Boheken Heart, Bologna

Boheken Heart, Bologna, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

One from September's trip to Bologna, late evening looking along the canals. Some cyan CA from the Canon 50mm f.1,8 which I haven't noticed before; not shooting wide open, but into some pretty harsh sunlight, I suppose.

There's a ghostly haze around the top of the padlocks which I can't identify - perhaps light making a nuisance of itself or maybe a smudge on the lens? Not sure what it is, but I rather like it. Without aiming too boldly for pretension, I was after a shot of all the scratches and stains on the heart, the rust and corrosion on the locks and the brace and the disintegration of the wall on the one side, with the transcendent bokeh on the other by way of juxtaposition. A sort of love arises in unsual places motif, which I rather like. There, pretension over.

Shot at f/2.5 to keep the heart and padlocks both sharp. Wide open it would have been game over for one of the details, and the background is still reasonably insane.

Have a great weekend everyone.

See Boheken Heart, Bologna on Flickr.

Two Pair (Stocker's Lake Reflections), Rickmansworth

Two Pair (Stocker's Lake Reflections), Rickmansworth, originally uploaded by flatworldsedge.

Unlike the tricky and lengthy noise reduction for www.flickr.com/photos/flatworldsedge/5126748478/ in this case I just maxed Lightroom's noise reduction and dropped the clarity. It's a 226 second exposure (F/22 ¦ ISO 100) from one of the bird hides on Stocker's Lake in Rickmansworth Aquadrome.

There were hundreds of ducks floating about in the foreground, but none made sufficient impression against the bright reflected sky over the long exposure. Hope everyone is having a great week!

See Two Pair (Stocker's Lake Reflections), Rickmansworth on Flickr.