Bloomy over Gloomy-Isolation Days' Flowers

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jbtaylor
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Re: Bloomy over Gloomy-Isolation Days' Flowers

Unread post by jbtaylor »

Light matters Sury. #3 proves that point best.

Regarding my last set:
I acquired a taste for music in middle school mostly through walking in the footstep of my brothers. After learning to play an instrument, I learned about music theory and how leaving space for others can add to the work. So it's "No Mystery" (Return to Forever), that I tend to leave space in my images for background bokeh. It makes a sound but it must be complementary to the main note being struck.
I was just a teenager when I learned of fusion music. It was a combination of rock and jazz. That lead me to jazz and Miles Davis.
Working backwards from the 70's, I came across the Miles Davis Quintet (version 2). The great pianist Herbie Hancock discussed the method for improvisation that he learned from Miles. Take what you hear, follow along and then add you own impressions. It's with that methodology that I took the previous images.
The daisy shots were building on Yildiz's texture shots of the yellow lilies.
The 3rd shot was a tribute to Sury's fireworks shot. Note the bokeh top right. It's a car in the neighbor's driveway. But you wouldn't know. Either way it contributes to the subject.
The last one is my own creation on balancing texture and smoothness to create a wallpaper of pedals.
Did I succeed? I have no idea but it was fun trying.

A set from this morning.
Experiment continued:
Wallpaper
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The rest.
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Some sort of symmetry.
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aster
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Re: Bloomy over Gloomy-Isolation Days' Flowers

Unread post by aster »

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Hi,Sury;
The fall off of light in the last photo is great and the flowers look great in the other images.


Hi, JBTaylor;

The photos are lovely. The analogy of creating and playing music in the context of photography is very true: In photography, there's silence, there's whisper, there's loud presence and letting the soul take over to guide the visuals just like in music. No different than listening to a symphony of shapes and colours using one's vision and soul.
Art resonates in similar fashion.

Thanks for sharing.
Yildiz
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sury
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Re: Bloomy over Gloomy-Isolation Days' Flowers

Unread post by sury »

Thank you JT and Yildiz. It is worthwhile to note that in South Indian style of classical music (also known as Karnatic/Carnatic music, a key component of performance (whether vocal or instrumental) is improvisation of a raga by the main artist and the supporting artist before the actual song is rendered. The improvisation can be few minutes to few tens of minutes.
Raga is a set of notes to which a song is set. Typically a raga contains 5 or 7 notes. My favorites are pentatonic (five notes) because of the harmony and perhaps that's why I love Blues... I suppose at the end of the day all artistic endeavors would have similar underpinnings; after al they are all means to an end - expression of one's self.

Sury
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aster
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Re: Bloomy over Gloomy-Isolation Days' Flowers

Unread post by aster »

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Sury, I was able to find some videos online of Indian artists performing Raga and I found the improvisations pretty interesting: some repetitive notes enriched by spontaneous interpretations and additions by the artist. What I was able to listen was very soothing and engaging without distracting the mind. :)

Thank you for sharing and educating us. Indian instruments sound like deep/mourning, weeping souls/spirits (Strings). No wonder some healing/curing methods originate from Indian territories. There's a very rich ancient history of sounds, colours and medicine which all contribute to the living's overall health which go beyond material things .. :)

JBTaylor's reference to musical improvisations within Jazz by Miles Davis and other good musicians as a basis of context for photography is very similar… and probably shared by all artists from many countries. Unfortunately not all versions find a platform to become eternal due to being momentary and not recorded and are lost to us.

Yildiz
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sury
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Re: Bloomy over Gloomy-Isolation Days' Flowers

Unread post by sury »

Yildiz,
Just to be sure, there are two distinct styles of Indian Classical Music. North Indian Style (or Hindustani Classical) and South Indian Style (or Carnatic/Karnatic Style). They are quite different in their structure, style and content.
For example in the following Youtube video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXGRazhXdyw
the first 9'13'' is improvisation and the actual song starts after that, and in the process other collaborators on Flute, Percussion etc will get a chance to show their talent too. It is composed in a pentatonic raga Mohanam (5 notes and my favorite raga). There is an equivalent of this raga in Hindustani Style too.

Sury
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jbtaylor
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Re: Bloomy over Gloomy-Isolation Days' Flowers

Unread post by jbtaylor »

It's been so long since I studied or even contemplated musical structure that I feel embarrassed to even discuss it. I listened to all 17 minutes of the piece you linked to. The melodic portion was an interesting contrast to the river of sound it floated upon. I felt the need to close my eyes but never stopped listening for what was happening melodically.
The percussion reminded me of this (the 1st 16 minutes should do):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UfjxtcNYKz4&t=954s

And then the Master Jeff Beck takes a stab at it. Quite amazing that he could do this with electric guitar. East meets west.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpqlwRvGeDA
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sury
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Re: Bloomy over Gloomy-Isolation Days' Flowers

Unread post by sury »

Thank you JT. I am going back to flowers after this post before I get banned from the forum :lol:
These are first generation US citizens of Indian origin. Talk about fusion in 2020.
This is a remix of Shape of You by Ed Sheeran. There are also few Indian Classical dances on youtube based on this song as well.
By the way the artists sing in the Carnatic style of Indian Classical music.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUXPL4rZL_E
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aster
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Re: Bloomy over Gloomy-Isolation Days' Flowers

Unread post by aster »

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jbtaylor wrote:It's been so long since I studied or even contemplated musical structure that I feel embarrassed to even discuss it.
…..

Birds sing and somehow they always sound extraordinarily new and fantastic each time... They don't ask permission, they don't want to know about notes/keys/music structure or making, they just are true the way they are. They need no futile feeling of embarrassment nor want to know of such a thing for being who they are... :D They just act perfectly natural.
Nobody needs a background to like and understand music and sounds and how it complements human nature/souls.

You definitely don't to speak of music and other arts. :D Thanks for sharing your insight.

Thanks for sharing the links JBTaylor and Sury. I enjoyed every single musical approach that I heard. Masterpieces!

Looking forward to more photos, music and other discussions...

Yildiz
jbtaylor
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Re: Bloomy over Gloomy-Isolation Days' Flowers

Unread post by jbtaylor »

Back to flowers.
This time we view through the Sony 70-200mm 2.8 @ 2.8.

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sury
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Re: Bloomy over Gloomy-Isolation Days' Flowers

Unread post by sury »

Love the second and third the most, JT.

Sury
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aster
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Re: Bloomy over Gloomy-Isolation Days' Flowers

Unread post by aster »

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So good to see some gorgeous flowers…

The lilies and the daisy are exceptionally beautiful but the rose from the side is like a pond lily/lotus bloom in a jade pond with its distinctive layered petals.

Thanks for sharing and the lily specimens are amazing. :)

Yildiz
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Re: Bloomy over Gloomy-Isolation Days' Flowers

Unread post by jbtaylor »

Running out of lenses to experiment with. This one is the Minolta 28-135 f4-4.5 Macro.
Not so hot on the bokeh when in macro but is does present some interesting possibilities.

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The stargazer and the yellow lilies out front will bloom soon. I have some specific shots in mind and that will probably do it for me for a while.
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sury
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Re: Bloomy over Gloomy-Isolation Days' Flowers

Unread post by sury »

Excellent shots JT. That Hydrangea is beautiful. 28-135? It sounds familiar. Is that one built like a tank?
I think I may have one. Need to check. Hmmm......

Sury
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jbtaylor
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Re: Bloomy over Gloomy-Isolation Days' Flowers

Unread post by jbtaylor »

Tank? Not sure but it is sturdy and more importantly, it's lightweight. Bought it from a member of the Dyxum site. We met at a mall in Virginia and I handed him an envelope containing $200. It was like how I assume a drug deal would go down. Regardless, it has it's uses but just hasn't made it's way onto the first string of lenses.
One interesting note; setting it to macro automatically disables auto-focus and peaking is activated as well as the green in focus light.
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Re: Bloomy over Gloomy-Isolation Days' Flowers

Unread post by aster »

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The lens provides some nice floral background interest with a deeper field of view. I liked seeing more of the lush leaves and rose bushes as the backdrop. The rain drops add more depth and dimensions… :) The details on the blossoms are brilliant.

It's the photographer not the gear / lens capabilities, they say, as you've proven many times yourself.

Thanks for sharing,
Yildiz
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