Our cameras rely on light to create an image. When that light is diminished, as Leonardo da Vinci reminds us, shadows emerge, creating interesting and illusive patterns.
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Owls are hunters, birds of prey. And like all birds of prey they pursue other animals for food, something that not everyone is comfortable with. But they are also very beautiful, with delicate markings on their feathers – spots and stripes that frame their faces, adorn their wings and bodies. They are among my favourite birds.
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Everyone knows about the iconic sights of Paris. The Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, the Sacre Coeur, the Seine … And they are not to be missed, for sure. But if you have the luxury of a second visit (or a third or a fourth or even more), why not get off the beaten track to explore some of the city’s neighbourhoods?
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I have always been fascinated by the moon. Perhaps it’s because I grew up in the 1960s, during the space race era. I remember vividly being woken by my father to watch Neil Armstrong’s famous ‘first step’; and the wonder I felt at being able to see these grainy images beamed into our living room from the silver disc I saw in the night sky.
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The colour yellow seems to divide opinion. Van Gogh loved it, but another artist, Degas, described it as ‘a horrible thing’. In colour psychology it is regarded as the colour of the mind and the intellect. It is optimistic and cheerful. However it can also suggest impatience, criticism and cowardice.
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Lisa has set an unusual challenge, the selective colour editing of photos. It’s one that really attracted me to have a go. I love fiddling with my photos, as regular readers will know (I call it editing but really it’s quite often just fiddling!) So the idea of removing much of the colour in an image to leave just a splash appealed to me.
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Not many gulls are as famous as Steven. Said to be Estonia’s most photographed seagull, he lives in Tallinn and is often seen on the viewing platform overlooking the Lower Town. He has featured in hundreds of tourist photos and became so famous that in 2016 he got his own Instagram account.
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The most successful buildings are those in which form and function work in harmony. Buildings that not only look amazing but serve their purpose well. And also, buildings which reflect the culture of their location and contribute to it, rather than tug against it. The Louvre Abu Dhabi is one such building.
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‘We'll always have Paris’ – true not only for Rick and Ilsa (in Casablanca) but also for me and my husband. We spent our honeymoon there; I’ve celebrated several significant birthdays there; and with a short journey by train on the Eurostar, it is the easiest European city for us to visit.
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Who says photographs have to be faithful representations? Sometimes it’s fun to play around with images to create something that’s quite wildly different from the original subject matter.
