A beautiful Bluthner
Piano in the Marble Hall at Petworth
House photographed using my little Leica
D-LUX 5. What a stunning setting for this gorgeous musical instrument!
I wanted to use its central positioning on this awesome floor to good
symmetrical effect, which meant that if I also wanted to see the keys
and Blüthner name I would need to be shooting towards the light.
Ordinarily this would create silhouettes if exposing for the light but
that exposure would have made the foreground dark and the piano more
of a nondescript black rectangle... so I used a longer exposure instead
to make the foreground brighter. This has caused the windows and background
to become bleached out and the people are not proper silhouettes, being
more grey. They also have motion blur. None of that bothers me. It all
helps separate the black piano from the background and I even enhanced
the effect using split contrast when processing, being careful to try
to keep detail in the bright spots in the shine of the marble flooring.
I'm always amazed at how this little camera copes with tricky lighting
conditions. I could have made two bracketed exposures to catch a wider
dynamic range and had a much cleaner final image but I prefer to bring
out as much detail as I can from one shot - it brings out the noise
in a film-like way and the noise this camera creates has a grainlike
soul I particularly like..
If this image is the first of mine you have seen, or you are relatively
new to my work, please know I'm always keen to make new contacts and
push my photography to wider horizons. If you like what you see, say
hello!
If you are able to help bring my photography to a larger audience, then
lets talk! I'd be glad to hear from you!
Finally, prints
of this image are available, starting at affordable prices to encourage
new collectors. Signed archival quality prints are strictly limited
in number. Your support is very much appreciated.