Berlin: Like in Legoland #2

Beautiful colours, very nicely composed, Markku! Best regards, Ruud.

I'm very pleased to have you as a visitor, and that you liked my photo.

Great.

It's amazing how well you have incorporated this framing device into your photographs and how well it has served you, the compositions still retaining a freshness and dynamic power without ever crossing over into the area of commercial creative design. The image continues to be enhanced and reinforced by the device, probably because the image itself is so strong in the first place. My congratulations to you for having the courage to see possibilities in places where others fear to go, to break new ground and then consolidate your vision.

Wonderful. It's a very interesting structure to begin, and I love how you've captured and showcased its lines and shapes, especially while preserving the tile detail. I like the frame you've used (is that the right term?), and I'm curious if it's there as new way you're displaying your work, or are the colored rectangles hiding a bit of the picture in the interest of thwarting thievery?

Thank you so much for your generous and flattering words. Coming from a person with discerning eye and mind, like yours, are very highly appreciated. You made me curious; how would this one look like as a commercial version? Your idea about it, easy to explain at all? Seems like this my presentation is not too sugary then? ;-) About daring to adopt this advanced framing concept I believed having presented enough material so far to profile myself clearly enough to give kinda basement for judging this design. You have likely visited portfolios with very mixed content with one shot this, another that, in content, style and finishing. In such portfolio the appearance of this design would be more hit or miss case. Darn, so difficult to explain what I'm trying to say...

Thanks for your detailed comment and question. Indeed, the seams of the mosaic tiles were very crisp and clear, and the colors strong and bold, all in bright sunshine to begin with, so no editing tricks were needed here. Originally I shot this in landscape mode but after having worked with other photos of this series I saw the effect of cropping into vertical. As I wrote under the "Underground Library", this framing concept helped me to present photos in portrait orientation, something you otherwise haven't seen in my portfolio.

 

Here my careful editing and strickt stubborn hold to the 2:3 aspect ratio gave me a crop where the arched shadow border on left hit precisely on the midpoint of the lefthand edge while the tip of the white triangle was fully included. In other words I have all the reason to be satisfied. Perspective correction had destroyed all this - this time.. ;-)

 

I suppose that if the blue-green bar were just black or white it would be called asymmetrical frame. Just my 2cs.

Speaking of portfolios with "mixed content", no better example than my own. The only binding factor with my pictures is the fact that I was the one that snapped them. But in a way that very much fits my personality - undisciplined, idiosyncratic; a person with an aversion to categories, with a creative but restless mind. You're right, the fact that you have established a baseline with your portfolio gives this particular series more weight. Although this frame is a design device (i.e. not inherent to the original shot) it seems to function actively and creatively in the pictorial space (rather than around it as is the case with the standard "frame"). In other words, it is not a true frame but rather a highly original and creative addition to the picture itself, and as such, sui generis. Photographers are always yammering about frames and complaining that they impinge on the purity of the image: "get rid of the frame; the frame detracts from the picture..." and so on. In the commercial art world, the frame - as effective as it might be in presenting the image - functions as a limiting device to catch and concentrate the attention of the viewer (or customer as the case may be), After all, there are a hell of a lot of images out there competing for our attention. This is not the case here; it does not enclose; it does not concentrate, it does not serve as a presentation device. It is an active, creative element of the picture itself.

By no means one could call your portfolio a mixed bag. Where are your flower/insect macros, nudes, HDRs and sunsets on the beach, you name it - and surely have seen those kind of collections around?

 

You must know how much I appreciate some discussion beyond one liners like "beautiful colors, nice comp". So thank you so much for caring to exchange thoughts, Jack.

A festival of colors Markku...I know it is often not so easy to balance such an image because of the strong competing colors and i think you did a very interesting thing to incorporate the frame as a playing actor....I also like how the shadow contributes to the overall geometry....

I agree mostly with Jack s words,,,,it s a color-nice-image,,and a color nice frame,,but they mutual shoot each other in the foot,,,saying me first,,,,,, been here several times,,wondering what the annoying problem is,, and one of them is

the left bottom black-skirt,,,i would like it to be continued in the frame,, somehow,,,and maybe the white in the ceiling,,,because the width frame hardly ask for it........ hope you can use some part of my critique,,,,,,,another time,,best niels

 

Thank you both for your comments. Nice to hear that my design efforts appeal to you.

 

Niels Christian,

I do appreciate your open and honest concern and suggestion for further editing. Well, I have to digest your thoughts and play a little "behind the scene" after some processing time as right now I prefer to rather subtle appearace of this supportive frame (or whatever), but indeed I have had in my mind similar ideas for next series though. Let's leave some traces of development; this was then and - WOW! - that is now... This all boils down to media where used: on pages of a (oncoming?) photo book the story would be all different. Wait and see, all I can say right now.

An impressive work here. I don't know a thing about art, so I'm probably mis-applying the term, but for some reason "cubist" comes to mind. Such lovely blocks of texture and tones and color. Very nice work.