Sculpture

Statues are so much easier to photograph than people. You can walk round them for ages, go back at different times of the day to favourite one and capture them, frozen in time but in a different light.

I have to admit that I find public art in Ireland, in general, a bit lacking in subtlety and not to my taste. So it was a revelation to find that Italy is even better than France when it comes to statues to fall in love with.

Italy does not seem to have set off on a gallop to produce outrageous modern pieces like I have seen on the streets of Paris; though this may be seen as a criticism of a country that is still, in everyday life at least, quite conservative in its visual expressions.

But one thing I did notice is that Italian art, in all its forms, is full of angels.




I had a great chat in L'Accademia in Venice with an American couple about the personality types in one painting, where Cherubim and Seraphim smiled and played music in an eternal daze. It is possibly the sort of painting that made one of our family state baldly when asked to study for his First Communion. "D'you know something... I don't think I would like eternal life. I would find it boring."

He must have been looking at Italian art.

But one angel, the most famous of all stands out.

"The Angel of the City" by Marino Marini is a delight.
He rises to greet the day with the same joie de vivre every morning and is the most famous of the beautiful pieces that Marini made. Not possible, I know, but it would be Heaven indeed if one could photograph him at dawn.

As for the fact that angels are pure, incorporeal beings I can only assume that this is one of the naughty ones who managed to come down to Earth with success.

Photographing Birds

Many of the wretched creatures never stay still, but patience pays off.

If you want absolute success, the frogmouth (Podargus strigoides) is the most willing of models. At most this unusual bird will bat its eyelids very, very slowly.

Le Golf

Golf courses are exellent for photography.

Composition is easy as everything is so orderly there.

Harry's Filters

I've just uploaded some photos that explain how to use Irfanview to desaturate images with a bit more control and subtlety than hitting the "desaturate" button.

Harry's Filters can be downloaded from the Irfanview site and are easy to use, once one gets the hang of how to access them. There is a cheerful "play" function, where the system moves of its own accord and if you see an effect you like you just hit the "stop" button.

It's worth noting that freeware programs are very good for amateur use and do not fill hard drives with vast amounts of filters that may or may not be of use.

The photos in question may be viewed by hitting the title bar.

Spring has hit Dublin and computing is way down the list of activities from now on.

Many thanks to all who continue to visit and post friendly comments here.

Polarizers for Cloud Details

Although glass filters can soften images, they are very useful for making skies look more dramatic.

The light in Australia is extremely bright and clouds and sky can merge into a flat, toneless expanse without a bit of art. I used a circular polarizer quite often while taking drive-by shots. It's worth noticing that the effect was also enhanced by the fact that the car had tinted windows, which cut down on glare.

All Keyed Up

Often, by mistake, I take over-exposed photos.
In very sunny situations, colours get bleached and one is left with outlines, like a fine water colour.

This can be useful for printing inexpensive photos, as so much less ink is used.

The differences between "over-exposure" and "high-key" are discussed in the link in the title bar.

Somehow, these photos have an other-worldly atmosphere.
I often use them when a small avatar is needed, as the images are less cluttered and stand out well.

Happy New Year!

Happy New Year to all visitors here...

And many thanks for those who have taken time to follow.

Here's to many Photo Ops in 2011!