Saturday, December 22, 2007

Light Relief

Now You See It, Now You Don't


Photographs copyright: DAVID McMAHON


With this week's Photo Hunt theme being "Light", I've got some great contenders from my trip to Singapore and India, but not one of them tells a story like this sequence. These three shots were taken during a fairly clear, cloudless morning about five or six months ago, during our Melbourne winter. In this first shot (above) I was intrigued by the "white" sunshine reflected in the windows of the building on the left-hand side of the frame, and also by the rays of light from the highest floors of the Commonwealth Bank building in the middle.


The second shot (above) was taken about three minutes later and it's a much tighter frame of the same scene. Can you see anything unusual? There is just the slightest hint of something, if you look really carefully!


This (above) is the final frame in the sequence, taken about five minutes after the first shot. You can now see the skyscraper that was completely hidden in the first shot. It's not often you see a fog like this on a clear day with blue sky and a bright sun. I call it a "blue sky fog" but I'm sure there is a proper meteorological name for it. On a technical note, I'd just like to point out that these buildings were on the other side of the Yarra River from where I shot this sequence, so I would not have been able to frame these shots so tightly without a 125mm lens.

45 comments:

Katney said...

Boy--I don't know what to say except--WOW!!!

I look forward to seeing some of your India pictures. what part of the country did you visit?

jennwa said...

Those are great. Have a wonderful weekeend !!!!

david mcmahon said...

Hi Katney,

Thank you - I'm glad you liked these shots. I was in Dehra Dun, which is up in the north, an old English hill station about eight hours up the highway from Delhi.

Keep smiling

David

Kate said...

wow! That's interesting. I don't know that I've ever seen anything like that!

david mcmahon said...

Hi Jennwa,

Thank you. It is absolutely great to be back home (I flew into Melbourne late last night).

Keep smiling

David

Carver said...

That's a wonderful sequence of shots for the light theme.

david mcmahon said...

Hi Dorid,

Thank you. What really intrigued me was that the fog rolled in despite the blue sky and bright sunshine.

Keep smiling

David

david mcmahon said...

Hi Carver,

Thank you. I only just got back home a few hours ago, remembered the `Light' theme and dug out this sequence.

Keep smiling

David

SnoopyTheGoon said...

That was a great and educational sequence. Oh, and beautiful, too.

Merry Christmas!

david mcmahon said...

G'day Snoopy,

Thank you and I hope you and all your loved one have a wonderful holiday season as well.

Keep smiling

David

SabineM said...

Lovely photos! THe white light coming off the one building is amazing! But it maybe have been cloudless, but definitely not without any fog.....

wow, I didn't realize those were taken in India...I have been to a few places in India, including Delhi, never further north.

Cynthia said...

Wow, that's kind of spooky. How lucky you were to be in the right place at the right time! I of course would have just Photoshopped it;)

-tnchick- said...

Very neat shots of the city! Merry Christmas!

Autumn said...

Wow, those are great shots. Can't wait to see pictures from India.

david mcmahon said...

Hi Sabine,

I'd love to hear the stories of your India trips.

Keep smiling

David

david mcmahon said...

Hi NapWarden,

I was just very lucky. I happened to look out my office window, saw the scene - and took the photo sequence.

Just lucky that I always have my camera with me!

Keep smiling

David

david mcmahon said...

Hi TNChick,

Thanks you - and I hope you and your family have a memorable Christmas.

Keep smiling

David

david mcmahon said...

Hi Autumn,

Thank you. I'll be posting photographs from Singapore and India over the next few days.

So much to see, so much to photograph!

Keep smiling

David

Michele said...

Now, that's an amazing shot. I don't think I have ever seen anything like that before. I have to do some research on that... I find that completely fascinating! Great pictures!!
The Rocky Mountain Retreat

ellen b. said...

Wonderful!

YTSL said...

Nice pictures and interesting commentary! Get the feeling that you're having quite a lot of fun with Photo Hunt (as am I). :)

Katya said...

A very wonderful series of shots, David. And, cool they are sequenced, telling a "story" sans words!

Merry Christmas!

lime said...

how crazy is that??? thanks for sharing.

Little Wing said...

david, thank you for visiting my humble little blog!
What an excellent photographer you are, I will be back!
The fog was amazing.
The light was incredible!
Have a wonderful Holiday season.

Natalie said...

Now that's just cool! I've never seen anything like that before.

My light pictures are up now too! :)

Nature Nut /JJ Loch said...

WOW, fascinating light shots, David. In the first photo, I thought I was seeing a reflection of the building lights in the fog.

Thanks for visiting my blog and thanks for your offer of help if I need it.

Congrats on your great writing success! WOOT

Hugs, JJ

Anonymous said...

Wow! Stunning photos!
Here's mine for this week!
Yen's Photo Hunt
Happy Holidays!

ipanema said...

those are great, amazing shots!

thanks for the visit.


happy weekend! :)

Anonymous said...

Wow, David...very impressive...as usual!

fuzzbert_1999@yahoo.com said...

Merry Christmas my friend!

Things are about to change for me. See ya!

Rachel said...

Absolutely amazing!
Nice to see you again.
Thanks for you comment on my haiku.
It was mediocre at best, but fun to play with :-)
Thanks for stopping in and commenting.
Your wisdom and opinions are always welcome, and appreciated.

Anonymous said...

Wow -- those are just amazing in every way!

Barbara H. @ Stray Thoughts

Leesa said...

Wow..that is wonderful..how creative :)

Craver Vii said...

Similarly, I've seen the John Hancock Building disappear in Downtown Chicago, but I've never captured it in a photograph. The progression makes this a really great set of shots!

jmb said...

What a wonderful series of shots. You often have early morning photos. You must be an early riser.

Anonymous said...

WOW!!! Absolutely amazing photos! Love 'em!!

Happy Holidays.

Rune Eide said...

Amazing effect - I've never seen anything like it! It looks like the light has been bent around the building.

morinn said...

this is incredible. i love these optical illusions!

eric1313 said...

This one is great! It makes me think of God's light, reflecting in the creations of man below him--as we all are reflections of Him and His image.

imac said...

From nowhere - something Beautiful comes.

Right time right place David.
Well done you.

Randi said...

Wow - so beautiful!!!
Happy Holidays!

Heather said...

Beautiful shots.

Janice Thomson said...

Excellent, excellent captures David! How amazing to watch that unfold before your very eyes.

Anonymous said...

truly amazing photos - all the best during this holiday season

Unknown said...

That’s a remarkable series of photos, David.