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Author Topic: Midnight Rainbows# 3  (Read 3049 times)

OmerV

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Midnight Rainbows# 3
« on: February 19, 2019, 08:44:17 am »

Well Slobodan, I’m not sure what to be more impressed with, your picture, your writing, or your ability to still carry a big DSLR and heavy lenses. So regarding all three, well done.

David Eckels

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #1 on: February 19, 2019, 09:12:38 am »

Well done.

Eric Myrvaagnes

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #2 on: February 19, 2019, 09:22:50 am »

Great image and excellent story, Slobodan.

I guess I need to save up my pennies for an iPhone and check all these heavy "real" cameras & lenses.   ;)
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RogTallbloke

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #3 on: February 21, 2019, 01:08:47 pm »

It's a great image Slobodan. I think the 1:1 format is the right choice too. It gives the scene a kind of 'cube within a cube' depth which balances and contrasts with the 'plane' presenting the subjects. Very well observed and the viewpoint is perfectly located.
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Patricia Sheley

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #4 on: February 21, 2019, 06:40:13 pm »

Slobodan,
Your image, "Still Standing", accompanied by your reflections at present, and during the period of capture, is most satisfying. That you had the good fortune to apply a number of approaches only makes it more so.

We actually are allowed to make a portion of that exploration with you in good part due to the careful selection of the surrounds framing the fresco, the soft cyan blushes that circle again and again, eventually bringing the casual passerby to the entry of beauty at the foot of the young manservant to the lower right.  Wonderful on so many levels, and worth revisiting in quiet time of contemplation.
Lumine!
« Last Edit: February 21, 2019, 06:43:14 pm by Patricia Sheley »
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RogTallbloke

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #5 on: February 22, 2019, 09:16:54 am »

Just to assist anyone reviewing this thread in the future who might find it difficult to find the image we're discussing, it's here;
https://luminous-landscape.com/midnight-rainbow-3-still-standing-by-slobodan-blagojevic/
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #6 on: February 22, 2019, 10:40:17 am »

Thank you all for the kind words. And thanks, Rog, for providing the link. There is a parallel thread about the same article in the About This Site forum as well: https://forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?topic=129163.0

HSakols

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #7 on: February 23, 2019, 10:24:18 am »

This image did catch my attention and after reading the text I wanted to look at it again.  Nice work. 
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RSL

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #8 on: February 23, 2019, 10:48:21 am »

Maybe I'm going blind. I don't see a picture.
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #9 on: February 23, 2019, 10:51:45 am »

Maybe I'm going blind. I don't see a picture.


Just to assist anyone reviewing this thread in the future who might find it difficult to find the image we're discussing, it's here;
https://luminous-landscape.com/midnight-rainbow-3-still-standing-by-slobodan-blagojevic/

RSL

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #10 on: February 23, 2019, 10:57:17 am »

Great, Slobodan, but I can't see the picture because when I go to the Midnight Rainbows (eh?) link you posted, LuLa doesn't understand that I'm a subscriber. I see more and more confusion growing in my favorite photography forum.
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #11 on: February 23, 2019, 11:21:08 am »

Great, Slobodan, but I can't see the picture because when I go to the Midnight Rainbows (eh?) link you posted, LuLa doesn't understand that I'm a subscriber. I see more and more confusion growing in my favorite photography forum.

Maybe they are just asking you to log in? Since forums are free, being logged in here does not grant access to the main site without another log in, I suppose.

Having said that, I can easily move between the two on my desktop and tablet, but not on my (new) iPhone. On the iPhone, it tells me my login credentials are not valid (?) and then offers to have the password reset. When I click on that, I never receive the reset email!?

RSL

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #12 on: February 23, 2019, 11:36:44 am »

As I said, LuLa is becoming more and more confused. Hate to see it. I've enjoyed LuLa for a long time now, but it's not the only crayon in the box.
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luxborealis

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #13 on: February 23, 2019, 12:22:46 pm »

I, too, am finding relevance with iPhone photos despite carrying around DSLR gear. There is something immediate about them, beyond instant gratification.

I’m curious, having now been ‘home’ from Cyprus for awhile now, do you still find the iPhone photo more compelling than the (near) identical photo(s) shot with your DSLR?
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #14 on: February 23, 2019, 12:36:05 pm »

... I’m curious, having now been ‘home’ from Cyprus for awhile now, do you still find the iPhone photo more compelling than the (near) identical photo(s) shot with your DSLR?

Yes. it is just that the vertical pano provided a unique framing, kept the verticals parallel, and included/excluded just the right amount of detail. As you said, there is something immediate about being able to see the final image and apply some processing right then and there. Makes previsualization easier, I guess.

Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #15 on: February 23, 2019, 12:54:40 pm »

These are the DSLR shots:

« Last Edit: February 24, 2019, 01:55:59 am by Slobodan Blagojevic »
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #16 on: February 24, 2019, 02:43:26 am »

Russ,

For you convenience, here is the article and the image:

Still Standing

In the fall last year, I found myself roaming the streets of Nicosia, Cyprus, a Mediterranean island with a turbulent past, like much of the region, and still-unresolved present.

My initial, non-photographic reason for spending almost two weeks there didn’t pan out as expected, my ticket was non-refundable, and accommodation paid in advance. With nothing left to do, killing the time by roaming the streets with a camera in hand wasn’t the worst that could happen. Not all who wander are lost, as they say, and having no aim or purpose, no direction or need for punctuality, frees the mind to see things that we would otherwise barely notice while rushing from one meeting to another.

It is a small town. Especially the old part, confined by Venetian walls. Nicosia is the capital and administrative center, landlocked, thus lacking the usual Mediterranean charm of its seaside sister cities. I crisscrossed it several times, often passing by the same spot. It was in one of those streets that I thought I passed through earlier, perhaps from another direction, that I passed by this scene. I did actually pass by it at first. After several days of wandering around, buildings and streets tend to blend into one and the same. But something made me stop after a few steps and turn around. By that time, I've seen a lot of destruction, dilapidated buildings, decaying walls. You see, Nicosia is the last divided city in Europe, split into Greek and Turkish parts by oil barrels filled with sand, barbwire, makeshift barricades, military checkpoints and border crossings. Buildings in and near that zone fell in disrepair, abandoned. I’ve seen plenty of those. But there was something different about this one - a crumbling wall with a beautiful fresco still standing.

The contrast was staggering. I wasn’t even sure what the fresco was depicting or what was the original purpose of the building. A harem? Beauty salon? Regardless, the women were beautiful, the details were beautiful, the scene was beautiful. Even more so now, surrounded by destruction.

Sic transit gloria mundi

We photographers are a walking depository of useful technical information. We know which lens to use, which shutter speed, f/stop. We might even remember things like the rule of thirds, color theory, and such. We can certainly approach, analyze, and see the scene with all that in mind.

But we are also creatures shaped by our education and life experience. The world is full of visual symbols that might mean different things to different people. One of my favorite books in my younger days was Carl Gustav Jung’s “Man and His Symbols." As I grow older, scenes of decay and destruction are having more and more profound impact on me. Once you start noticing your own decay, be it the body or soul, it is impossible not to see it elsewhere. As the years roll by, we accumulate more and more of defeats, betrayals, bad luck, abandonments.  In the end, we are alone. Still standing. Not unlike Santiago, from The Old Man and the Sea, my favorite work of fiction, the story of agonizing determination and resilience against the odds.

And here we have it again: a beauty, surviving against the odds, against the environment, against politics, and in spite of human neglect. Still standing.

Equipment and Processing

Right before the trip to Europe, I got a brand new iPhone XS Max. I was so impressed by its photographic quality that I used it for 80-90% of my travel shots. This is one of those. The square format is a result of using it for a vertical panorama. The place around the structure is used as a parking lot, and I tried to avoid any of the cars surrounding it. The only solutions was to come close and use a panorama mode, holding the phone high up.

Then I felt a shame. Here I am, a “real” photographer, carrying my old shoulder bag all day long through Europe, filled with a DSLR, 24-105/4 and 70-200/4 zooms, and yet ending up with an iPhone shot!?  So I pulled my “real” camera and started shooting the same scene from various angles. Ultimately, none of those shots had the impact of this one. In retrospect, I could have shot a vertical panorama with my DSLR too, but I wouldn't be able to see the results until weeks later, without access to my desktop.

I processed it in Lightroom upon return, trying to give it a slightly distressed look, to match the scene. This is a Mediterranean island after all, the sky was blue and the grass vibrant green in the original shot, but I wanted the sky bleak and the grass dark and dull, so that the emphasis remains on the fresco painting.

RSL

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #17 on: February 24, 2019, 12:14:55 pm »

It's an interesting story and a fine photograph, Slobodan, but I don't understand what any of this has to do with a mythical midnight rainbow. I get the same impression from a phrase like "midnight rainbows" as I get from the BS-style "artist's statements" I see hanging next to crappy paintings in a local museum.
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Eric Myrvaagnes

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #18 on: February 24, 2019, 12:22:47 pm »

Russ,
I suspect the title "Midnight Rainbows" was invented pretty much the same way a typical rock band gets a title. The basic requirements are (1) it must be essentially meaningless, and (2) it must be offensive to someone.

I wouldn't blame Slobodan for the moniker "midnight Rainbows." His image and story are both excellent, IMHO.

Eric
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Slobodan Blagojevic

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Re: Midnight Rainbows# 3
« Reply #19 on: February 24, 2019, 12:30:29 pm »

Just in case some didn't' read Josh' introductory article: it was illustrated by a Michael Reichmann's 2004 photograph of an actual, not just mythical, midnight rainbow in Iceland. My interpretation of the metaphor is that the series is about unique, single captures, with a compelling story or meaning behind it.
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