Suddenly I felt myself in the middle of reality and imgaination... Am I standing in front of a real entrance door or am I looking at a picture at an exhibition :)

Having not heard of the painter Edgar Degas before i had to search the net for some background information: http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/degas/
There's a lot of info abt him on the net.

A highly interesting picture, nicely composed. All over the contrast of this photo looks a bit dull, but looking at the painting on the door (is it a real door? :)) it seems to have good contrast and saturation, so i guess the contrast and brightness is fair enough.

Quite a door. Degas has to be credited for part of the honour here, but well seen.

Hey Judit!
Good documentary of rhe artist. The door seems to be well used and tell a story by itself. Good picture Judit.

Regards Finn.

A picture stimulating imagination.

Well seen!

However, under these light conditions, the light meter is easily fooled. It is calibrated too measure everything as if it was 18% gray. Light areas will be measured as if they were darker (underexposed), and dark areas will be measured if they were lighter (overexposed). Therefore, one should always bracket such exposures, one f-stop more, and one f-stop less. Just to be sure. An alternative rule would be to override by always overexposing light pictures by e.g., +1 f-stop, and underexposing dark pictures by e.g., -1 f-stop. Gathering bracketing experience is your best guide to better exposure.

In this case, seeing the rather dark motif, the light meter has assumed that it should be more gray, and instructed the camera to opened up the aperture to accomplish this.

Having played around with the image for a couple of minutes, I am sending you a version where I have attempted to compensate for this. ;-)

Best regards,
Kristoffer

The title of the Versjon #3 is ''La classe de danse'', sorry. My French language knowledge is ZERO.

I have used that picture from: http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/degas/ballet/

Judit :)

It is very interesting to se Degas' very beautiful painting so close to your picture. Clearly, your original version of your picture is lighter and somewhat closer to Degas' painting, but also with quite low contrast. My version is darker (too dark? we are in a shade) and more contrasty. None of them is ''right'' vs. Degas. And how could they be? Not even the ''original reproduction'' painted on the door is similar. However, even the reproduction seems to be an impressive work of art, done a long time ago.

What makes your picture so special, is the fact the documentation of the reproduction painted on the door (must have been lots of work and demanded an artist), in combination with the sign above it. They fit each other like hand and glove, making the image absolutely surreal.

The Ballroom of Imagination and Desire.

This has got to be a really exciting art gallery!

- Kristoffer

Welcome you all here again! Nice to meet you! :)

Travelling around the half part of Ireland last August, I stopped in Waterville (County Kerry) too. It is a small village on the Ring of Kerry at the seaside where Charlie Chaplin had a bungalow. Walking from street to street, suddenly I caught sight this door … I was wondering whether Edgar Degas was there. No, it isn’t possible – the painting on the door didn’t look so old.

Yes, this door is absolutely real. I did my best to go in but the door wasn’t open and it hadn’t any information about the opening hours, so I am not able to report about this art gallery :(

There was another surprise in another street too … More information about it next time, sometime.

Judit :)

A Degas copied on a door, was my first thought, and right I was..... I had a ''thing'' about Degas when I was 11-12 years old; that was my ''cultural'' period. Afraid my ''refined'' tastes have deteriorated substantially since then, and come to think of it, I was more fascinated with his bathing - or after the bath-nudes than his ballet dancers or jockeys on horses.......
Anyway; this door must have been something of a treasure to come across for somone who seems so obviously dedicated to art as you seem to be. There is a striking discrepancy between the old door with the rough Degas imitation, and the sign above it. This makes the picture all the more interesting.
As for the colours; the sign does appear a little bit ''bleak'', whereas the painting on the door seems to have , more or less, the ''authentic'' Degas-colors; I remember his colours as a bit soft and subdued. So version 1 for me....

regards, fred

Hei Kristoffer!

It seems your version is a bit dark but I am glad to upload it for seeing differences between your and my versions. No doubt, the original painting in Musee d’Orsay in Paris is the best version – I can prove it! :)

Honestly, I have never corrected my pictures at all – I ''have learnt'' to catch the right moment with my old camera (Praktica PLC3 - around 25 years old) what I still like more than my new digital one.

Thanks for your help and comments!

Judit :)

Hei Fred!

You are right. My whole life is dedicated to arts: architecture, books, fine arts, theatre, movies, music, writing articles – and teaching …

Thanks for your nice words!

Judit :)