Posts tagged ‘Photo’

Jun 25

The Daily Norm Photo of the Week: St Blaise in the Sunshine

For all its different shapes and colours, and the play of sunshine and shadow, this photo, taken a few days ago on my sunny London balcony just had to make The Daily Norm Photo of the Week. It features a little statuette of St Blaise, the patron saint of Dubrovnik, purchased in the same glorious Croatian city from the bustling morning market they have there in the shadow of St Blaise’s church. Now transferred to England, this delicately glazed dark marbled icon looks happy enough on our balcony, particularly when the sun is shining causing his curly metal staff to form a stunning snail-like shadow.

But asides from the saint at its centre, glossy from the reflection of plants nearby, I love this photo for the vibrancy of the green plants and the stunningly red geraniums, offset into a blurred defocus in the picture’s immediate foreground. It is the very image of a warm summer’s day, complete with all the golden comfort of dappled sunlight which makes a green and leafy summer such a beautiful season to behold.

Let’s hope this summer will bring many a day like this one over the next few months.

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Apr 8

The Daily Norm’s Photo of the Week: Catalan Lizard

When I was recently in the process of choosing some miscellaneous shots of Barcelona to tantalise you all with, I came across this photo, recently taken on my weekend away to Barcelona. So beautiful is the shot (not by virtue of my skill, but rather because of the wonder Mother Nature again) that I felt it had to be featured all on its own – this beauty can’t be allowed to get lost in the pack. With its stunningly patterned scales looking like delicately applied beads, and its characterful piercing gaze looking straight at the camera, this little lizard (and it really was little) is a true beaut.

I’m still surprised that I managed to capture the shot. Using the close focus application on my Sony Cybershot, I had to hold the camera pretty close to this mischievous little lizard in order to take the shot. It was a delicately balanced game of stare-out for us both. The lizard didn’t dare to move because he didn’t know what would happen if he did. I didn’t dare to move in case he scuttled away (and these guys move fast). Slowly I took the camera nearer, closer and closer, holding his gaze until “click!”, I managed to take the photo before he shot away at lightening speed.

I love the defocus on his long curling tale, which contrasts wonderfully against the hard focus on his head and frontal body. Then in the middle, the focus ebbs away, in a kind of haze, such that you can almost feel the heat exuded by the sunshine on that wonderful Barcelonian day up on the Montjuic hill.

That is why my lizard is The Daily Norm’s Photo of the Week.

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