Imagine visiting Musee L’Orangerie in Paris, and seeing these larger than life canvases of Monet’s water lilies. Then imagine, for a moment the ebb and flow of people visiting leaves the room empty. Nothing but the natural light filtering down, and the brushtrokes created by a master of light and color all around. Beauty and peace. That happened to me more than once on Sunday morning, as I visited this wonderful place. Just me and Monet.
I love art galleries. The light, the spaces. A well done art museum provides a place that is interesting and stimulating but also keeps the focus on the artist’s work. Designing a gallery is an art form in itself! This is the Musee Marc Chagall in Nice, France. I love the colors that he uses, so bold and bright. The space was also beautifully done, to display his work and to learn about his life. I wish more museums would let you take pictures. I don’t want to take pictures of the art itself, I can buy a postcard or print if I want that, but I want to capture the spaces the art is displayed in.
Today I thought I would post of fun exploration idea that I’ve played around with a few times. Finding a great “shadow portrait” opportunity like this one requires a few things:
1. Sunshine or a direct light source that throws shadows. OK, obvious. 🙂
2. A wide open enough surface that the shadows are recognizable.
3. Noticing the shadow.
4. Deciding on composition: Angle to capture the shadow to get the “portrait” of your subject, how much of the background to use to “frame” your portrait, etc.
You can do this with any object, it doesn’t have to be people. The thing I like about these shadow portraits of our family is that they are all three of us together (since I don’t turn my camera over to strangers, it’s hard to get a family photo all together) and that they are also of the place we are at. It puts us, in that place, in a unique way.
The first photo was in Riomaggiore, in the Cinque Terre last weekend. The photo below… well, it should be obvious.
Play around this weekend and take some shadow portraits if you have time. Or just notice the shadows around you, that is interesting in itself!
I loved the colors and shapes of the Russian Orthodox cathedral in Nice, France. So different from the other churches we’ve visited on our travels. And against that blue sky – wow! Just brings a smile to my face, a lift in my day. I hope it does for you too.
These flowers, full of hope and love and color and light, are for all of you Moms out there! Happy Mother’s Day today.
A sidewalk cafe, ready for the day. Shapes from the shadows in the morning light, promising a beautiful day to come. Chairs and tables neatly positioned, just waiting for the clients, ready to drink a coffee and soak up some sun.
Right now this image invokes spring sun warmth for me, weather that might have a slight chill unless you sit in the sun. It’s hard to believe that it was below freezing in January, at Disneyland Paris. It could be any early morning, any time of year, any location. Just use your imagination!
