A Study in Stone.
A photograph from the historic Qutb Minar complex in Delhi, India. I’ve entitled this one “A Study in Stone” and given the historic nature of the subject, I decided to go with the monochrome treatment. A couple of things to note, the small aperture ensures a great depth of field, and the shutter speed was reasonably slow but manageable with image stabilization and a steady hand (no tripod used).
As with some earlier posted images, I’ve given the image a subtle split toning, a vignette, a lens correction to straighten the linear distortion that can occur with wide angle lenses and I’ve increased contrast in the top right corner to compensate for a bit of glare that occurred in that part of the frame. If you look closely, you’ll see that I’ve cloned out a discarded cigarette butt that was on the ground too. That is the only change to actual content that I made. Some people get a bit precious about that stuff, my attitude is that I’ll clone, spot heal, etc where I think it helps but I’m open about the process used.
A Study in Stone. (mouseover for original image)
Canon 5D Mark 2 with 24-105mm zoom at 24mm F11, Shutter speed 1/40 second at ISO 800.
Scary Television…ouch, I think something just bit me!
When talking about photography, we often discuss perspective. Perspective is important in other areas too, today I’m thinking about documentary making and how things can be depicted completely out of perspective. There is a whole genre of television that aims to grab the attention of an audience by presenting subjects in an “over the top” sensationalist way. I’m prompted to type this having stumbled upon a promotional clip for an upcoming television show about supposed wildlife dangers in Australia.
I’ve included the link here for those that wish to check it out. australias-backyard-killers In the show you can learn that Australia is crawling with dangerous critters, snakes, spiders, crocodiles etc that lie in wait ready to strike at any poor unfortunate that gets in the way!! I’ve only watched the first couple of minutes, just enough to know I’m watching a truly “B” grade production. When I meet people overseas, it’s always interesting to hear what their perceptions of Australia are. I’m often amazed by the misconceptions that people have. Some people are astonished when I tell them that the city I live in has a population of over 4 million, and I think they imagine that there are kangaroos hopping past my door.
In this “documentary” you can almost hear the director’s voice as he/she sets up the horror senario. “Baby playing innocently, check”. ”Mother distracted hanging out laundry, check”. And then the instruction to the wildlife wrangler, “Release the spider” or was it the snake, or the crocodile in the suburban swimming pool? The clip is so silly, contrived and alarmist that it’s unintentionally funny. For those that might consider travelling to and visiting Australia and don’t know any better, don’t agonize about creepy crawlies, your greatest danger is likely to be sunburn so wear sunscreen and a hat! KD.
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Your tweaking of the stone walkway is definately an acceptable enhancement. So subtle and nothing was lost. Now then, if you could only clone out all the chewing gum on the pavements world wide it would be good!
Having been subjected to Australian life only through The Sullivans, Neighbours and Billy Connollys aussie tour series, I must admit that I fell for the stereotypical view of the land.
However, I have relatives who have come over to visit and put me right. Particulary that meeting poisonous spiders is highly unlikely. A cousin builder said that although he checks his boots and under debris etc he has only ever heard about one bloke who ever came across one in his 20 years in construction.
A curious look on streetview google at Penrith NSW, my husbands place of birth(he left as a baby so has no recollection of it), soon made me realise it is just as suburban and built up and not too different to over here.
Good luck with the documentary scheming, I am sure you will do more justice than most.
Appreciate the photography lesson, KD. We’re bombarded with sensationalist “reality” TV to the point where, despite over 400 satellite channels there is frequently nothing worth turning the tube on. You Aussie’s aren’t alone in the stereotype column. I’ve had folks online make comments that colored us as 300 million blood thirsty saber rattlers ready to nuke everyone. I’ve had to point out that the Americans depicted in TV, movies and even on the news, especially our idiot politicians, just ain’t us!
Hi Kevin, I picked you up when I visited Horst. Beautiful perspective in this photo and works really well in mono though I do like the colour version, any help with the photography is always welcome.
Susan x
Thanks Susan, welcome to the blog!
Oh that’s so cool holding the mouse over to see the original. I love seeing photos like these that capture repeated structures that just seem to draw you in.