High And Low Key Photography, Kingfishers, And Beautiful Landscapes – Here’s What You Missed This Week On The Forums

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Last week we had a lot of very interesting Low-Key/Hi-Key photographs thanks to the weekend challenge. We also want to welcome more than 100 new Light Stalkers that joined our beloved family this past week. We are sure you'll find a warming place to learn about photography.

Don't be afraid to ask any photography related questions you have at our forums. There are a ton of posts created in our forums, so you can also use the search box to find good information too!

Photo Of The Week – November 12, 2018

Photo by Lenny Wollitz

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Kent DuFault again chose an outstanding and interesting photo of the week. A very big thank you to Kent for highlighting really interesting images from our community every week. This is what Kent had to say about this image from Lenny Wollitz:

This week the POTW goes to Lenny for his image title, “The Big Red M”. I really like the extreme graphic depiction of this building.

The use of two warm power colors, red and yellow, framed by the much cooler color of the teal building begins the viewer's journey with a strong push inward. I'm always rambling on about the power of shape in photography, and this image is a prime example.

Of particular interest is the repetition of the upward angle- first in the letter M and secondly in the different levels of the building, the yellow roof in the background- and finally at the roofline at the top of the image.

There was some debate about whether the man at the bottom should be more prominent visually than in Lenny's original upload. I think Lenny nailed it because the man isn't the subject. The subject here is really just a graphic abstract. It really isn't even about the building.

The interesting part of the inclusion of the man is that it brings a sense of reality back into the image.

A very big congratulations to Lenny – such an interesting shot!

What Are Our Members Up To?

Here are some great shots from the participants at the 407th-weekend photography challenge, Low-Key/Hi-Key photographs! We asked resident Light Stalking Photographer and Writer – Federico Alegria – to give us his thoughts:

Photo by LeanneC

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This is an excellent example of High Key used in a color based composition. This image is so abstract – brilliant capture.

Photo by LeanneC

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Low Key always adds drama to every photograph, and this is a very good example of the drama that a decaying flower can have when captured underexposed.

Photo by Tom M

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Photographing snow is highly complex due to the extreme amount of white. This photograph, even when overexposed, looks soothing and even nostalgic.

Photo by Andre P

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All this assembly is high-key friendly, and the shadows give it a nice extra touch.

Photo by Elin L

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High key photography can enhance the abstract nature of pretty much everything, like the nose of this seal? otter? dog? Great shot

Photo by Chris Pook

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This is an extremely beautiful portrait. Low-key of children is unusual, given the dramatic feeling that low-key can imbue in an image – but this portrait absolutely works, great creativity from Chris!

Photo by David Chesterfield

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The most beautiful thing about this portrait is the shiny quality on the model's hair. The high-key gives the portrait an ethereal look and a shimmer that is super appealing 

What You May Have Missed In The Forums

Personally speaking I must say, Kingfishers are perhaps my favorite bird ever. They are small yet fierce, and pretty hard to photograph as well. This past week Tobie shared a splendid photograph of a Kingfisher in flight.

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Rob is aiming big! He wants to make Landscape Photography 101 the best and most helpful landscape photography page in the World! He wants to make it a huge living document, therefore it will evolve into a pretty large and detailed space for landscape photography. If you are interested, read this post.

Did you know that street photography is almost 180 years old? Here Robert Apple shared with us the most important section of one of Daguerre's most iconic photographs ever. Further, in the thread, I shared the larger image, but I think Robert's take is more important since many people watch the “Paris' Boulevard du Temple” photo and skip the human figure.

I have a favorite YouTube channel as one of my main photography resources, unfortunately (I understand, Ted has to eat), it has lately turned out to be more a gear oriented channel, and since I'm an academic, I enjoy more photography related content, rather than simply gear. Please, if you have anything that talks about the meaning of photography more than the latest and greatest, share it with us here!

Jim has a very good question about how to obtain a bigger size projection. If you can help him out, it will be very appreciated.

It all started out with a question from Ann Wheatley, but it has quickly evolved into a very interesting resource for anyone who wants to understand the Histogram's behavior after post-processing an image in Photoshop. If you are still doubtful about the “destructive” nature Photoshop has with images when compared to standard Adobe Camera Raw, Lightroom or Capture One Pro, then this for you.

Last but definitely not least, an “off-topic” by Chris that surely deserves our attention and support.

We'd Love To Hear Your Thoughts

Besides our friendly forums, we have another friendly place (despite its sharky name) built exclusively for constructive feedback. We truly believe that critique is the best way we can improve as photographers. Giving feedback on other members' images is also a great way to grow as a photographer.

Please help out these Lightstalkers:

We truly believe that constructive criticism is the best way for any photographer to improve fast in this discipline. Giving well-analyzed comments is way more useful than vanity metrics and superficial “what camera are you using?” questions.

Please join our friendly photography community if you haven't done already, and if you are a member, please check out the latest Weekend Photography Challenge, Isolation.

Today we will leave you with a lovely landscape photo from Robert Apple – you can really feel the crisp chill in the air! Thanks, Robert

Fall Flurries by Robert Apple

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Photo by Robert Apple

About Author

Federico has a decade of experience in documentary photography, and is a University Professor in photography and research methodology. He's a scientist studying the social uses of photography in contemporary culture who writes about photography and develops documentary projects. Other activities Federico is involved in photography are curation, critique, education, mentoring, outreach and reviews. Get to know him better here.

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