Thursday, November 04, 2010

Soft embrace of silk and timber

Photograph copyright: DAVID McMAHON (Image ID: 129-5811)


The silky fabric of these miniature Chinese souvenirs caught my eye because of the bright colours, and also because of the yellow script on their surface.

They were for a wedding and this was shot indoors, in soft morning light, so the colours really worked well against the Asian timber. I shot about five or six frames, with slightly different angles, but the depth of field seemed to work best on this shot.

34 comments:

Cynthia Pittmann said...

Beautiful intensely rich colors, David. (You're back!)

Charles Gramlich said...

silk is so sensuous, in touch or image.

Daryl said...

I am a huge fan of shallow DOF ... this is lovely and as always you've made me see things a little differently.

Maggie May said...

Beautiful colour and texture.
Maggie X

Nuts in May

ArtistUnplugged said...

I agree, love the color contrast, but I must say, I could barely carry a tissue and car keys in those!!!

CiCi said...

What a nice memento of a wedding, they are probably gifts to guests.

Mimi said...

Silk is absolutely my favourite fabric!
And the wood shows it off to perfection. It really is impossible to improve on nature for colour, feel, texture.
So well captured, David.

Katney said...

You find some interesting things in your neck of the woods. Always at an interesting angle.

aims said...

You gave me a lot of thought about how to shoot things.

These colours are so rich and the photo makes me want to see how that wood actually feels.

Moannie said...

Gorgeous, simply gorgeous colours attracting you unerring eye. I have a small bag like that, in a jade colour, encrusted the gold thread.

Brian Miller said...

nice blend of textures....and wonderful colors...cool they were for a wedding too...

Rajlakshmi said...

that looks lovely... beautiful and bright colors

San said...

Such a gorgeous study in contrasts, David. It's good to have you back in blogland.

Phoenix said...

Beautiful shot! I love how the brightness of the colors plays against the wood. :)

Were you the wedding photographer, or a guest?

Virginia said...

I"m swooning David. I love the way you can isolate a precious detail and make it work. I learn so much from you my friend.
V

Hilary said...

Another colourful gem.

Sandi McBride said...

It's like you've never been gone, little Brother. Only you could take such a simple thing as this and turn it into a thing of intrigue!
Sandi

david mcmahon said...

Thanks so much, Cynthia. Yes, I spent more than a year away from blogging - and then I just couldn't resist it any more!

david mcmahon said...

Could not possibly have explained it better, Charles.

david mcmahon said...

Thanks so much, Daryl. Shooting front-on just wouldn't have had the same effect.

david mcmahon said...

Thanks, Maggie - the colours of the Orient are mesmerising.

david mcmahon said...

TechnoBabe, yes, they were mementoes for the guests.

david mcmahon said...

Aye, Mimi - the light on the timber really gave me a great perspective when it came to "framing" those colours.

david mcmahon said...

Thanks so much, Katney. As I said to Daryl, the "safe" shot would have been from front-on, but when you abandon the "safe" approach you find far better results.

david mcmahon said...

Aims - the timber was surprisingly soft. I think it was teak. Very smooth to the touch.

david mcmahon said...

Thank you, Moannie - I'm so glad this one caught your eye. Merci ...

david mcmahon said...

Brian, as soon as I saw those colours, I just had to shoot them.

david mcmahon said...

Thanks, Rajlakshmi, the colours of India are so vibrant too.

david mcmahon said...

Thank you so much, San. It is so good to be back. I really did miss blogging and all the wonderful friends we have.

david mcmahon said...

Hi Phoenix - thanks for dropping by. I had a very interesting role that evening.

I have known the bride since she was a little girl. Her parents asked me to take the photographs, but not to compromise on my enjoyment of the ceremony or the reception.

I had a blast! It was a huge family gathering and I think I gave them about 500+ images!

david mcmahon said...

Thanks for the great comment, Virginia - the little details are what have always caught my attention, in my photography as well as my novels.

david mcmahon said...

So very kind of you, Hilary. You would have loved those colours and that fabric too.

david mcmahon said...

Very kind of you, Big Sister Sandi. It's always the little details that count, right?

david mcmahon said...

ArtistUnplugged - you're right, they wouldn't hold very much.