View allAll Photos Tagged COMPLEXITY
As I walked this old cemetery fence line, my eye was drawn to a disruption in the ironwork. A secondary gateway had been mangled by a vehicle that had left the road, crossed the berm, smashed into the fence, and continued on to destroy some nearby grave markers. Probably unfolded in a matter of a couple of seconds, but left lasting damage. Didn't appear to be the sort of accident that would have involved serious injury. Of course the driver would have been subject to ridicule by friends suggesting that they were just "dying to get into that cemetery." For me the resulting disorder in the otherwise uniform and pristine fence was a visual delight. I wouldn't normally wish for damage to happen solely for the benefit of a photo. But on the other hand I never shy away from documenting such things when I stumble upon them. As I contemplated the scene, I was distracted by the rhythmic clip-clop of horse hooves hitting pavement. It was the unmistakeable audible signal of an approaching Amish buggy. The timing could not have been better. I was already bent (no pun) on photographing the damaged gate. Coordinating this with the passing buggy I thought would really amp up the visual impact. I used to be timid about photographing the Amish, and still avoid shooting them individually. But I now figure the buggies are fair game. I exchanged waves with the driver as the buggy drew near. Then knelt down and just let the shutter go in a continuous burst as the buggy passed the gate (trying to time shots like this and trusting a single shot is doomed to fail). The resulting image was exactly what I had envisioned. The horse and buggy, along with the fence, appear out of another era. I love the funerary feel of both, and the background and sky tie in perfectly. An image of simultaneous simplicity and complexity revealed in 1/500th of second. Love when the universe tees one up for me like this.
The complexity of life, even that of a 'simple' magnolia flower, never ceases to amaze me. And the closer one looks, the more amazing it gets.
Indeed, if we looked even closer than a macro photographer's lens can see, we would observe a level of complexity far beyond our imagination. As in every other living thing, each cell in this magnolia flower contains the DNA for the entire organism. In his book (the Selfish Gene), Richard Dawkins says of human DNA:
This DNA can be regarded as a set of instructions for how to make a body, written in the A, T, C, G, alphabet of the nucleotides. It is as though, in every room of a gigantic building, there was a book-case containing the architect's plans for the entire building.
Dawkins denies that there is a God, yet admits that all living cells contain information (instructions) and even likens it to architect's plans. No matter the medium in which it is stored (paper and ink, compact disk, DNA, etc) information has to have an author or, in Dawkin's analogy, an architect.
Sadly, Dawkins appears to recognise the unavoidable truth, yet still says there is no God. But the Bible says:
For the invisible things of Him [God] from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: Because that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
(Romans 1:20-22)
Grandi strutture del porto industriale S.Vitale.Dettagli e pennacchio di fumo. Large structures of the S.Vitale industrial port. Details and smoke plume. Ravenna, Italy 2019.
Willow trees across Horsemill Stream in the River Lee Country Park, one of several channels of the River Lea in this area.
A closeup look at the complex linking forming the forming the wheel and drive of an old steam locomotive.
"The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance."
Aristotle
The man who betrays Him day after day, drunk with vanity, resentment, or reckless ambition, lives in a ghostly mist of mis-givings. Having ruined love with greed, he is still wondering about the lack of tenderness in his own life. His soul contains a hiding-place for an escaping conscience. He has torn his ties to God into shreds of shrieking dread, and his mind remains dull and callous. Spoiler of his own lot, he walks the earth a skeleton of a soul, raving about missed delight.
--Abraham Joshua Heschel, Man’s Quest for God: Studies in Prayer and Symbolism
The thought and the work by Pietro Consagra, born in 1920 and died in 2005, have a very special role in the aesthetic debate of the second half of the twentieth century for the complexity of the themes dealt with, the search for a new relationship between man, space, and sculpture, and for his proposed solutions to a concept of three-dimensionality defined by him as “the monumental matrix of a dead language”.
I’m WFH this afternoon. I went to the kitchen to get another cuppa cawfee and came back to this. Apparently I’d been petting the mouse when I should have petted Someone Else. (In the background you can see my work-related trophies from the FDFFL and the Bugbear, whose job it is to eat software bugs.) Added to Happy Caturday for 10 July 2021 theme “Cats and Electronics.”
“Her complexity is a glorious fire that consumes, while her simplicity goes unapproachable. But if one takes time to understand her, there is something beautiful to find, something simple to be loved. But she goes unloved, for being misunderstood.”
― Anthony Liccione
This Christmas bauble was hand beaded with sequins and pins by me. I have a Christmas tradition. I bead Christmas baubles for a select group of friends every year. In this case they are for a friend, who like me, elects red as her favourite colour, but also likes gold, white, black and silver accents for her tree.
Each bauble is 15 centimetres in diameter and contain hundreds of sequins, varying in number depending upon the complexity of the pattern and the type of sequins I use. Most sequins in this bauble are 5mm in diameter, except the large star sequins which are 6mm, the sunburst sequins which are 12 mm and the small stars which are 3mm and very fiddly. The sunburst sequins are French and are known as "éclate de soleil" - "sunbursts". Depending upon the colour of the sequin, I will use either a gold or a silver pin to attach it to the bauble. I always leave the stars until last, allowing a gap in the sequin chain to pin them in.
These baubles are smaller than some others I do, however because it is a complex pattern which starts from the inside and is worked outwards in ever larger circles, each bauble takes approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours per side.
It is however, a labour of love which I do to pass the time throughout the year.
A macro view of a collection of glass beads. The frame represents a span of two-inches from top to bottom.
Strobist info:
The scene was illuminated by two Nikon SB900 speedlights positioned at 9- and 3-o'clock, 20-inches above and two-feet away from the beads. They were fired in Manual mode @ ¼ -power through Neewer 24" x 24" soft boxes.
The speedlights were triggered by three PocketWizard Plus X flash triggers.
Lens: Meyer Optik Görlitz Oreston (zebra) f1.8/50mm with a 36mm extension tube attached.
Persino un piccolo ruscello che rimbalza sulle rocce è un sistema incredibilmente difficile da descrivere da un punto di vista fisico e deterministico... eppure, sembra la cosa più semplice e banale da guardare ed ammirare.
Meraviglia del nostro universo.
#acqua #h2o #flow #flusso #gocce #droplets #rimbalzi #bouncing #streaks #lungaesposizione #ruscello #montagna #water
Dedicated to Paul Ewing and Catness Grace for sparking the idea.
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© 2020, Richard S Warner ( Visionheart ). All rights reserved. This image may not be used in any form here or elsewhere without express, written permission.
Something a little different for me. Normally landscapes are the genre I'm interested in but I sometimes dabble in macro and still life. A simple dandelion gone to seed. What a complex structure designed to throw seeds to the wind.
Guarini's dome on the Capella della Sindone in the Palazzo Reale in Turin . Magnificently restored in the decades after the terrible fire of 1997.
I have a really really awesome idea for this whole mirror thing, but this was just testing something out- I liked it for some reason though.
This Christmas bauble was hand beaded with sequins and pins by me. I have a Christmas tradition. I bead Christmas baubles for a select group of friends every year.
Each bauble is 15 centimetres in diameter and contain hundreds of sequins, varying in number depending upon the complexity of the pattern and the type of sequins I use. Most sequins in this bauble are 5mm in diameter, except the large flowers which are 8mm and the small flowers which are 3mm and very fiddly. Depending upon the colour of the sequin, I will use either a gold or a silver pin to attach it to the bauble. I always leave the flowers and stars until last, allowing a gap in the sequin chain to pin them in.
These baubles are smaller than some others I do, however because it is a complex pattern which starts from the inside and is worked outwards in ever larger circles, each bauble takes approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours per side.
It is however, a labour of love which I do to pass the time throughout the year.
This Christmas bauble was hand beaded with sequins and pins by me. I have a Christmas tradition. I bead Christmas baubles for a select group of friends every year. In this case they are for a friend, who like me, elects red as her favourite colour, but also likes gold, white, black and silver accents for her tree.
Each bauble is 15 centimetres in diameter and contain hundreds of sequins, varying in number depending upon the complexity of the pattern and the type of sequins I use. Most sequins in this bauble are 5mm in diameter, except the large star sequins which are 6mm, the sunburst sequins which are 12 mm and the small stars which are 3mm and very fiddly. The sunburst sequins are French and are known as "éclate de soleil" - "sunbursts". Depending upon the colour of the sequin, I will use either a gold or a silver pin to attach it to the bauble. I always leave the stars until last, allowing a gap in the sequin chain to pin them in.
These baubles are smaller than some others I do, however because it is a complex pattern which starts from the inside and is worked outwards in ever larger circles, each bauble takes approximately 2 to 2 1/2 hours per side.
It is however, a labour of love which I do to pass the time throughout the year.
Seeing the world in black and white can offer a certain simplicity, like an old photograph capturing moments in stark contrast. It strips away the nuances, leaving behind a clarity that can be comforting. Yet, it's an incomplete portrayal of life's rich tapestry. Life, with its myriad shades of gray, is a symphony of complexities, emotions, and experiences. It's the vibrant hues that give depth to our existence, the subtle gradients that shape our understanding, and the colorful spectrum that makes every story uniquely human. While black and white may offer clarity, it's in embracing life's full spectrum that we truly appreciate its depth and beauty.
in the cool shadows beneath palma de mallorca's majestic cathedral la seu, a couple walks hand in hand through ancient stone archways. the interplay of light and darkness paints their figures in a striking contrast, suggesting an intimacy that invites reflection. how often do we glance at such a scene and assume happiness? yet, appearances can be deceiving, and the delicate balance of emotions within a relationship remains unseen. this moment, frozen in time, questions our perceptions and reminds us of the fragile, unpredictable nature of happiness. it captures not just a walk, but the silent complexities that weave through the fabric of togetherness.
This Christmas bauble was hand beaded with sequins and pins by me. I have a Christmas tradition. I bead Christmas baubles for a select group of friends every year. In this case they are for a friend, who like me, elects red as her favourite colour, but also likes gold, white, black and silver accents for her tree.
Each bauble is 15 centimetres in diameter and contain hundreds of sequins, varying in number depending upon the complexity of the pattern and the type of sequins I use. Most sequins in this bauble are 5mm in diameter, except the stars which are 10mm. Depending upon the colour of the sequin, I will use either a gold or a silver pin to attach it to the bauble. I always leave the stars until last, allowing a gap in the sequin chain to pin them in. Star sequins are notorious for getting caught on clothes, which then bend the points.
These baubles are smaller than some others I do, and because it is a simple pattern which starts from the inside and is worked outwards in ever larger circles, each bauble takes approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours per side.
It is however, a labour of love which I do to pass the time throughout the year.