Wednesday, December 12, 2012

In the Shade

Thematic Photographic's theme this week is Shadows.
To see other ideas on this theme, go to Carmi's Written Inc.

I have always liked the shadows that are thrown by late afternoon sunshine, 
especially in autumn or winter.

For example, the shadows on this hillside accentuate the corrugations of
  an ancient Maori  fortification (pa) site



The shadows take over in a patch of native bush (N.Z. for woods or forest).



These cricket nets are waiting for summer to return:



Meantime, kids play rugby in the shade:



Elsewhere on the grounds of my school the shadows have turned  
the building blue -



and the sun and shade between them bring out the colours 
of the flax bush:



“We cast a shadow on something wherever we stand, and it is no good moving from place to place to save things; because the shadow always follows. Choose a place where you won't do harm - yes, choose a place where you won't do very much harm, and stand in it for all you are worth, facing the sunshine.”

~ E.M. Forster  A Room with a View

22 comments:

  1. Love the blue building. It would seriously be a nice colour to have it painted....

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    1. Yes it would! In fact it is a basic grey - typical institutional colour scheme...

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  2. I love all of thses (and Kath is right about that blue) but it is the shadow on the corrugations on the hill which draw my eye back time and time again. Beautiful, and mysterious. Thank you.

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    1. Yes! I am always drawn to strange reminders of past civilisations.

      What a lovely gift you will have from your nephew's wife. I have read about a third of the book so far, and am enjoying it very much.

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  3. PS: I love all of Barbara Kingsolver's work - both fiction and non-fiction. My nephew's wife is giving me a stunning Christmas gift - an autographed copy of Flight Behaviour. I was moved to tears, and cannot wait for its arrival.

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  4. I've always been fascinated with your school- to me, the design is very inviting, perhaps because it's so different from what I'm used to, but it feels inviting to me. Especially when you've shown some of the inside! Your first lovely shadow photo- makes me want to pop inside the photo and come out with a spooky sort of tale! Hehehehehehe!

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    1. I have many as-yet-unwritten ideas in my head for stories set in that distant past, Karen!

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  5. The first image is my favourite. I love the perspective you chose, how you framed the landscape, how the bushes and trees move at varying heights and how the shadows ripple down the hill. And then to read that the terraces in the hill are remnants of ancient Maori fortifications is truly fascinating.

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  6. P.S.: May I ask if the bird on your header is a Fulmar?

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    1. Thank you for your comments, Merisi. I agree that the subtleties of that landscape are really interesting.
      I am pretty sure that my bird is a species of gull; a fulmar is a northern hemisphere petrel I think.

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  7. There is something ethereal about that shot, The shadows of the trees shows their dendritic nature so well. The ground looks reminds me of aerial photographs of some ancient structure or way of working the ground.

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    1. The ancient Maori always built their villages on hills for protection against other tribes. Hence, it is relatively easy to see where they have been, especially in evening or morning light.

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  8. I love that first one - it is always so interesting what shadows can tell us when the sun is low! And the 'blue school' is great - a very strong composition.

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    1. Thank you Gilly - I actually took that shot because of the strong forms of the fence, and only saw the colour of the buildings later.

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  9. The photos I found to be relaxing...a very nice way to start off the day was viewing them.

    Have a good weekend, Alexia. :)

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  10. Awesome pictures, those first two are beautiful. It is kind of deceiving how the shadows will change the color of a white building.

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    1. Thanks Max. I guess I shouldn't have been surprised at the blue - hills often look blue in late shadows, after all.

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  11. i love all your captured shadows Alexia!! but my favorite has to be the first shot...the way the rolling ground almost looks as though it's moving...breathing!

    beautiful shots!!

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    1. Hmm - I suspect that the descendants of those early tribespeople would say it is!

      Thanks, laura :)

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