h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

FWR says:


CC has used the soft tones of sunlight very well, softening the shot, inviting us to go see what awaits us downstairs. The metallic hasp shape on the floor adds a little intrigue to an already absorbing photo.

So look around, experiment and try to see ways to photograph the atmosphere in a perfectly normal space.

This is resonant of classic 1960's images. The bannisters lead the eye down to the floor below. The shadows cast a pattern of squares across the floor. The stairs highlighted with white stripes takes the eye down to the floor below.

The composition is a festival of straight lines.

bobstafford:

There are nothing but straight lines in this image, this makes the drama of the shot very strong. It is a cleverly observed use of the shadows. Beautiful simple lighting, nicely done, excellent

I hope I'm not too late to catch the last trolley to Hell.

Down into the deep dark downstairs of basemement spook

Hey this looks good converted to b/w! Thanks Ed! Another fine collaboration.

I think the original was a funny tan colour. Wonder how I got that. The Funny Tan Stairway.

Thanks experts, you are legends. Yes, lots of straight lines in the composition. In fact, all straight lines.

Perhaps the pic needs a few squiggly bendy lines for balance.

(wonders how to add a monochrome caterpillar or even a snake, heading down the stairs)

(no! says Bob)

Maybe Cthulhu is waiting at the bottom of those stairs.

mwhahahaha Yes!

Who?

Oh, (checks)

That is quite scary but definitely squiggly bendy.

Ah just found the yellowy tan version of my pic. The b/w version looks more ominous and interesting to me. The tan version is somehow sunnier.

Discussion points.

Is b/w a medium often associated with ominousness?

Is ominousness a word?

How does one create a sense of ominousness using colour in a photo?

I don't think ominousness is a word.



Topic shift.

What about sepia tint as a photographic medium? I've never managed to get a good sepia effect, yet. Its only ever reserved for old photos of ancestors I might want to forget.

Hah! Accept the Sepia Spirits and the muse will appear.

Eek

You can sepia Zadora by watching the movie "Ten."

"The composition is a festival of straight lines. "

Yes, well said! I enjoy the geometry in this A fascinating perspective

Interesting discussion points - sepia is associated with aged photographs or documents in my mind, like the time I made an 'old treasure map' by soaking the paper in some tea...

I like the flavour of the word 'ominousness' I think black and white does increase the 'intensity' of an image (if that's the right word), that there is more focus on texture and detail without colour contrast to distract from those, so that would lead to ominousness in some cases (but not all - eg the whiskers A87941118 photo is very pleasing to my eye as the intensity of detail is purely fascinating)

I can think of some ominous colour images, but they tend to be desaturated eg http://www.proj3ctm4yh3m.com/urbex/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/Camelot-1.jpg an abandoned theme park - there are reds and greens in there, but very much faded and we don't know what lurks behind us...

I would not like to see colorized versions of the Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers movies.

At least you would be able to see if the ginger was there at all.

About the photo:

When stairing at it (pun intended) the lower left half gives me a soft tartan feeling, while the sharper upper right half rings a high pitched school bell for me.

I do wonder what is written above the stairs.

You can sepia Zadora by watching the movie Ten

This reads like a mysterious dream poem to me! Zadora Zadora. Sometimes if I find out the meaning of things, the dream surrealism disappears. I live in an abstract universe. Its amazing I can remember my way to the shops. Zadora. Sepia.

Ah thats amazing! An old treasure map, made from soaking the paper in tea.

The sepia mystery has begun. I wonder if sepia can turn full circle, from its vintage associations to a interdimensional sort of mysterious psychic vibe. What?? The sepia psychic. The psepia psychic

Yes! Intensity.

And desaturating colour.

Off to check links. Have to post first otherwise all me earth shattering realisations disappear into my phone never to be found again. One day I'm going to find lost h2 postings in my nanoloop synth app or something. Hey that'd be cool.

What??? That's kind of interesting, Caiman.

The lower left a soft tartan feeling, the upper right a high pitched school bell?

This is my life story in fact. Edited version. Whoah How peculiar. What is written above the door?? Life Review. Your whole life will now flash before you. Stay away from the Psychic Psepia Cakes.

Awww re Sasha's links, the whiskers from FWR's pic not ominous at all.

I gettit I gettit. Learning here about photography. The desaturated colour effect is quite ominous in fact.

Desaturated colour images can tend to be rather flat as opposed to those taken in monochrome. If you're playing around with lack of colour be sure to check the contrast levels!

Good tip that, thanks! This photography art has many wonders to discover!

Just in to say I'm sitting the cafe beside the stairs, as featured.

The sign above the door says Mind Your Head. Heheh. Kind of like Life Review but more practical.

There's a bakery below. Someone just came up the stairs with a tray of croissants!

Typo. I meant sitting in the cafe. Sitting the cafe sounds like I'm staging a protest. Where's Cthulhu and the bells and the tartan? I want my money back. Heheh