Sunday, June 07, 2009

Semi-abstract blinds

click photo to enlarge
A while ago I was taken to task by someone when I suggested that photographs don't have to depend on their subject to be effective. My point was that a good photograph of a mundane subject can be as worthwhile as a good photograph of an interesting subject, and is always* a better image than a mundane or bad photograph of an interesting subject. If you follow my drift!

Today's shot is a case in point, though I'll add the disclaimer that I don't attach very great merit to it. The subject presented itself to me as I was undertaking my ablutions in a bathroom other than my own. It shows the morning light coming through a patterned glass window and falling on the slats of some wooden Venetian blinds and the nearby wall that is lined with textured paper. The varying thicknesses of the glass, as well as the multiple slats of the blinds, are responsible for the light and dark, and for the repeating patterns, which are the nominal subjects of the shot.

As I say, it isn't my greatest shot, but it is one that I think was worth taking. Any good qualities that it has come from it being a familiar subject given a a little dignity by being photographed in an unfamiliar way (or at all!), as well as from its semi-abstract nature. In retrospect I've taken better shots that make my point more effectively than this one does, but I think this will do!

Looking back I see that I've taken photographs of Venetian blinds before, including one that shares some similarities with today's. You can see them here and here.

* Unless it's an essential record or a family snapshot!

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 35mm macro (70mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/1250
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -1.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On