Light and dark: The pictures of the week
This week we show how you can influence the effect of compositions with a light or dark picture style.
Crested Tit
(Image: Lightpix84)
- Tom Leon Zacharek
Pictures with many dark elements can appear mysterious, nostalgic or calm. Bright photos, on the other hand, radiate joie de vivre and convey a good mood. The difference between black and white and color is similar. Without color, a photo appears calm, with color it becomes lively.
How you approach the composition depends on what you want to achieve with the photo and what mood suits the scene. This week's pictures show different approaches chosen by our gallery photographers.
(Image: RicSti)
In his picture Bicycle , Richard Stinauer (RicSti) opted for a dark processing method. He writes to us: "During a [...] walk through Munich shortly beforehand, I took a photo of 14 identical rental bikes parked in a row. In contrast, the look of the aged racing bike and the unusual parking location struck me as a troubleshooting picture. With the dark 'moody look', I tried to put the focus on the bike and the door handle."
(Image: NilsSch)
Gallery photographer Nils Schulte-Jokiel (NilsSch) also used predominantly dark elements created by the backlight for his photo London street. He wrote: "For this shot, I took the opportunity when the sun was driving away the London rain. Reflections on the street form an exciting design element and the harsh light turned people into silhouettes. This was the 'stage', but I was still missing an element: the idea was to 'frame' the numerous people walking past with an element. For example, you can photograph through the legs of people walking very close by or, as in this case, with a bit of luck [...] through the spokes of a motorcycle. It's also important to me to include as few distracting elements as possible in the picture by choosing the perspective."
(Image: Stephan Gläser)
Stephan Gläser took the photo Altstadt Dresden during a city trip to Dresden.He focuses on dark image elements, which are mainly created by vignetting. The viewer's gaze is drawn to the center and the transition between the two buildings is emphasized. There is also a strong contrast to the light background, which further intensifies the focus. Editing in black and white also makes the light and dark elements stand out better.
(Image: SonyAlpha380)
A lot of color characterizes the picture Elbbrücke im Sonnenuntergang by Jens Kerber (SonyAlpha380). The gradient between the bright foreground and the colorful background guides the eye beautifully through the shot and lends it a calm atmosphere. Kerber describes how his picture was taken: "On 02/23/24 [...] there were signs of a beautiful sunset and so I quickly went to the Elbe. Once there, I had to fight my way through a thick layer of mud to the groyne due to the recently receding floodwater. I set up my tripod and camera and off I went, with the sunset getting redder and redder. I tried out a few settings in terms of exposure and time and ended up with this wonderful photo. The natural spectacle with the extreme red coloration in the sky and the reflection in the water was over within ten minutes."
(Image: Lightpix84)
Tino Weigelt (Lightpix84) uses lots of bright and bold colors to enliven the image in his photo of the crested tit, both in the background and in the bird itself. "A week earlier, I was out in the woods with my daughter and my bikes when I saw from a distance that there were plenty of birds hanging around a perch. Someone had set up a small feeding station here," recalls the photographer. "A week later, the weather was fine, so I went to the spot on my bike with my [...] equipment. It took a while for the birds to get used to me, but from then on the little feeding station was well frequented. I set the camera to continuous fire with the telephoto lens and, to my amazement, the first bird I caught was the crested tit. I waited another hour, but the crested tit never showed up again."
(Image: vanthom)
The picture Beach vacation by gallery photographer vanthom is also characterized by many strong colors and a bright exposure. The highlight of this shot, however, is the provocative and cheeky idea of placing the woman's swimsuit on a washing line between her feet to block the viewer's view. A creative approach that plays well with provocative elements.
(Image: Wolfgang Görgen)
Pigeons in flight by Wolfgang Görgen shows birds against a white background. The few points on which the eye can orient itself make the picture unusual. The large, empty area in the middle seems out of place. Nevertheless, or perhaps precisely because of this, you take a closer look. Because not every shot has to follow the same pattern; breaking the rules is what makes some photos interesting.
You can find all the "pictures of the day" from the past week in our picture gallery:
(cbr)
