Friday 3 October 2008

Squares and diagonals - # 08/233

Walking through the gloom of Ham House (shutters closed before being opened for the daily influx of visitors) I came to a door into a room flooded with natural light. The chair has been up-ended for repair by a skilled restoration expert. I was immediately struck by the multitude of patterns in the floor, panelling and the chair. The sunlight (coming through special UV resistant blinds) creates a special kind of illumination, giving the interiors a special quality that I love to capture. Here we see the preservation of 17th century heritage as a daily task.

11 comments:

  1. That is a fantastic composition and great natural lighting. I was in a colonial settlement here in the states this summer and noticed how nicely the natural light filled the room.

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  2. My friend this is just as close to perfect as you can come. The composition and you're right the lines, lines, lines, make for such an interesting photograph. The light is .... well everything I can come up with sounds trite. Forgive me for not having the words.

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  3. Agree with the other folk. However despite the nice light and the compositional factors I think it would have been a little dull - apart from one thing! That is the open door and the light cast on it. It invites us into the space and sets the scene, both compositionally and giving us additional clues about the lighting. If you imagine it with out the door I think you'll agree it misses a lot. All this even though the eye doesn't linger on the door, and moves on to the details

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  4. Immediately caught my eye in the portal. Gosh isn't Richard good value. Thankyou Richard. I didn't think about the light on the door until he mentioned it - it does indeed draw the eye in to the delights within. Beautiful soft light, Chuckeroon.

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  5. The half open door says: Come in, please. I like the warm colours and the rectangle forms are of a wide variety. But the golden frame attacts all my attention. The restaurator's table, hmmm, disturbs a bit.

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  6. @Everyone....for me the door is the pivot/the key. Without it the photo is almost nothing. The door is the tiny element of "gut feeling" infused into the image.

    Certainly the 1950s style table is a disturbance - which EXISTS, and we cannot ignore it. I almost mentioned it in the text. But looked at another way it adds meaning to the image. Everything is pure 16th century, the table and the plastic box clutter is a "disturbing" modern inclusion.

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  7. The inclusion of the table is interesting.

    There are a couple of points. First of all it means that the photo is not just an image of a country house interior. Whether it is a comment on work or reparation or styles is almost immaterial - that is up to the viewer to decide when they assimilate these details. It differentiates the image.

    Does this mean then that the photo has a life of its own, distinct from what the photographer "saw" or decided to "show us"? Of course it does. Most photographs are like this in the same way that when two people look at the same scene from real life, their perceptions differ. Even if one person has brought the scene to anothers attention.

    Second, the flat table top gives us another plane of light - in this case the main highlight (if it wasn't for the light under the painting which is a minor disturbance), So it plays a compositional role as well as an intellectual one

    Just my extra tuppence worth to an interesting discussion...

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  8. What can i say - a simply perfect photo in all aspects. Nothing needs to be changed !!!

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  9. Hi Roon! Here I am on my weekly visit! And this week WOW, we have discovered a new Vermeer!! Great job! Also loved the reflection!
    Have a great Sunday!
    Blogtrotter, now «Deep in Crete»!

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  10. Ta photo est magnifique, elle rend cette ambiance avec ces matériaux nobles et chauds. Elle a beaucoup de matière
    J'ai eu la chance d'avoir vêcu dans une maison qui date de 1899, dans une pièce nous avions ce type de parquet. Au dessus de chaque porte un tableau, avec un très beau cadre, chaque fois. Ma grand'mère peignait, mais nous avions également des tableaux de famille.
    Il y avait des boiseries au bas des murs. Oh oui, notre maison était très ancienne, on entendait le plancher et les murs craquer. Je suis sûre qu'il y avaient des fantômes. Il arrivait lorsque nous revenions de l'étranger, qu'il y aient des puces.
    (Sur ta photo cependant, la table est assez incongrue....)

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  11. Je me suis trompée pour la date : 1799 ! Presque la révolution française !

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