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Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Cinematic

by
lilac

This week’s challenge is “Cinematic“, hosted by Sofia. She describes the theme this way:

“There are a few things that give a photo that cinematic feel: camera angles, bold and high-contrast colors, light, locations, just to name a few. The main objective is to take a shot that is part of a story, there’s mood and a sense of location; our image is but a snapshot of a much wider situation.”

My opening image was taken in a meadow that always reminds me of the opening scene in The Sound of Music. Imagine the helicopter shot through the clouds, and the camera swooping closer to Julie Andrews as she begins to spread her arms and sing. The cinematography is iconic and plays up the contrast between a sweeping landscape and a single character. Background and foreground allude to a wider situation. If I were to expand on my image, I’d imagine the camera panning down to a vase of lilacs on a picnic blanket, a bottle of wine, a loaf of bread, a wheel of cheese, and two fascinating characters…perhaps a talking Douglas squirrel and Steller’s jay.

Two movies stand out in my mind for their cinematography. The Brutalist is a 2024 film that looks and feels just like the title. It’s full of abstract, angular shots. I felt as I was watching it that I was less aware of the story than I was of the photography.

The second movie that came to my mind is Lawrence of Arabia. I was advised to see it on the big screen so that the cinematography could have its full affect on me. I will never forget the desert sunrise scene. It has been hailed as the “greatest cut of all”, a close-up shot of the main character blowing out a match, and then the desert sun rising on the horizon in an extremely sparse long shot. Of course, the music enhances the scene: eerie and mesmerizing, then triumphant and glorious.

I feel like ending this with a 1970s “rom-com” shot…

Thanks, Sofia! This was super fun. 🙂

21 thoughts on “Lens-Artists Photo Challenge: Cinematic”

  1. I’m so glad you had fun, and it shows! This is one of the ways I thought this challenge could be tackled, photos that remind people of films. You’ve done brilliantly 🙂

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  2. Now that’s a journey worthy of film—Julie twirling in the meadow, squirrels sipping wine, and seamless cuts from a match to a sunrise.
    I especially love the image of a tiny figure standing atop the hill, beautifully captured in a single, timeless click!
    Philo

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  7. oh wow. so much to enjoy and I liked your fun rom com rose at the end – but my fav was lady in the blue dress on those mountains – and the flowers really did seem like an opening scene in The Sound of Music

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