Last year I visited the Netherlands to both spend time with my family and get some vacation in as well. As my mother is advancing in age, I try to visit every year, particularly, since travel is getting more difficult for her.
During this visit I wanted to explore a couple of cities that I hadn’t visited for quite a while; one of these was Delft. The city of Delft dates back to the 13th century and has played a significant role in the formation of the Netherlands, as it was used as the de facto capital by William of Orange during the 80-year war to liberate the country from Spain. Another great aspect of Delft is that the center and a lot of points of interest are within walking distance from the central train station.
Another claim to fame of Delft is the painter Johannes Vermeer. As I came across the Vermeer Centre, while in Delft, I was pleasantly surprised by its depth of coverage and wonderful exhibit. This museum is located just off the Market Square and is in a replica of the building that housed the Guild of Saint Luke (a guild for painters that was common across cities in early modern Europe ).
Tension between light and dark
One of the things that always drew me to the painters from the Dutch Golden Age is their use of light and shadow, also known as chiaroscuro. This technique centers on creating a significant contrast between the light and dark areas of a painting. As a result, it creates a dynamic tension between light and dark. This tension brings drama and interest and allows for a voyage of discovery within the image, as our eye is drawn to light first.
The Vermeer Centre’s exhibit last September detailed the different uses of light by Vermeer, as that is a key aspect of his genius. The setups detailed various light sources and how they were used in different paintings by Vermeer. For a photographer, this was a wonderful reminder to use light in all sorts of ways, often rather simple, and generate looks that are nothing short of stunning.
I took the photo in this post at the Vermeer Centre, as I was drawn immediately to the simplicity and power of the still-life that was set up on the basic wooden table. It gives the sense of that age and is simple to replicate in any studio.
Welcome to week 143 of the Tuesday Photo Challenge.
After a week filled with the most gentle of contributions, it’s time to open ourselves to that gentlest of winds: the Breeze! Of course, you are not surprised by this selection, although you may find that this theme can lead into various directions… It could be a breeze to come up with a creative entry for this week, or you could unfurl a sail and float propelled by that breeze!
So let’s see, what comes from all of your creative minds this week, as we wind through their various passages. I hope you have some fun with this theme and look forward to what you’ll generate!
Here’s a result of a steady breeze…
Colors of the Wind
On a nice, sunny day, I was photographing an agility trial; in between events, I had noticed this wind spinner and decided to do a little experimentation to get just the right blending of the colors. Playing with my camera settings, I captured this shot at 1/25s, f/20 and ISO 100.
The full rules of this challenge are in TPC Guidelines, but here’s the tl;dr:
Create a pingback link to this post, so that I can create a post showing all of the submissions over the week (note: pingbacks may not appear immediately, as my site is set up to require approval for linking to it; helps against previous bad experiences with spamming)
Have fun creating something new (or sharing something old)!!
Welcome to the 142nd round up of the Tuesday Photo Challenge!
The gentle introduction into 2019 in this week’s challenge came through with a blast! Your posts were fun to read as always, and I really enjoyed the variety of approaches! You included lots of gentle aspects of Nature, which are always enjoyable, the gentle charm that can surprise us in certain neighborhoods, and many other great topics! There were several that definitely put a smile on my face, gentle shampoo and all!
Thank you all for being so creative and sharing from your lives! Have fun reading these posts and let one another know when you enjoy them!
Some of our most gentle friends are of the canine variety…
Tonka, the gentle soul!
Tonka was a lovely mutt from the shelter and the first dog that shared her life with my wife and me. Tonka never was interested in playing any dog sports, nor was she the most intelligent of dogs, but her love and affection were always filled with gentle sweetness. We still miss her after all these years…
The following were this week’s participants in the challenge with links to their posts:
Sarah’s post in By Sarah starts things off this week with a gorgeous photo of one of the gentlest of flowers!
In A Day in the Life, we are introduced to a gentle, feathered friend who loves a treat!
This week’s entry in Willowsoul highlights the soothing, gentle flow of water over weary feet…no contest!
In a lovely post in Poetry in Pictures, there is a gentle flower that is truly pleasing!
This week, pensivity101 features one of the gentlest creatures: the lovely Maggie!
In a great post in Une Photo, un Poéme, Nicole takes us to Padstow, Cornwall, where the store’s name is pretty gentle!
Xenia’s first post for this week is in her wonderful blog, Tranature, where the gentle moss features large. Eivor and Pearl explore the Winter dawn in WhippetWisdom, with great photos and poetry!
In a fantastic post in Chateaux des Fleurs, affection and love are featured beautifully!
I think all of us can relate to the gentle shampoo that is so important in theonlyD800inthehameau; what a great photo!
In Junk Boat Travels, Jackie takes us to Mazatlan, Mexico, where the gentle breeze might be very welcome!
Cee’s photos in Cee’s Photography feature the gentle creatures that are Nature’s babies!
Na’ama’s poem in Na’ama Yehuda talks about the gentle giant, who looks very innocent…
In Don’t Hold Your Breath, this week’s entry is a wonderful post about the gentle charm of Enning Road, which feels like a throwback to the 1930s.
Jase’s post in Proscenium features the gentle canine, which is really a wonderful friend, and has friends!
Maria captured gentle human contact wonderfully in her photo in KameraPromenader; the bird touch is awesome too!
In Pictures without Film, our bass-player captures a truly gentle landscape, stream and all!
Shelley’s post in Quaint Revival focuses on the gentle art of fitting into one’s bathing suit by Summer 🙂
Sandy has a touching photo of birds in Out of my Write Mind, with which she combines a fantastic poem!
Woolly introduces us to a gentle giant in Woolly Muses, which roams the African savanna.
Liz’s quest toward One Million Photographs brings us to the most gentle of hippos, who can make a cup of tea!
Olga brings us gentle memories in Stuff and What If…, as she is reminded of gentle breezes and lacy waves!
In a lovely post in Little White Pearls, Mariola almost makes us forget how dangerous those gentle cats are…
Susan does gentle twice in her Musin’ with Susan post, as her granddaughter is very gentle with the gentle little bundle!
Debbie writes a wonderful post in Forgiving Connects, as she remembers the path to forgiveness after her mother’s death, and its importance to learning to love again.
Anita features the gentle Fanny in her post in Anita’s Images, who wants to stay warm and likes to chase cats!
Indira’s lovely post in Sharing Thoughts brings us some very gentle interactions!
Khürt braved the cold, as we see in Island in the Net, and it paid off in a wonderful post that is filled with fantastic images!
A gorgeous photo is at the center of this week’s contribution to our challenge in Photography Journal Blog; that is a stunning flower!
Another lovely entry from sgeoil brings us some truly gentle flowers!
Sonia talks about the ‘little’ reason for her wanting to be better every day in Sonia’s Musings; this is a very gentle reason!
I hope that you enjoy these posts and let the authors know!
Welcome to week 142 of the Tuesday Photo Challenge.
After all the hard work, I’m back at my day job and spending a week of planning with my team and the development group for the next product release. It’s a gentler kind of work than the rough construction efforts that filled my break time 🙂 That led me to this week’s theme of Gentle!
There are many times when a gentle touch works better than a sledgehammer, or when a gentle breeze is welcomed to relieve us from the heat. Accept this challenge and unleash your gentle current of creative flux to come up with some apt images and posts! I am curious to see what you will create this week!
Here’s a rather gentle creature…
Giant Swallowtail
This beautiful Giant Swallowtail was one of the gorgeous creatures that I found at a butterfly display; at this location, they breed the various species of butterfly and, if you sit very still, the butterflies will land on you and sit with you. It’s a magical experience!
The full rules of this challenge are in TPC Guidelines, but here’s the tl;dr:
Create a pingback link to this post, so that I can create a post showing all of the submissions over the week (note: pingbacks may not appear immediately, as my site is set up to require approval for linking to it; helps against previous bad experiences with spamming)
Have fun creating something new (or sharing something old)!!
Welcome to the 141st round up of the Tuesday Photo Challenge!
We started on the ground floor for this year and it looks to have raised the bar to a new level! The floors are magnificent, as you took the theme and interpreted it with creativity and flair! I was floored by some of the posts, and there were definitely some smilers! Thank you for making it a pleasure to read and round up your entries!
Have fun reading these posts and let one another know when you enjoy them!
Here’s another type of floor that can be very inviting…
Breathe
This very inviting forest floor is in Baxter State Park in Northern Maine; the mosses make this an extremely comfortable location to take a nap! I very much enjoyed exploring here.
The following were this week’s participants in the challenge with links to their posts:
Sarah’s post in By Sarah starts things off this week with a beautiful floor that reminds me of castles and manors!
Jase’s post in Proscenium has Gracie at her best, as she’s shaking it off! Must have been an epic party!
Kammie went pretty punny in her post in Nut House Central, but we’ll forgive her with those great photos!
In Life Amazing‘s post, there is a true appreciation for floors, and I really do like that new kitchen floor!
Maria captured some great floors in her post in KameraPromenader; that see-through floor is a bit scary, though!
This week, Hammad has trouble finding himself on the right floor in his post in Blog of Hammad Rais; those shopping malls can make it difficult! In a second post on this week’s theme, we find a wondrous, sacred floor in the Blog of Hammad Rais.
In Don’t Hold Your Breath, there is a definite ground floor approach to ambush photography… it’s pretty cool!
Margo’s post in That Little Voice gives us stunning views of floor art, which you cannot help but admire!
I enjoy mosaic floors and the post in theonlyD800inthehameau has a stunning detail of the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque floor.
Woolly finds us a rather old floor in his post in Woolly Muses, as it is over 1900 years old…
Sandy starts us out on the ground floor in Out of my Write Mind with a gorgeous photo and lovely poem!
Eivor and Pearl explore the forest floor in WhippetWisdom, as Xenia captured them and a great tanka!
Alice’s post in the 59 Club takes us to a different view of the Empire State Building, which is a magnificent location!
This week, pensivity101 takes a more pragmatic approach to laminate flooring than I did; carpet tile is easier on the knees 🙂
Ron’s post in Progressing into Solitude takes the floor all the way to the door; I wonder where this door is?
Irene’s post in Heaven’s Sunshine rightly asks about what people observe in the daily travels through this world…
Sanah’s interesting post in A Pause for Nature examines the interplay between light and floor, which creates some unexpected patterns!
Brian’s captures in Bushboys World find some really cool floors, of which I really love the play of the light on the floor of the Segrada Familia.
In Junk Boat Travels, Jackie captures some of the stunning floors of the Alhambra, made with such simple materials!
Debbie documents a supreme floor in her post in Travel with Intent; that floor took a bit more effort than the one I put in 🙂
Cee’s photos in Cee’s Photography show us some classic floors, as well as a sigh that I should have had!
Na’ama’s post in Na’ama Yehuda reveals the stunning abilities of people in antiquity and features a playful poem!
In Land of Images‘s post, we find out what can be discovered under an old cupboard; that is some vintage flooring!
Susan goes very small in her Musin’ with Susan post, as she puts those little people to work!
This week’s post in One letter UP – diary 2.0 shares the memories of a floor over the years, as babies grow up…
Indira’s wonderful post in Sharing Thoughts features some really interesting floors!
Another lovely entry from sgeoil pulls us in to examine the nature of the floor that we’re looking at!
Liz is on a quest to publish One Million Photographs, and shares a gorgeous floor in Lima, Peru, in her post!
Olga shares some wonderful floors in Stuff and What If…, as the forest provides some rather nice possibilities!
I hope that you enjoy these posts and let the authors know!
