for your second place!

Congrats on your 2nd, well done.

Nice idea!Just some suggestions (inho).You could place the pearl inside the shell (that way it would look more natural).The top of the shell is a little bit BOH (blow out highlights,its when the light is too hard so you loose detail)you should use a softer light source or try to diffuse your light source with a piece of sheet or something.Once again nice idea,out of the box thinking!

Very nice piece of hardened mucus! I agree with karaflazz about the BOH. You might also consider placing the shell on sand, or some more "natural" setting. Nice attempt though - nice thinking. GL

Thanks Karaflazz & Kyricom. I tried just about everything to make this image work! I did diffuse the light and then the pearl lost it's luster, I tried it various ways inside the shell. With it open and the pearl just placed on the shell, but the inside of the shell is so shiny (mother of pearl) that the camera couldn't focus and Everything came out blurry. With it closed and the pearl placed inside... but then the pearl looked fake in the shadows! I must have done over 100 takes (cuz I REALLY wanted to get this- obsessive LOL!) and this was the best one. I'll keep trying

I take your word for that author.It's nice too see that people actually set up photos for each contest (not just searching their hard drive to find something that "fits' each contest)!Great effort....

There's something you could try for the focusing inside. Set everything up, take something else to the location where you want to focus so that the camera can find a focusing point. Have it focus and take the focusing help away and shoot away. This way you should be able to focus despite the camera not being able to focus on its own. You might need few try to get the focusing point to the right place, but I'm pretty sure it's going to be worth the trouble.

Thanks for the suggestions. I don't have time to get a better take for this challenge so this photo will have to stand on it's own merits, but I will be experimenting with gem photography more. This has be very enjoyable for me!

i like it, well done

It seems just a little hair blown out on the top of the oyster shell but still a good focus, position and theme match. GL!

And even the third place!

Congrats on your 3rd, well done.

Good imagination... nice take on the theme GL

lovely

good effort.....but, imo, the lips, nice as they are, do tend to dominate the shot.

Good one

i love the soft sexy mood, well done

Sexzay Rox!

Author, although it's well composed...to really bring out the great lighting qualities of a gem-stone it's much better to use a non directional lighting pattern to make the really sparkle...just a hint to try for a future shot.

nice gem

I agree with the lighting comment, but a nice shot all the same

itsmymoment: I'm not quite sure if I understand what you mean by "non directional lighting" so would you mind explaining it to me?

The way I understand it: The direction of the light would not be visible therefore there would be no visible shadow either. Is this correct or am I understanding it wrong?

As for the other two comments, thank you very much.

spot on with the lighting, that is exactly what it is.........non directional means no directional shadows, even spread of light etc.

adeincyprus: Thank you, I think I'll give it a try today.

I like the shadow. Just would have like to see more color out of the gem.

Captgeo: The amethyst is rather light colored unlike most amethyst. So there isn't all that much of the color to be seen.

Ahhhh that explains it. Still love the shot.

Sorry author, have been out of state traveling for a few days, yes, you have the lighting definition spot-on...by placing a light that opposes the main light, you can really bring out the sparkle of a gemstone, look at advertising photos of gems in magazines and such and you will see great clairity and sparkle and almost in all caes no shadows, the shadows actually darken some of the facets and dull the gem...hope that helps, just experiment to find the best mix.

Nice sentiments, good shot and keep this pretty precious thing with you always.

itsmymoment: Don't worry about it. It's not like we're in any hurry to learn new things. I mean, no matter how hard we try we'll always find something new to learn, don't we?

I really should get myself to experiment with it more. So far I haven't really gotten myself to do that, sadly.

abhisarika44: I do, as long as I know I won't be doing anything that could damage it. I don't want it to get damaged either so I prefer keeping it safe for occasions where it can't get damaged unless something really bad happens.

Good shot! The projected shadow was a nice touch. GL!