Week 39 - Break the Rules

This is my daughter and the "magic tunnel" at the playground. It's been a busy week and going to the park with her was one of the few moments of calm, so I took advantage and took some photos. As far as breaking the rules goes, I think I was rather conservative, just going for a centered framing of the subject. Unfortunately it was an overcast day and the photo is not as sharp as it could be because of this, and I wish I would have payed more attention to what is behind her in the shot (to eliminate the bits of sky and foliage at the edge of the tunnel if possible).


 I do like the weird reflections in the walls of the tunnel, and my subject's excited expression! What do you think?

Week 31 - Magic Hour

This picturesque scene is 1 minute away from Bucharest's most crowded square. I cross the bridge in the background every day on my way to work, but I can't say I really noticed the boat and the strange structure in the middle of the river until yesterday. After spotting the scene, I walked around to get a different angle and I found some plants growing by the river. I decided to take the photo through them, for an added dose of mystery.

Week 24 - Transportation

As luck would have it, I was preparing to go back to work after maternity leave when transportation week came along, so I had to run around town with various errands. I snapped this in the afternoon when people were starting to go home from work, but there was still enough light to produce all the interesting reflections.

I thought a lot about whether to crop the upper part up or not. Cropping would have brought the people more into the spotlight, but would have required a "panoramic" format. On the other hand, I liked the reflections in the top window, and the alternation of window space and open space, even if it "distracts" from the subjects.

Week 20 - Single Light Source

It's about time I started catching up on these posts, I have about 15 to go before I'm back on track...

Just my luck to have no sunshine on the one day I had free to shoot something this week, but I managed to come up with something nonetheless. The photo below is from an art fair taking place in a somewhat unconventional space with big industrial looking windows. I spotted this woman looking out the window and decided that the light coming from outside could be considered a 'single light source'. I especially liked that her posture looks relaxed, but her face is very tense / sad in the reflection, and this created a bit of tension for me. Anyway, here is the photo in question, let me know what you think:

Week 18 - Behind the Scenes

I took this shot in an unused exhibition space of the National Library. I liked how the empty exhibition panels let some of the light from the doors through and created long shadows on the floor, as well as coloured glimpses of the world outside. A mom and her baby wandered off from the main exhibition into this empty space and peered from behind the panels, and I took the chance to use them as a back-lit subject. I also tried a cross-processing technique which worked better than I expected in such a high contrasting scene.

PS. My photo got featured on the group page, with the following caption: This image was carefully planned and executed by Irina Dodea, for this week's "Behind the scene" challenge for our framers. Take a moment to read the story behind this shot, or alternatively, admire with us the multiple lines, pleasing symmetry, and excellent use of contrast in this scene (underline by me for bragging)

Week 10 - Reflection

Just a reflection in a puddle turned upside down, but it makes me think of Alice's Wonderland.

Week 9 - Black and White

I took advantage of a trip to the contemporary art museum and took a shot in its empty halls (it was Wednesday morning). The coat in the background was part of an exhibition, and the woman walking through the frame is the custodian.

I liked the rectangular lines, and the rectangles of different shades of grey, the shadow serving as a kind of leading line and the reflection in the floor.

Week 1 - Self Portrait

This portrait is reflection in the window of my childhood room. Although I haven't lived in my home town for 13 years, I still return every Christmas. This year I am a first time mother - my daughter is 5 months old - so I find myself more nostalgic about my childhood than ever.

I had a different idea for my self portrait. I wanted to take a photo where I would stand still while a crowd of people would go about their way in the background. I borrowed a tripod from my sister-in-law and did a series of shots in the town centre, but I hated all of them. My pose was too stiff, or I had moved, I looked too fat, too plain, etc. 

I got home disappointed, then I remembered I had taken a selfie using the same curtain and Christmas lights some years back. I was still in college then, and that photo was more of a vanity shot, clear focus on my face and looking straight at the camera. I decided this second shot would be more fuzzy, so I shot my reflection, capturing the street outside as well. 

It is more 'me', as I feel right now: in two places at once, nostalgic about the time I was young and carefree and couldn't wait to leave home for college, but at the same time trying to embrace my 'true grownup' state now that I am a mother. 

As I give it more thought, a self portrait is also a good shot for a new year: 'forcing' us to think about ourselves, what we have achieved and what we want to achieve. Thinking about this I realize that I'm pretty happy with my life so far, and one can't ask for a better way to start the year. Here's to a great 2015 for everybody!

Așteptând mușterii

Pe stradă sau în bazar, vânzătorii turci sunt în permanentă așteptare de mușterii. În aparenta lor plictiseală, sunt gata în două secunde să îți ofere cel mai bun "deal".

Ziua de spălat

În satul Dobromir, vinerea a fost zi de spălat. La fântâna din centrul satului, femeile și fetele spălau covoare și haine, bărbații spălau mașini. Printre ei, câte un sătean cu căruța își aducea calul la adăpat. Pe margine, lumea stătea la povești. Noi mai lipseam, cu aparatele foto. În toată viermuiala, abia am reușit să pozez câte ceva, printre discuții despre "vine, maică, sfârșitul lumii?" sau "să vina politicienii să ne dea și nouă ceva, nu numai să ne ceară voturile".

Mai bine să spălăm rufe!

[Ah, tocmai ce mi-am amintit că am de spălat jumate de dulap înainte de finalul săptămânii!]

Suprapuneri

Dacă tot am ceva cu tramvaiele (vezi aici exemplu din București), am zis să nu trec prin Istanbul fără măcar o poză de gen.

De fapt, am făcut ceva mai multe poze cu acest tramvai, deci să nu vă mirați dacă mai apar pe-aici.

Fragmentar

De câte ori privim lumea prin ferestre murdare, şi fiecare fereastră ne sparge percepţia în mii de bucăţele, până pierdem din vedere întregul? Într-o imensă sală a oglinzilor care deformează, câtă încredere putem avea în ceea ce credem că vedem?