Donna Sturla  


Ophelia in the Manner of Julia Margaret Cameron by Donna Sturla

October 2026 - Ophelia in the Manner of Julia Margaret Cameron

October 2026 - Donna Sturla

Original

October 2026 - Donna Sturla

Original 2

About the Image(s)

This was an image I took for a Photo History class at Sierra College. I was "imitating" a photograph taken by Julia Margaret Cameron (1815-1879), who was one of the early portraitists of the 19th Century. This was supposed to be "Ophelia" from "Hamlet" and the model was my foreign
exchange student from Finland. I don't remember what my light source was, but I believe it was a dimly lit shadow box light. I always wanted to re-do my original conversion, which was very dark brown sepia, and I like this one better (sorry, Julia).

Shot with my Nikon D7000, Tamron 17-70 lens (F2.8 - 4) and shot at F 5.6 for 1/40 second at ISO 400. The intention was to NOT make a sharp focus, as those early photographers did not have the technology to do that, so this is a slightly "soft" focus. For post-processing, in Lightroom I used a preset for a Sepia tone, then added a bit of contrast
and adjusted shadows and highlights. I then went into Photoshop and flipped her horizontally, as the original was photographed in that position. I created an adjustment layer for levels and slightly darkened the hat brim because I thought it stood out too much. I brought out the
shadows in her clothing and added a few shadows to her face under the hat brim. I cleaned up some spots here and there and did a slight crop expansion on the sides.

NOTE: The second "original" is Julia Margaret Cameron's image (for reference).


3 comments posted




Emil Davidzuk   Emil Davidzuk
Donna,

Very nice portrait. I especially like the light on "Ophelia" nice soft effect.

Emil   Posted: 10/06/2026 14:55:07



Michael Laezza   Michael Laezza
Donna - I believe you succeeded greatly in your assignment of emulating a classic photographer. This is a wonderful portrait of a beautiful young woman who appears to have the classic look of the period - she is a natural. Your techniques and processing certainly brought that out.

Cheers

Mike   Posted: 10/08/2026 10:43:35
Donna Sturla   Donna Sturla
Thank you! She was a wonderful teenager from Finland, made good friends here, and I was blessed to have her. Now she's in the Air Force Academy in Finland and when her three years are up, she will graduate as a Lieutenant and will owe them five years of service. Then if she wants to stay, she can get what, I think, might be equivalent to a Master's Degree. She came back for a visit last summer; left as a teenager and came back as a young woman.   Posted: 10/10/2026 04:05:16



 

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