Window as a mirror of the soul
If eyes are a mirror of human soul, then windows reflect inner state of mind of the house owner.
Pictures made by tourists during different cruises, even if they were not fascinating, are all of the same type and not interesting, to my surprise. It seems as if they were shot by the same average statistical person.
This average tourist shoots photos in most inappropriate time, since 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., when the sun is at its highest point and colour temperature exceeds 6000 degrees.
At that shadows of the objects are short and blank, colours are as if diluted with milk and mixed with a little bit of blueing. I was lucky to spend two weeks in a cruise along the Danube this summer. Unlike an average tourist I had thought over my trip beforehand still in Moscow. I took a middle sensitive film – slide Kodak Ektachrom 100: its colour rendering is correct, colours are rich, and grains are small. I equipped all camera lenses with ultraviolet filters. The equipment and optics set was: Nikon F-5 with Nikkor 20/2,8 lens and two zooms: 28x80 and 80x200 mm. I also took a photo tripod, light and with a shoulder strap. The coffer was made from a fishing case still 15 years ago. It isn’t heavy (a little more than a kilogram), saves equipment from impacts, rain and sun. I can sit on it when I get tired and stand on it when I’m in a crowd and it’s difficult to see something behind numerous heads. The strap should be soft not to weigh heavily on the shoulder and press on the vessels. Don’t take a long-peaked cap, it impedes to bring camera close to eyes. Any flash bulb is suitable; but the original system flash is the best one. I have SB-26 which I use in daytime for brightening shadows with aperture mode minus 0,7 on. At that its effect on the light image doesn’t strike the eye. In return it helps to avoid undershots in the shadow and provides good colour rendering of the foreground objects.
In the beginning of the trip I looked over the tourists and local residents with a great interest. But soon I understood that I wouldn’t succeed in making an intelligible photoessay.
Hungary. Window of a blowing shop.
