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January 2011
The story behind it
01/01/2011
I have my hands on the wheel and feet on the pedals. It seems a kid's thing, saying it that way. But it's a banal action, such as it is a basic daily one, for millions of people. I feel the wind on my head, and on my arm near the window. I travel along the solitude of Alentejo. The temperature is strangely high, for January. I go past an area that, since a child, always has fascinated me. It's the smoothness of the curves, resembling pillows. This time I have all the material with me. The light is magnificent. The greens! The clouds! The cherry on the top of the cake: I take with me time to do what I want. Be here and be now!Comment
Technical issues
01/01/2011
This photograph was taken with the wonderful Fuji Velvia 50, medium format slide film. I used the Mamiya 43mm lens (one of my favourites), at f/8, with tripod. The graduated 0.6 and 0.3 ND Lee filters just did their job, with no colour casts in the sky. I focused at hyperfocal distance. The thing was later developed in a good shop and I did the rest: digital scanning, minor colour and contrast adjustments to keep true to what I have on film.Ah! One last technical detail - lost of pleasure!
Critial review
01/01/2011
Besides the technical issues, on exposure, filters, apperture, focus and optical acuteness, there are two great factors at stake here: composition (lines, textures and colours) and occasion. Composition is divided in half, between Earth and Sky. Cutting this dominant line, the grass shows diagonal trends, as if in the direction of the Sun. Between the two halves, lines turn in to curves, where trees and their long shadows enhance a sense of space. There comes the Sky, as I say "full of personality". The stone (it was just there - I didn't move it) was placed near the centre of the golden-number spiral, in the viewfinder, balancing the scene.Where you should place it
01/01/2011
Well...Medium Format, the best quality slide film, best optical acuteness upon exposure and until the best digital scanning - all of this results in an exceptionally clear and detailed photograph. This means that, from its native size of 93cm x 112cm at 240dpi, it stands upsampling to much larger sizes, if need be. It also means that, with such clarity, "it will take you there", when viewing it.The rest, you've guessed: place it in a place with good localised lighting. I'd suggest a light and sleek frame, with it. I'd see it in a place of inspiring energies.
