Want to become a better photographer? Study the classics.

[alfredo]

Vermeer is a very good teacher. Look at how he uses light, composes his painting, and his selection of subjects. This site shows his works and adds helpful commentary.

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/vermeer/







Commentary on "The Kitchen Maid."

This is probably my favorite by him. "Girl With a Pearl Earring" is probably his most famous, but I am attracted to the light and subject of this image. Check out the details.
http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/vermeer/kitchen-maid/

[Curmudgeoness]

1. I had never considered learning from painters

but that is a great way to study great "pictures", no matter what the media. Thanks for pointing me in this direction.

[alfredo]

3. Every movie, and every painting is in my head and helps me

Recognize a subject worth capturing. The dark moodiness of "The Third Man" has guided me on many occasions. A little girl with her dog brings up memories of Sir Joshua Reynolds. Bergman, Allen, lynch, the Coen Brothers helped tune my eye. If anything they helped me in subject selection, and recognizing mood and lighting.

The Dystopian worlds of the writer Margaret Atwood have set the mood of a day's shoot.

The love of Black and White comes from the cinema, but the passion for light and color comes from Vemeer and the love of dark lushness comes from Caravaggio.

[xocet]

2. That is a very interesting idea. Thanks. n/t

[alfredo]

4. Everything you experience informs your photography.

Picasso's blue phase had a profound effect on me.

Watch the movie "A Touch of Evil." You can learn a lot about composition and lighting from that movie. The interior shots are a master class in the visual arts.

[xocet]

5. Thanks for the further advice. If I have a chance, I will take a look at "A Touch of Evil." n/t

[alfredo]

6. There's so many visual clues in the movie.

This scene was just one take, no editing until the end.

[Mira]

7. This is a stellar post, Alfredo.

Thank you for it.

[alfredo]

8. Yer welcomed

How's your paw doing?

[Mira]

9. Considering what it is,

I'M OK
Thanks for asking. I look forward to having two hands again.

[alfredo]

10. My wife is just finishing her physical therapy. Because of the nature and

severity of her break, she might not get back to 100%.

[Mira]

11. I'm very sorry to read that, and i hope

she will realize the power of taking phys therapy seriously and continue the drill.

Mine is a clean break of the wrist, all is in alignment, but I did not like the look of the arm as they put it in the cast.
Time will tell. I worry later if necessary.
Please tell your wife she has my empathy.

[alfredo]

12. It will look better after the swelling goes down.

This splint is the worst, but essential.


This splint might hurt at first, but it works well.
The LMB Wire-Foam Pronation/Supination Splint



My wife is a former gymnast, so she knows the value of a good physical therapist.