Cameras have a stunning potential to show us a world beyond our experience, yet we are so used to this fact, that it is interesting news to many people, when you tell and show them, that some of what they see on images can’t be seen through human eyes. Much of Susan Sontag’s collection of essays “On Photography” circles around this very topic of convergence between our perceived reality and the world of images.
One of the main culprits is the shallow depth of field that photographers can use to isolate their subject. The result can be everything from looking perfectly real, via deeply surreal, to completely abstract.
Shallow DOF is an effect that I absolutely enjoy using. Probably I should take my time and label all those images on the blog. I suspect they will amount to something between 50 and 100 by now.
I have long wondered about how to title this Image of the Day. For me it is somewhere in that surreal middle ground. The point of view is so low, that there is some aspect of being caught inside. I am not sure if this is positive or negative. Then there is the vaguely recognizable row of windows, quickly fading into a nondescript mist. There is a kind of gray warmth outside, but it does not give me a cozy feeling. Uncertainty? I don’ know. I am undecided.
The Song of the Day is the old Jazz standard “Undecided”, and the only version I have is on the 1993 Natalie Cole album “Take a Look”. Hear another version by a Czech Jazz band on YouTube. Not bad. Not at all bad 🙂