How To Make Photos Of Architectural Beauty in Vienna, Austria
A beautiful fountain in the grounds of a city building, Vienna, Austria
A lovely summer's day found me happily wandering the streets of Vienna, Austria's capital and a historically important city in Central Europe.
This photo was simple enough to make. It was a straightforward response to the late afternoon sun raking, at a low angle, onto the walls of these lovely buildings and the fountain that fronts them.
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What Attracts Your Attention In A Photo?
Actually I'd say this photo is more about the background buildings than it is about the fountain in the foreground. And that, if you think about it, is fairly unusual.
Outside of the distant views of mountains and the like we’d normally associate with landscape photography the background is usually subservient to the foreground. That’s because it’s the foreground where the primary focal point or subject within the photo resides.
I suppose the other exception is when you're standing in front of a unique structure or an awe-inspiring landscape and you feel a need to photograph your companion in front of said wonder.
The now infamous selfie appears to be the latest incarnation of this phenomena.
“The selfie places emphasis on the me rather than the he, the she or the what.”
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Please, Speak To Me Of Color
I love the soft, golden light on the stone almost as much as the red window frames contrasting with the blue and aqua colors in some of the windows.
Do you see the subtle connection between some of those windows and the sky? The color blue is linking two otherwise disparate elements and, thereby, creating cohesion and balance.
I had to be careful not to include too much grass in the picture. It's the case that including more than three colors in the average photo makes the process of viewing the image overly challenging for some folks.
Instead of achieving harmony you risk creating discord.
Fortunately the green rooftops help to connect and balance the top and bottom of the image. I think I got away with it.
A half moon at dusk over city buildings, both classic and contemporary, in Vienna, Austria
While the colors in the image at the top of this post are, for the most part, warm and positive the colors in the above image are cool and speak of the dusk, the time of day during which it was made.
Color is such an expressive medium and it's important to be able to explore the color of the light, as much as the color/s inherent to the scene or subject in question, to be able to make beautiful and emotive images.