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Konica Minolta Users | all galleries >> KM Challenges Hall of Fame >> HOF C36 to C40 > 2nd - Belly of the Beast by JDU
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26-JUN-2005 John down under (7D)

2nd - Belly of the Beast by JDU

Golden Grove, Adelaide, South Australia


This is the underside of a children's climbing frame in a playground. The yellow comes from another part of the structure. The centre section is also blue, but is much smoother and more reflective than the blue bars sticking out at the sides. I centred the focus on the 'crease' where the yellow section is. The shooting angle puts the top bars more or less in focus as well to give the impression that the focus closer/higher in the image than if you just look at the centre bar and the reflections, which I intended to be the central point of attention for the subject. This was at f/16 and ISO200 and I decided not to go to ISO400 or stop down more for shutter speed and image quality reasons.

Konica-Minolta Maxxum 7 Digital ,KM AF 28-75/2.8 (D)
1/80s f/16.0 at 75.0mm iso200 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
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Guest 06-Jul-2005 03:11
Wow, the ants really are big in Australia!
very cool shot JDU. Love it.
mashuga05-Jul-2005 21:54
I really liked the abstract quality of the piece. First the hard structure in front of the soft clouds presents a wonderful contrast. There is an intriguing play of color and tiny shapes running down the center post that keeps the viewer attention. Finally JDU breaks the rules with a strict symmetry especially by him dividing the picture frame straight down the middle. Somehow that daring bit of rule breaking works. It all adds up to a satisfying image. As for blue it is such a calming color. The fact that the climbing equipment was found in blue and had the blue sky behind was a picture waiting to be made. It took a great eye to see it this way. I wonder what the image would be like had the climbing frame been painted let’s say red? Anyway, “Well done!”
Guest 04-Jul-2005 08:23
A pseudo bug macro for sure Alain. ;^)
I did all the shots with this symmetry and perspective as that was where the detail struck me as being the most interesting. The further part of the main bar is higher than the near end, so I could look up more while getting the reflections from the yellow part of the structure further from me. I'd thought about the clouds in the background as well, but in the end I decided to leave them there as I don't think they take away from the rest of the image and to some extent they support the idea of looking up and the unknown scale of the subject.
John
Konica Minolta Users03-Jul-2005 18:36
Another bug macro John ? **JK**
This one certainly draws the attention. I like the strong diagonal lines of the feet. I'm not sure though about the choice of framing it so symmetrically. You have other takes of this subject John ? I can imagine that the play of reflections on the shiny blue side surface would give also interesting images... At first I thought the background should have a contrasty color - or black - or white. But given the white reflections, the cloudy background does have a purpose here. An intriguing entry.

Alain
Konica Minolta Users30-Jun-2005 00:28
Fantastic shot - you really have created an abstract form for which it is impossible to tell the scale.
Lovely reflections and symmetry!
Mike Parsons.
Dennis Phillips29-Jun-2005 19:24
Looks like a giant blue bug. I like the yellow accent colour. Wonderful what you can come up with by viewing a familiar object from an unfamiliar angle. Really nicely done. Tlaloc
cbses 29-Jun-2005 01:53
You've certainly nailed 'blue'...even though the highlights and reflections add variety, you know that there is a blue structure beneath. The curves give a very subtle organic feel, although an alien (or insectiod) one...is that a smile through the yellow highlights? But that aside, what really makes this work for me is the attention paid to the physical symmetry of the shot. I slapped a PS grid over it, and it didn't look to have a pixel out of place.
Guest 27-Jun-2005 11:29
I know what this is -- this was taken in some kindergarten and the yellow reflection is John's shirt. John was saving kids from galactical evil called giant Blue Robosaur. Thanks John! You're the best! -Tom. P.
Konica Minolta Users26-Jun-2005 20:38
awesome reflections and I like the different shades of blue. The yellow bit adds a nice contrast. what is this?

bracket
Konica Minolta Users26-Jun-2005 12:50
Great reflections in this shot, John! I like the way you used the blue of the sky to work with the blue tubes. I like the limited depth of field, but I feel that maybe the focus is too close to the top of the picture; it makes me think that there's something interesting just out of the frame that I am missing. The symmetry is nice too, and that small patch of yellow reflection adds a lot of interest to it. Good one! -Ord