Friday, January 27, 2012

January 27 - body



Sculptors love the human body in all its shapes and sizes - two images from Italy here

First the 'Pieta' - Michelangelo was only 24 when he sculpted this masterpiece and it is breathtaking. Unfortunately it must be kept behind thick glass as it has been damaged previously by a hammer-wielding nutter and had to be restored. The only benefit of this for a photographer is that you can actually get a photo without a bunch of tourists getting in the way :) but there is no way a photo through bulletproof glass can do the sculpture justice - and there is a window and some brightly coloured brown and yellow marble behind, so I covered the window, desaturated the image and added transparent soft light and multiplier layers, then the smallest amount of glow filter. It softens the image and highlights the figures instead of that complicated background.

The other photo I like (don't jump!!) - although it looks as if Christo and Jeanne-Claude have done a hit-and-run wrap, it is actually one of many statues along the top of a building in Modena which were wrapped as part of a restoration process.

8 comments:

  1. I saw the Pieta in the mid 1960s when it was actually shipped to NYC for the World's Fair. It was, I believe, in the Vatican Pavilion. One rode past it on a moving walkway. This was before that nutcase nailed it.

    I love the top photo. It's perfectly exposed, and it has that quality that makes one do a double take.

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  2. Between Michelangelo and Rodin I can't pick, but I lean towards Rodin, because Michelangelo is such an overachiever.

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  3. Beautifully taken images...your treatment on Pieta is superb...top job

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  4. Wonderful processing on the Pieta . . .
    Love the top image of the wrapped statue against the bright blue sky.

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  5. Same as Steve above. You've done a really good job post processing.

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  6. Thanks for sharing your processing secrets...they really worked wonders with your image...both are just stunning!

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  7. Thanks! I don't often do much except a bit of light and contrast work, but this challenge for the year is supposed to stretch my skills and knowledge, so as well as trying new things I am also happy to share. I really like to know what others have done to their images as well, and it's great that so many of you are generous in telling how you have achieved your own fabulous results.

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  8. Love your photos, while we were in the UK in Dec./Jan. at Hampton Court Palace they had done the same with their statues to protect them during the winter, but they were still amazing.

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