Weekly Photo Challenge: Focus

It’s been a while since I’ve posted any photos of my beloved Spoetnikkijker (Sputnik Watcher), although I continue to take photos of him on a fairly regular basis. One of my recent batches fit this week’s photo challenge of focus so I thought I’d share some of them.

My own personal focus on this statue changes, depending on my mood, available lighting, and happy accidents. Sometimes I “focus” on a detail, other times I alternate between having the sculpture and the surrounding nature in focus. On this particular day, I was taking advantage of the dappled light and the canopy of trees to help draw the focus onto the sculpture itself. In some instances, with the focus on the sculpture, the light and leaves combine to create an organic, abstract background. (Although I wish the sculpture itself was a bit sharper.)

In this photo, because of the side from which I chose to photograph the sculpture, I ended up with a relatively bright image that creates a sense of thoughtfulness. However, by changing sides, with the light now behind me, the same blurred nature background suddenly creates a much more dramatic and eerie atmosphere. Suddenly the daydream quality of the first picture becomes more reminiscent of an Expressionist nightmare.

These many sides of the statue — brought out by a change in focus and season — are one of the many reasons it’s one of my favorite things to photograph anywhere here in Utrecht.

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For those who are waiting for my next instalment about the godskameren, appropriately enough, I realized today that I need one more photo, which I’ll go get tomorrow morning. I should have the Agnietenstraat housing post for you by the afternoon. Promise!