Australian Open
These days the tennis tournament, Australian Open, is played in Melbourne.
I was in Australia last year at this time – and followed the tournament – on TV!
Australian Open 2011: Novak Djokovic is defeating Andy Murray in the men’s finals last year:
I followed the match – and enjoyed an Australian beer – which was tasty, but very expensive (even compared to Denmark!).
Melbourne
As in many other cities contrasts meet in Melbourne. Old and new. Nature and culture. Warm and cold. Green and concrete. Joy and sadness. Life and death.
Aussie abstract # 1
Bark of trees can create beautiful images. This is captured in Australia in January 2011.
I think it’s a gum tree.
“Rule of thirds” is not really a rule – but a thousands of years old help for image composition.
It is based on four lines, two horizontal and two vertical, that divides the image. And also form four points from the crossing lines. Please click on the link “Rule of Thirds” above to see an example (from Wikipedia).
This is a simplification of the “The Golden Ratio” – which for example Leonardo da Vinci researched and used as a mathematical formula for use in science and art.
For this assignment I have decided to use a few from a series of photos, I captured a beautiful and adventurous evening in the autumn of 2011 in West Jutland, Denmark.
Above is my first photo is a photo , which I think meets the requirements – without cropping the original photo:
The trees are lit by the evening sunlight, and their reflections are located around the four points formed by the two horizontal and two vertical lines, the image can be divided with.
I also think that the diagonal line from upper left to lower right is important: We in the western world are used to seeing from left to right, so we are caught by the biggest tree and are looking down through the image to the reflections.
All the following photos are cropped more or less (you can check the original versions below).
Here it is the area in the top left corner, where the road disappears, which is the key point. But important is again the diagonal line from here along the road leading down to the right towards the warmly illuminated graze bottom right.
The photo is divided i three parts by the two vertical lines, left (where is that road leading to?!), middle, and right (warm colored grass).
Here is the division into three horizontal sections clear.
But it is broken by a diagonal line that goes contrary to the above and our normal read-diagonal in the opposite direction. Therefore it breaks up the image – and further emphasizes the main subject, the warmly colored grass.
Now the sun has gone down soon!
Again, the photo is divided into three horizontal sections. The lower: The dark, somewhat mysterious dunes. The top section is a yellow field. – The middle: The “sunset area” with the strongest and most red colors.
The sun is in the dark bottom area – and located in the lower left of the four points.
After sunset the sun’s last rays created even more adventurous and magical moments.
I could dimly glimpse large herds of deer flocked in the distance in the growing dark on the meadows. It must be amazing to be the lucky residents in the house at the top of the dunes ( can you find this?!!)
The division of the photo into three horizontal areas is evident again here. – And in the last photo:
My original photos before cropping are here:
Århus, Assignment and Australia…..
In this post there are none of my photos (my first post without a photo!).
This post marks the end of a series of entries from Denmark. And the beginning of a series of entries from my trip last year to Australia.
Before I move on to Australia, I will give my contribution to Scott Thomas’ latest Assignment “Rule of Thirds” - If you want to participate too, you must make your contribution before Wednesday, January 18, 2012.
Today I will give you a little more information about Århus:
In my last posts I have shown you a glimpse of AROS in Århus.
In fact, Aarhus and Aros is actually the same word! Explanation here:
The name of the town “Århus” was in the Viking Age written “Aros” – a word composed of two words: “ar” and “os”. “ar” means “å”, which is the Danish word for “river”. “os” means “udmunding” which means “mouth”. “Aros” therefore means “river mouth”. And the town is indeed built around the mouth of Århus River 
If you check my Categories-box in the sidebar and find “Århus” – you can find some of my earlier posts about places in and around Århus.
Sometimes it can be a good idea to let somebody from outside your own little world take a look at your own place……:
I came across this video, that gives an American’s views on what is interesting in Århus (including a few scenes from Legoland, from Moesgaard – and of course from my workplace “Den Gamle By”!):
This video is one of many – made by Rick Stevens, Edmonds, Washington, USA.
I can recommend the other videos, he has made from Denmark, too :
Frederiksborg Castle – Øresund Bridge, Roskilde – and Vikings! - Ærø, Denmark: Denmark’s Charming Isle - Copenhagen, Mermaid and resistance – Copenhagen, Christiania – Copenhagen, Rosenborg Castle.
AROS – BOY (Ron Muecks)
The Australian artist Ron Muecks (b. 1958) has created the sculpture “BOY”. It is the landmark of ARoS Aarhus Kunstmuseum. The five meters tall and 500 kg heavy boy is squatting in all his impressive glory at the northern end of the museum’s special exhibition foyer.
BOY is a typical work from Ron Muecks, it is worked out in every detail, so for example skin surface seems alive, and blood vessels and body hair stands out clearly.
With “BOY” Ron Mueck has created one of the major works in AROS Art Museum’s collection of international contemporary art.
More artworks by Ron Mueck:
AROS – “Your Rainbow Panorama” # 2
Some more photos from “Your Rainbow Panorama”, the large installation by Olafur Eliasson at AROS, Århus Museum of Art.
&
Video about “Your Rainbow Panorama” and the surroundings – the city of Aarhus:
(Sorry the speak is in only in Danish – but non-Danes can enjoy the pictures )
More informations about AROS and Århus in my next posts.
AROS – “Your Rainbow Panorama” – and my wishes for a Happy and colorful New Year to all of you!
AROS is the name of our Art Museum here in Aarhus. A modern and new museum, which already after a few years has distinguished itself in the Danish museum world and abroad.
In 2011 a new permanent exhibition opened, “Your Rainbow Panorama”, a gigantic installation with a weight of 250,000 kg, built on top of the entire museum building (whose structures had to be reinforced to carry this construction)!!
The artist behind this artwork is Olafur Eliasson. He has for many years created large installations, not only in Denmark but at a large extent abroad throughout the world. An impressive and great example is New York City Waterfalls (2008).
Olafur Eliasson is a master of creating new dimensions to art through his installations. His tools include is light, color, movement – and large dimensions. Here, on top of a square, heavy and earth-bound museum building is added a new, light, round and bright circle in rainbow colors, and it connects the museum-building with the sky and its light and colors.
At night, the rainbow is shining over the city in all its colors. And by day you walk inside the circular rainbow. You experience yourself – and the city and the outside world – through all the light and the rainbow colors. You experience the city, the sky, the sun and the colors play with your senses adding the outside world colorful new dimensions and experiences.
One of the current exhibitions at AROS is a temporary exhibition with other selected installations by Olafur Eliasson.
The following photos are from my first visit to “Your Rainbow Panorama” in October 2011.
Indeed a colorful experience!: (Please click on the photos – for a better view!)
Photos of the AROS Museum of Art – the building from outside:
I wish you all a Happy, Peaceful, Colorful and Photogenic New Year!
Four seasons
Spring – April
Summer – June
Autumn – October
Winter – December
This is my contribution to Scott Thomas’ Assignment “Four seasons”. The photos are captured at Vilhelmsborg Allé east of my hometown, Mårslet.
This is one of my (many!) favorite spots around here.
The first three photos are taken toward the west (where the manor farm buildings and the riding center is), the last in the opposite direction toward the east (where the forest is).
If you would like to see more photos from Vilhelmsborg, you can visit these entries:
Vilhelmsborg Allé – in autumn sunshine ( with a photo from October 2010 – where the autumn colors are much better than I managed to capture in the photo above from 2011….)
Merry Christmas!
I wish you all a Merry Christmas!
This is not a Christmas elf – or me – but a boy. And there will be more about him in my first posts in 2012. After Christmas my next post will be my contribution to Scott Thomas’ Asssignment “Four Seasons”.
