The Black Keys - a photo on Flickriver

The Black Keys

            Even though the past few days have been the coldest of the entire winter, signs of the impending change of season are already evident. For me the most dramatic shift is the quantity and quality of daylight. Back in December the sun hung absurdly low in the midday sky. And it was pretty much full-on dark just after 5 pm. But already the sun is regaining altitude and daylight is lengthening noticeably. I crave sunlight and brightness, but truly miss the very fleeting bizzaro world of mid winter. I love the otherworldly look of diminished sunlight and long shadows stretched across the landscape like deathly fingers. Ironically this is one of the few times off the year when I actively seek out sunny days for photography. Because it's only through the sunlight that I can reveal the depth of the shadows. I often find myself in scenes such as this old cemetery with an alternating vision. At times I see the white parts which equate to what's actually in front of me...things that are always here. Other times I am keyed in on the black parts, the negative space caused by shadows that exist only in the moment. Ever-changing, they are subject to the whim of clouds and rotate in a barely perceptible but continuous motion caused by earth's rotation. In these moments, the negative space transcends everything else. Earth takes on this visual form only for this moment in time. The shadows might still be here tomorrow, but they will be ever shorter and at a slightly different angle. In couple of weeks this ghastly effect will have vanished. Shadows like this simply don't form at all at other times of year. The sun is too high in the sky. And its rays are blocked by summer foliage at sunrise and sunset. Not to mention the snowpack which is vital for this sort of high impact visualization. The black keys are meant to be played in the depth of winter.
   

Taken on: January 19, 2021

Tags:

light

shadow

winter

darkness

desolate

cold

frozen

snow

bleak

grim

stark

dreary

drab

brilliant

contrast

metaphor

life

death

boundary

witness

gleaming

cemetery

memories

energy

fleeting

forlorn

searching

racing

seasons

cycles

phases

meaning

passage

noir « less

Sets appears in: • Rural Noir • Snow Noir

Groups appears in: • Graves, Tombs And Cemeteries • memento mori. more » • Cemeteries - Cementerios - Friedhoefe - Cimetières - Cimiteri • !nto the atmosphere • ..:: I LOVE DARK PHOTOS ::.. • ***Flickr Global • Flickr Social « less

Camera: Nikon D7000, f/8.0, 1/2000 sec, 18mm (=27mm), ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon D7000
Lens:	18.0-200.0 mm f/3.5-5.6
Aperture:	f/8.0
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/2000)
Focal Length:	18mm (35mm equivalent: 27mm)
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	-3/2 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Adobe Photoshop 21.2 (Macintosh)
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