Weekly Challenge 149 : Chiaroscuro
Chiaroscuro (English pronunciation: /kiˌɑrəˈskjʊəroʊ/, Italian: [kjarosˈkuːro] "light-dark") in art is characterized by strong contrasts between light and dark, usually bold contrasts affecting a whole composition. It is also a technical term used by artists and art historians for using contrasts of light to achieve a sense of volume in modeling three-dimensional objects such as the human body. Here is more info with some pictures there for reference.

Photos don't need to be portraits or in black and white but should reflect the theme-light and shadow used together to build the desired effect.

Challenge ends next Saturday (10/30) at midnight EDT.(approx)

The fine print....
1. Post ONE photo (max 1024x1024).
2. The photo must portray an interpretation of the theme.
3. Post your single picture in this thread, and explain what motivated you to take the picture and/or how you feel it represents the weekly theme (especially if it's not obvious).
4. The challenge is interactive. Any response is welcome.
5. The judge will pick the WINNERS and choose 1 of them to be the judge for the next week.
6. This challenge runs for 7 days plus a day for the judge to choose the winners.
7. Any Pentax camera will do or a Samsung DSLR.
8. Pictures can be from any time frame, not just within the week of the current theme.

Previous Challenge Subjects:
1-Statues, 2-Wheels, 3-Speed, 4-Peace, 5-Survival, 6-Macro, 7-Mountains, 8-Children, 9-Post Processing, 10- Windows & Doors, 11-Sport, 12-Urban Landscape, 13-Wisdom, 14-Power, 15-Music, 16-Pathways, 17-Lines, 18-Storm, 19-Boats, 20-Water, 21 - Golden Hour, 22 - Natural Lighting, Portraits, 23-Motion Blur, 24-Simplicity, 25-Color, 26-Cars, 27-Repetition, 28-Wildlife, 29-Epiphany, 30-Contrast, 31-Pets, 32-Landscapes, 33-Coastal, 34-Churches, 35-Bridges, 36-Creation, 37-Still Life: Food, 38-At the Zoo, 39-Wide Aperture, 40-Merry Christmas, 41- Sunsets, 42-Action, 43-Fireworks, 44-Manipulated Light Portraits, 45- Advertising/Product Shot, 46- B&W Street Shooting, people/buildings, 47-Vanishing Point, 48-Reflection, 49-Tranquility, 50-Expressions, 51-S Curve, 52-Hands, 53-Shadows, 54-Your Favorite Beverage, 55-Barriers, 56-Perspective, 57-Night Scenes, 58-Zen-like...Water and Stone 59-Modern architecture, 60-Sunrises, 61-Red, 62-Action on water, 63-Bodies in Motion, 64-Ruins, 65-Blue and green, 66-Iridescence, 67-Anthropomorpha, 68–Sound, 69-Backlight, 70-Group Shot, 71-Railway Scenes, 72-Technology, 73-Color on Color, 74-History, 75-Autumn/Harvest 76-working men and women, 77-Silhouettes, 78 Stranger Portrait, 79-Transportation, 80 - Lonely, 81 - Holidays, 82 - Toys 'n Games, 83 - Machines, 84 - Ice, 85 - Cats, 86 - Stories, 87 - Cultures, 88 - Absence, 89 - Weather, 90 - Old roads, 91 - The River, 92 - The Seventies, 93 - Beautiful Bokeh, 94 - Balance, 95 - Crop a miniature landscape, 96 - Opposing gravity, 97- Feet, 98 - Sacred Grounds, 99 - Extraordinarily Ordinary, 100-added textures, 101-still life, 102-bicycles, 103 - Broken, 104- Flowers (B&W), 105 Backlighting, 106-Water. 107-Wind, 108-Parent/Child candids, 109-Passion, 110-Events, 111-Streets, 112-The Aged, 113-Fire and Heat, 114-Nature vs. Culture, 115 - Letters or Numbers, 116 - Self-Portrait, 117 - The Tree, 118 - Minimalism, 119 - Rust, 120 - Before & After, 121 - Negative Space, 122 - Decay & Dereliction, 123 - Cold, 124 - Melancholy, 125 - The Element of Time, 126 - Public Transportation, 127 - Yin Yang, 128 - Sepia or Dual Tone, 129 - Hand Coloring, 130 - Light Trails, 131-Once in a lifetime, 132 - Moms & Motherhood, 133 - Beautiful Blur, 134 - B&W Abstract, 135 - History, 136 - In and around the kitchen, 137 - Habit, 138 - Perspective: From the Ground Up, 139- Mist/fog, 140 – No faces, 141-Bubbly, 142- The 'hood, 143-Green, 144-Garbage, 145-Emotion, 146 - Events, 147-Seasons. 148-Building and/or Construction 149-Chiarouscuro

[Stratman]

Symmetrical tree shadows....

[wllm]

This afternoon made in our own stable, specially for this challenge.

[bbluesman]

Nice entries so far people-keep making my job harder! Still plenty of time for new entries though...Let's Do it!

[virgilr]

Allright- throw my hat into the ring! From a series of shots taken on location while shooting a period piece our friends are producing- actors studying their scripts between shots. Taken with my $10.00 wonder, a Helios 44M at ISO 800.

EDIT:

ACCK!! OK, had to change my shot! After thinking about this, I really wanted a shot that used light and shadow to effect the entire composition, not just add to the mood. So, I'm going with the following, which is from the Shelburne Museum in Shelburne, Vermont- kit lens.

I liked my previous shot in that it was a unique portrait, but I felt this image suits the theme of the competition better.

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Last edited by virgilr; 10-28-2010 at 11:57 AM.

[Tamia]

Great theme, Mark, very original.

Vanishing Point

[jheu02]

I shot one of my daughters from a dark stairwell into backlighting She was a moving target as she was turning her head to see if I was still waiting to take her picture.

[virgilr]

Ooh- spooky shot, John! Love it!

[VaughnA]

Ok, I'll bite. One I took a few months ago in an abandoned house. Creepy to find the headless baby doll in the bedroom. I think the light and shadows defined the shape pretty well.

[bbluesman]

Wow seems like we have a competition shaping up here-might have to ask Slim Shady to judge it...

[mingdie]

A great subject. I thought about this one from Tahiti.

[Voytech]

[Arjay Bee]

Black Cockatoo

[casil403]

Great topic for a challenge Mark!
Here's my submission:

[jheu02]

Nice pipes!

[bbluesman]

Many nice images showing up here. Not surprisingly much in black and white since it shows of the shadows so well. Some impressive color examples too. When it comes time to judge I'll need the wisdom of Solomon...