7.19.2024 @ 6:02:59 am

O for a friend–that we might see and listen together! 
O the beautiful dawn in the mountain village!– 
The repeated sound of cuckoos near and far away.~The Sarashina Diary*

Fujifilm XT-4 … f/5.6 1/600s 60mm 160 ISO

*cited: Diaries of Court Ladies of Old Japan

lens artists: perfect pairs

This week Albatz Travel Adventures (Elizabatz) invites photographers to offer examples of diptych, two images placed in proximity to one another, forming a pair. She notes: “to make a successful pairing there should be several things in common, and something very different, contrasting”.

I wish to thank Elizabeth for introducing me to the word diptych. Earlier this week, I also became acquainted with the word, polyglots, “individuals who can speak several languages – usually having a grasp of at least somewhere between 3-5 languages.

a moment in reflections

Words written within ancient history seem to be a timeless knitting of souls as they flow through time.

Fujifilm X-T4: f/8 1/250 s 60 mm 640 ISO

I imagine poets of old listening to how their translated words resonate today and then chuckle at words defining lives unknown. Oh…unheard whisperings of ancients.

a moment in thought

“… what if she wrote more from a personal place …?”

Fujifilm X-T4: f/8 1/480 s 60 mm 640 ISO

Not from the first person perspective. A self so absorbed – so narrow focused – so stuck in the muddle of feelings, thoughts, self negation. Why not write from a present awareness of self – “breathing in, I am aware of my in breath: breathing out, I am aware of my out breath.

Would she then awaken an observer through the flow of ink – ink creating negative spaces introducing a new awareness of self?

lens-artists: habitat

This week’s lens-artists challenge is offer by Tina who invites us to share images/stories of habitats.

The Oxford Languages defines habitat as 1) the natural home or environment of an animal, plant, or other organism or 2) a person’s usual or preferred surroundings.

I understand the Earth to be the natural home for all the amazing diversity of life; from the Posidonia australis (the largest living organism on Earth: it is spread across 180 whopping square kilometres) to bacteria which are the smallest living organisms on earth (an average of 2 micrometres long and 0.5 micrometres thick).

But then again, the Guinness World Records recognizes the Nanoarchaeum equitans as the smallest living organism. Their habitat is a hydrothermal vent off the coast of Iceland on the Kolbeinsey Ridge by Karl Stetter.

For today, I will share these four examples of my usual or preferred surroundings, (sub-habitats of the earth?)

Thank you Tina.

lens-artists: two rectangles

This week’s lens-artists challenge is sponsored by Egidio (Through Brazilian Eyes) who writes, “By two rectangles, I mean you have two dominant rectangular areas in your image. For many people, this is one of those compositional tools we use without thinking about it. These rectangles give balance, harmony, and unity to a composition.”

Egidio shared a compositional tool used by Renaissance artists, “Renaissance artists used the technique called the Rabatment (also known as rebatement and rabattement) of the rectangle. One can think of Rabatment as putting a square inside a rectangle. Your composition is more potent when your subject falls on that line inside the square. The Rabatment concept helps guide the photographer’s eye to position elements harmoniously and organized within the rectangular frame. It’s not a rigid rule or grid but a tool to achieve a pleasing composition.”

lens-artists: behind

This color street image was created by using the reflection of a retail window. The buildings create the background while the foreground is created by both the man holding a phone and the tables/chairs. The three figures offers us a mid-ground. It is my thinking that the composition of this image is an example of using layers within a photograph.

The first image demonstrates the use of light and shadow to create a background. Where as in the second the foreground defines the background.

I hope you enjoyed these variations of layering in photography.

This week’s lens-artists challenge is hosted by Ritva