The Shape of the Sky in Bruges
Yesterday I posted The Shape of the Sky in Haarlem—this is Part II, in Bruges.
The name of the projects referring to the sky really just encourage viewers to observe something they otherwise might not. The buildings are without a doubt the main characters of these pieces, but the backdrop of the sky—and the interesting perspective of the buildings—turned these photo shoots into something that feels more graphic and often geometric. This project had an element of design to it that I don't often find in photo shoots. Who said photography can't also be design anyway?
In both cities, I enjoyed finding buildings that were beautiful, but sometimes the buildings that look more plain have interesting gems to find. I didn't notice until editing a photo from Haarlem that someone's face was subtly visible from a window looking down at me. In others, the reflections in windows can provide balance to the composition or provide quiet ornamentation to the building; or windows can provide interesting reflections of light on the wall of the building opposite.
Perhaps the most difficult part of taking these photos in Bruges was the sun. When the sun was shining directly at a white building, then the building across from it was in shadow, and finding the right exposure was often difficult—particularly if the building was dark.
The sky in Bruges, however, had the interesting element of contrails provided by planes, which didn't just add texture but added something to the composition.
The success of these projects is largely due to the efforts I made in trying to think outside the box. While hours of editing the photos played a big part in the images' appeal, the power of the idea is always the real winner.
*click an image to open the full screen gallery
