<< Previous Next >>

The calling


The calling
Photo Information
Copyright: Michele Gruber Caelen (Merline) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 925 W: 97 N: 1324] (5724)
Genre: Places
Medium: Black & White
Date Taken: 2007-07-04
Categories: Artwork
Camera: Canon A710 IS
Exposure: f/4, 1/1000 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Theme(s): Modern Sculpture, Religion, Religions, Sculpture, My Black&White pics [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2007-11-08 8:08
Viewed: 1345
Favorites: 1 [view]
Points: 27
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
This sculpture is called Köllunn, the calling.

It is by Steinunn Thorarinsdottir, an Icelandic sculptor born in Reykjavik, in 1955. She lived in England and Italy where she got her training as a sculptor.

Cast iron and glass 160x40x50cm.

I love her works which talk about men's condition and with art, of course, I understand if it’s not everybody’s cup of tea:-)

The sculpture stands in front of Reykjavik’s catholic basilica, Landakotskirkja ("The Landakot Church"), formally named Basilika Krists konungs ("The Basilica of Christ the King"). It is often referred to as Kristskirkja ("Christ's Church").

Landakotskirkja is located in the western part of Reykjavík. Please see workshop for a snapshot:-)

The first Catholic priests to arrive in Iceland after the Reformation were the frenchmen Bernard Bernard and Jean-Baptiste Baudoin. They bought the Landakot farmstead in Reykjavík and settled there in the early 19th century.They built a small chapel in 1864. A few years later, a small wooden church was erected by Túngata, close to Landakot. After the First World War, Icelandic catholics saw the need to build a bigger church for the growing number of catholics. They decided to build a Neo-Gothic church and entrusted the task to the architect Guðjón Samúelsson. After years of construction, Landakotskirkja was finally sanctified on the 23rd of July 1929.
The dominant religion in Iceland is lutheranism, since 1550.

Desaturation, light sepia tone, what's your feeling ?
I did not straighten the walls, and I would like your opinion particularly on the pov...Thank you!
sayeed_rahman, AiresSantos, silvia_zenova, scroller, Clementi, mdetay, axiotea, hderin has marked this note useful
Only registered TrekEarth members may rate photo notes.
Add Critique [Critiquing Guidelines] 
Only registered TrekEarth members may write critiques.
Discussions
ThreadThread Starter Messages Updated
To pamastro: Hello,Merline 1 03-03 10:47
To Hendrika: HiMerline 1 11-09 08:36
To AiresSantos: AiresMerline 1 11-09 03:08
To g__clemens: CiaoMerline 1 11-09 02:56
To quillo: FranciscoMerline 1 11-09 02:55
To Hendrika: :-)Merline 2 11-08 13:06
To sayeed_rahman: HiMerline 1 11-08 08:21
You must be logged in to start a discussion.

Critiques [Translate]

hi michele
Really nice composition:
mehmet emin

Hello again Michele...quite a contrast to your last post :)

This is a well chosen POV..the grainy bnw composition intensifies the composition..think that was the only option..i think its low desaturation..

Couldn't get better..perfect shot

Cheers.
Sayeed

Hello Michele,
your sculpture picture is good enought, the low point of view, the composition is the strong point here.
The bad thing is the light - too strong and the upper part of picture is a bit overexposed.
But is good indeed.
Regards, Silvia

Hi Michele,
I think you could have made an already strong enough composition without the church altogether - this way they seem to struggle with each other for attention. If you have access to Jasc Paint Shop Pro then there is an easy option (I can only do the easy stuff) to give the sculpture some light from another angle then this one. If I have time I will make you a WS - maybe I will succeed in showing you. JPSP has an illumination effect option to add light. B&W or sepia or not, that's all a question of personal preference or it can well depend on the mood you are in.
I'm going to have a try,
Now see, you ask our opinion, then you got yourself a whole story.
TFS
Els
PS Michele my WS is ready but my todays limit has been reached so sometime tomorrow I will upload it - really cool what you can do with a bit of light.

-

Hello Michele:

With the church behind, I like interesting exact framing of the statue especially as they emphasize the details of the sculpture and the election of the B/W in this composition. The result is good, congratulations.

A greeting.

-

Ciao Michele ,
questa volta hai tirato fuori un capolavoro .
ottimo il POV , magnifica la definizione e perfetto il bianco e nero .
ben fatto
Giorgio

  • Great 
  • mdetay Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 511 W: 3 N: 895] (4077)
  • [2007-11-08 17:12]

Salut Michelle,
Pas mal. J'ai completement oublie d'aller voir ces scultures quand j'etais a Reykjavik.
Bien vu. Bon choix du N/B.
Bien amicalement.
Michel

Hello MichEle,
I like the PoV as the statue symbolizes calmness and strength as one entity. The walls are not the main focal point so they do not play into the scene enough to make a difference, an exceptional B/W with sepia image...
Well done,
Steve

Bonjour Michele,
Excellent point de la vue et détails dans cette belle composition le noire et le blanc. Je aussi aime ta note.
Merci et bonsoir,
Aires

Bonsoir Michèle
Depuis ce PDV en contre plongée la statue dont j'aime bien la texture, l'expression sereine et protectrice a, à mon avis, beaucoup d'impact. le cadrage serré sied bien à cette imposante sculpture et je trouve que la façade de l'église nous donne une idée de son environnement.
Amitiés
Marilyn

Hi Michele,

Beatiful and great B/W. I love composition and exposition. Wonderful! Congratulations!

Warm regards :)

Haluk Derinöz

This is a powerful image, great work.

Greg

hi michele,

what caught my eyes among the rest in your album is this pic. very unusual, very unorthodox, though the sky is over exposed , still the composition stands above all.
the outstanding statue with this outstanding photography made it more adorable.
Congrats.
regards,
Pinakie

Sorry it's taken so long for me to comment on this one... I've been so busy with school but I couldn't forget since I made a workshopped version that has been on my desktop for 3 months now.

This is a good angle and crop for capturing a sort of emotional resonance that the sculpture has. Knowing how it's situated it is not in the most flattering position so taking everything else out works nicely here. The desaturation is also fitting of the sculpture and the Icelandic "mood" in general I think. I don't know about the slight sepia to it, however.

The things I think that could be changed would be contrast and curves to enhance to make it less flat looking and bring out some of the differences between reflection of light in areas. And perhaps a shallower depth of field but that is difficult with the smaller sensor of an A710.

But as I said the point of view and the cropping like this are good capturing it in a sort of active and engaging way between the face and the church.

Calibration Check
















0123456789ABCDEF