Book Spines and Straight Lines

My submission for an assignment by the Beginner to Intermediate Photography group.

Cropped version here.

To take full advantage of Flickr, you should use a JavaScript-enabled browser and
install the latest version of the Macromedia Flash Player.

Comments

sparquay says:

i like how your focus is on one book, the second book from the left in the shot, not the first one, and not quite the middle one. And the markings on the bindings line up nicely too for that continuing line look.
Very much in order.
Posted 53 months ago. ( permalink )

Studio E says:

Excellent perspective in this image! The lighting was just right, too. It has that library feel to it.
Posted 53 months ago. ( permalink )

Jay Dubya says:

I like it also, although maybe next time you could crop it on the right side so the books seem to go on forever. I love the gold detailing on the books. I wanted to shoot some but we don't have any at our house. Great job :)
Posted 53 months ago. ( permalink )

michael shea says:

Nice job. The line created by the books moves your eyes naturally through the picture. While I agree with sparquay about the focal point, I think I would have preferred just a touch more depth of field.
Posted 53 months ago. ( permalink )

Rob Milsom says:

Thank you all for your comments!

They really are appreciated and I shall take them into account!
Posted 53 months ago. ( permalink )

Richard- says:

What I like best is no titles. Just spines and serious lighting, like a law office. We know they're books from other information: the shelf, the arrangement, etc. but not from words on the spine. Of course if they were a bit more even they could be one of those fake book rows one sometimes see in movies (I've never actually seen one in real life).

We have a set of "classics" that are bound like this in our house. Unfortunately, or fortunately, my two stepdaughters pawed through every last one of them growing up, as did my wife and her 4 sibs, as did their mother and her sibs. They're old and quite used. I wonder if my now 4 year old granddaughter will want these in this form or by the time she's into it some other form will be "the way."

You know what Mark Twain said about classics?

"Classic: A book which people praise and don't read."
-- Mark Twain
Posted 53 months ago. ( permalink )

touching light says:

I have a set just like Richard describes, and I think I'm the only one in 3 or 4 generations that actually spent lots of time with them.

Boble, your photo conjured the scent of that set of red leather books now at my mother's home.

There's also something sort of military about these: the leather and gold embossing tells us they're important, and the composition shows them at attention, ready to serve. Very effective.
Posted 53 months ago. ( permalink )

Rob Milsom says:

Richard's Pics, thanks for your comment! I took about 9 shots of this row of books, and I liked this one the most exactly for the reasons you state. And it's good to hear that you books have been read! The ones in the picture... well... I've never opened any of them!

touching light, I am very happy to hear that my picture brought back memories! And I appreciate your comment. Thankyou!

Thank you everyone for your encouraging comments!
Posted 53 months ago. ( permalink )

sjbmuse says:

I really like the way your eyes are drawn down the line too. It could be that the point of focus on one of the vertical 3rds is part of the reason that it works so well.
Posted 53 months ago. ( permalink )

edcrowle says:

nice perspective -- agree with crop and focus comments.

The Twain quote is all too true.. Amazon now offers the complete penguin collection, which equates to having to read 1 book a week for 20 years to get through them all. You can do the math. If I learned one thing from my lit classes, it's that you can pass a course without ever opening a single book, but not much equates to the enjoyment of finishing one of the 'classics.'
Posted 53 months ago. ( permalink )

Stefani says:

So lovely! I agree also with the crop suggestion, but otherwise really like how you shot this. Great job!
Posted 53 months ago. ( permalink )

Rob Milsom says:

Well... it seems that I am obliged to crop it! And looking at it, I agree with the idea.
Posted 53 months ago. ( permalink )

rbrcompute says:

Thanks so much for making this great photo available through Creative Commons. I am using it in the header of my website at www.robertburtonrobinson.com. I have given you photo credit in the footer, sitewide, with a link back to your main Flickr page.
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

Rob Milsom says:

Hello Robert! I'm glad you think my image is good enough for your site. And I'd just like to thank you for taking the time to let me know that you've used it. It's always interesting to see where my work ends up!
Posted 8 months ago. ( permalink )

jamescapp02 says:

My compliments. Our group, WikiCollectables, like it so much we put it in our video:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=CKKCWbiARmU

I hope we did it justice.

Your fan, James.
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Would you like to comment?

[?]

	Rob Milsom's photostream
		175 uploads

This photo also belongs to:

	Experimentation (Set)
		8 items

12 people call this photo a favorite

Additional Information

Some rights reserved Anyone can see this photo

Taken with a Fujifilm FinePix S304.
More properties
Taken on July 15, 2005
Viewed 2,571 times

Add to your map

Yay location removed

...

(Some formats are OK.)

Or, remove it from the map.

Go to the map

You	Sign in \| Create Your Free Account
Explore	Places \| Last 7 Days \| This Month \| Popular Tags \| The Commons \| Creative Commons \| Search
Help	Community Guidelines \| The Help Forum \| FAQ \| Sitemap \| Get Help

Book Spines and Straight Lines

Comments

sparquay says:

Studio E says:

Jay Dubya says:

michael shea says:

Rob Milsom says:

Richard- says:

touching light says:

Rob Milsom says:

sjbmuse says:

edcrowle says:

Stefani says:

Rob Milsom says:

rbrcompute says:

Rob Milsom says:

jamescapp02 says:

Would you like to comment?

Rob Milsom's photostream

Experimentation (Set)

Tags

Additional Information