Smidgeshots - 13 - Shadow Play Excerpt One

I recently came into possession of a lamp. One of those ones with the long, movable neck and the large bulb; like the Pixar mascot. Anyway, these bulbs give off a very yellow tungsten glow which is normally not what you want in a photo. However, slap up a bit of grease proof paper and you have yourself a shadow art frame. Here are some excerpts from my upcoming artsy attempt: Shadow Play.

Microphone

My housemate Stephen is looking suave with the mic beside him. No, he doesn't croon, but he will speak in a devilish manner if you ask him nicely.

Bird 

Remember being a kid and making shadows on the wall? Well, I used to do that a lot and now I have the capacity to capture these little imaginations like never before.

Roses

 This one really tickled my fancy. The trick is - well, I can't give it away as I'm not sure how Stephen did it! But the effect is pretty cool!

Face

Scrunch up a sheet of paper, poke a few holes in it and what do you get? Some kind of tribal man with his head on fire! Now that's what I call art.

Hello

 I have a few ideas expanding on the "Person behind the Paper" idea and this was a trial run. Expect more like this over the next few weeks.

Smidgeshots - 12 - Grain

Often I take a photo which is nice but boring. Sometimes I edit these photos and they become boring and bad. Every once in awhile I edit them and the boring part goes away, though as to the good and the bad I cannot say. Photoshop has a great grain effect which, when played around with for a while, helped to create these shots. Now I'm not saying they're good or bad, that is for you to decide. But they sure as hell aren't boring.

Pole

Andy described the pole with the sun at the top as Gandalf's staff. Now though it's lost that quality, instead imbued with an old timey feel to it.

Corner

Between the yellow lines and the ivy on the walls I feel like this is the opening shot to a haunted house.

Wire

This is like something you'd pull out of your grandfathers old suitcase he keeps in the attic and when you ask about it he flips out, throws a vase at you and mutters about camps and numbers and hell.

Bridge

I actually didn't add any grain to this as I feel like it would have detracted from the idea. David and Andy walking away here is so... I don't know... emotional, almost. I left a little bit of blue in Andy's shirt and I feel like it adds this weight to the image. They walk, david slightly ahead as though annoyed or too caught in his own head to talk, towards the end of the bridge. And what awaits them? We cannot see if this bridge goes to a happy place, if it leads to their end, if it ends at all. And, based on this shot alone, we may never know.

Smidgeshots 11 - Perception

As I wandered around the back alleys and side roads yesterday I began to toy with the idea that our perception marks our understanding. What I mean by this is what we see creates an identity which mould how we react. Take the simple case of a wasp or a garden variety spider. Tiny creatures with almost no affect on us bar a bit of a sting or tickle on our arm hairs. Yet people freeze in horror when they see these things. Why? Because they perceive them to be dangerous, therefore they understand that when they see a spider or a wasp they must run away or kill it quick. The same can be true of homophobia, communism, even strangers. Our perception; this is weird, that is wrong, he is odd, affects our understanding; I will beat him, I will go to war, I will walk on the other side of the street.
With that in mind I found a couple of photos which, I hope, do my theory some justice. These are things which test our perception to skew our understanding. Enjoy.

*None of these photos have been edited, touched up or added to in any way. They are purely the work of the camera.

Lines

Let's start with an easy one. A footpath, no? One which seems to go on an on, leading to some bright place in the distance. In reality this path is about two meters long and leads to a green patch.

Dots

It might take you a second to realise that this is a manhole grill. A simple circular covering for our sewage system. Yet here it has some other quality, some Aztec feel to the shape, to the holes and the contours.

Lines Two

This one is peculiar. The lines seem to distort and bend away from the lens. How long do they go on for? Where do they lead? In fact, this is a garage door. Nothing more than that. Yet our mind runs riot wondering what it could be, what it could mean.

Stairway

A stairs etched into a mountain? Perhaps the path up to our Aztec grill. No, this is merely a close up of some tree bark. But it's always nice to imagine.

The Beach

Look at that shimmering light in the background, those footsteps in the sand. But would you believe me if I told you this is a wall? A bland, boring concrete wall with lots of circles imprinted as the concrete was setting. Just goes to show that what we see and what is reality are often not combined.

Smidgeshots - 10 - Evening Sun

Is there any time of day more pleasant than the hour leading up to, and the hour of, the sunset? Especially for photography. It gives everything a nice glow to it. If taken right you can backlight your subjects, making them  pop out from the photo and, of course, look marvelous. A simple walk to Mardyke House in the City of Cork produced these beauties. Hope you enjoy.

Tree Veins:

It might be a bit early for Autumn Leaves but this tree looks amazing intersected with the dark branches.

Flower, Pretty Flower.

Pity this bugger was in the shade, if it had been lit by the setting sun it could have been brilliant, instead it is refined to the not-so-great "decent" status. Just goes to remind how important light is...

Macro Flower, Pretty Macro Flower.

 This one's a bit better, though I don't have a proper Macro lens... Still, this is a decent job of it!

Mossy 

 I just love the contrast here. Finding these little details make the hayfever worth it.

Enter the Wind Tunnel:

I think this shot has a striking look about it. It's like the center is enticing me in... "Leading lines" are used in the profession to draw you in, I suppose here the outlines of the leaves has a similar effect.

Excelsior!

"I climbed a tree, to see the world..." so go the lyrics to a great song Home by the Cinematic Orchestra. Here, however, the world is dwarfed the the majesty of this trunk! Lead the way, tree!

On Trees...

While we're discussing trees... the outline of the tree here is brilliant, if I do say so myself. More of those Leading Lines created by the water and the riverbank to the right bringing up in towards the photo. If only the sun had been nestled by the far trees...

Shine Forth!

 And speaking of nestled suns... What a great shot! Ok, so I fiddled with photoshop to really bring out those colours a bit more but I mean come on, how worth it is it?

Smidgeshots - 9 - Instrumental

Mandolin

A beautiful instrument  about the size of a ukulele but with eight strings and a unique sound. Often found on Mumford and Sons tracks.

Hammer Dulcimer

 An ancient instrument, the prototype piano, played since the days of the Sumerians. Mentioned in the Bible and now housed in an apartment in Cork.

Guitar

Nothing like a good old guitar, especially in the hands of the McClintocks.

A McClintock

For reference: this is a McClintock. After all, what goods a musical instrument without a musician?

Smidgeshots - 8 - A Night-time Adventure

Cork's Landscape

Quite a nice shot of Cork from above. It was quite the trek up Blarney Street to find this view. The long shutter speed gives the night sky that deep blue but it did make Finbar's church look a bit swamped in yellow... still, it's all about the learning curve.

Flower, Pretty Flower

It's amazing what happens to simple, everyday things, when the night falls. These leaves look great with just a few drops of rain and some streetlamp yellow bathing them.

City Hall

What a view! The home of the Mayor, the centre of municipal Cork, looks fantastic here, with a nice red car line to boot!

Rain Tracks

Another everyday object, this time a car, transformed by a few key changes. The lines of rain glisten while the DoF helps to focus the shot. Gotta say, I'm mighty proud of this one!

Follow the Rail

If you didn't know this was a bridge you almost wouldn't be able to figure it out! There's something about a straight line which really helps to make a good photo great!

Smidgeshots - 7 - Exposure

Time Lapse!

Thirty second long exposure on Shandon street captures this beauty. More will be coming, but for now this must suffice.