Spring sunshine spotlights the stone gateway in Newcastle’s medieval city wall leaving the narrow lane, with its 20th century clutter of bins and air conditioners, in deep shadow.
Patti’s theme for the Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #198 is Light and Shadow. She reminds us, with a quote from Rick Ohnsman, that ‘When you see the shadows, you will also see the light’ This might have wider, philosophical implications, but Ohnsman is offering practical advice on improving photographic technique.
On this autumn walk on the Isle of Arran the subdued light, filtered through the clouds, gave a gentle, hazy view with little definition. Then, briefly, the sunlight broke through between the clouds, illuminating a distant, craggy peak.
This image was a deliberate attempt to frame a familiar view in a different way. The light and shadow on the timbers of the old fish quay add unexpected drama.
Dappled shadows and hazy sunshine spell spring and early morning in this view of Place des Vosges. I didn’t go looking for shadows but it’s the contrast of light and shade that give this image its atmosphere.
The sharply defined shadows of these leafless trees show the precise geometry of the annual pruning in the formal gardens of the Palais Royal.
On an April evening the trees in new leaf cast softly rounded shadows, framing this couple strolling in the Jardin du Luxembourg. Paris in the springtime….
More spring sunlight, sparkling on the water of the river Seine and casting animated shadows behind the two trotinette riders. In 2016 the riverside expressway was closed one Sunday a month to all traffic except pedestrians, cyclists, skaters and other transports doux (or soft transport). For me this image captures something of the sense of hopefulness and exhilaration of that urban experiment.
Just a year later, on a bright spring day, that road was formally closed to motor traffic and reopened as Parc Rives de Seine. It was a day to stroll through the dappled shadows of the riverside trees and to linger in patches of warm sunshine.
And finally an image of light and shadow that evokes not change or movement but stillness.
(Click on any photo for a closer view)
Beyond the Window Box 
May 16, 2022 at 1:58 pm
Beautiful shots of Paris, especially the lovely Place des Vosges and that final image. And of course that path in Newcastle is one I know very well!
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May 16, 2022 at 3:17 pm
Thank you, Sarah. There is something special about spring in Paris!
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May 20, 2022 at 10:05 pm
Great collection. Your photo of Parc Rives de Seine was relevant to discussion of riverside highways in Philadelphia, so I shared it with our local paper’s architecture/city planning columnist (with credit, of course). The highway in question runs beside the Delaware River, and it’s much bigger than the road in the photo. It cuts off attractions on the river bank (mainly parks and a beer garden or two) from adjacent neighborhoods and makes it difficult for anybody to get to the riverside attractions. Fortunately, much of the highway is sunken, and the city is planning several bridges over it, but there’s now general agreement that putting a superhighway in that location was a mistake. Our columnist loved the photo.
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