Playing with Cattle

by

Dina is trying something new. Having photographed newborn calves not far from our home she is playing with post-production possibilities.

Dina probiert. Nach dem Fotografieren neugeborener Kälber in unserer Gegend wird mit der Bildbearbeitung gespielt.

It’s all about how the pictures effect or move their perceivers. “Documenting cattle on a green pasture is quite boring; everybody does this” is Siri’s comment. In fairy-like hubris, she didn’t feel like everybody when we were approaching the fence carrying Dina’s heavy photo equipment. We became aware that we like to present pictures which make the onlookers stay instead of pictures they have seen many times before and therefore calling them “nice” and “lovely” forgetting them immediately.

Bei diesen Bildern ging es um die Wirkung des einzelnen Bildes. “Vieh so einfach auf grüner Wiese abzubilden, ist doch langweilig, das macht jeder“, meinte Siri, die sich keineswegs in feenhafter Hybris für Jederman fühlt, als wir uns den Zaun näherten Dinas schwere Fotoausrüstung schleppend. Uns wurde schnell klar, dass wir den Betrachtern Bilder präsentieren wollen, bei denen sie verweilen und keineswegs Bilder, die sie in ähnlicher Weise viele Male zuvor gesehen haben und deswegen als “nett” und “schön” schnell wieder vergessen.

Dina used an aesthetical trick called `alienation effect’ which was invented by Bert Brecht and described in his theoretical essays. She reduced the vegetation’s green to emphasize the quintessence of the cattle. In this way, the essence of the object becomes clearer. Therefore we prefer biological field guides with drawings as they do just this, they show the characteristics much clearer than photography. Unprocessed pictures as the camera catch them are full of redundancies that rather distract the receiver than presenting the typical.

Dina griff auf etwas zurück, das Bert Brecht in seinen theoretischen Schriften den Verfremdungseffekt (kurz V-Effekt) nannte. Sie reduzierte das Grün der Vegetation, um die Quintessenz des Viehs in den Vordergrund treten zu lassen. Das Typische des Objektes wird so deutlicher. Deswegen ziehen wir bei Pflanzenbestimmungsbüchern solche mit Zeichnungen vor, da sie genau das tun, nämlich sich auf das Typische oder Charakteristische zu beschränken. Das unbearbeitete photographierte Bild bringt zu viele Redundanzen, die eher ablenken als das Wesentliche klar darzustellen.

It’s our aim to give priority to the essence or the idea (how Plato called it) of the object. It’s what painters often try; it’s getting the gist behind the obvious. Seeing the obvious is an automatic reaction. One sees and immediately the seen is perished in the flood of all these other pictures. But a presentation of the gist or essence makes the onlookers aware what they are seeing or like Brecht put it: they don’t stare that romantically any longer, they start thinking – even as the calves of the highland cattle belong to Scotland’s romantic export like gothic castles.

Unser Ziel ist es, die Qualität oder im Sinne Platos die Idee des abgebildeten Objektes in den Vordergrund zu stellen. Es ist das, was Kunstmaler oftmals versuchten, nämlich das Wesentliche hinter dem Offensichtlichen zu zeigen. Die Betrachtung des Offensichtlichen ist nämlich weithend automatisiert. Man erkennt es und schon ist es abgehakt, vergessen und untergegangen in der Flut der Bilder. Die Darstellung des Wesentlichen oder Idee regt die Aufmerksamkeit des Betrachters an oder wie Brecht es sagte, man glotzt nicht mehr romantisch, sondern beginnt zu denken. Auch wenn der Nachwuchs des Highlandcattles zum romantischen Export Scotlands, nebst dunklen Schlössern, gehört.

Selma finished our discussion about Dina’s photography with her statement “A picture doesn’t need to be beautiful or nice but it should trigger the onlooker’s interest.” This reminds us on a group of German artists called “Der blaue Reiter” (founded by Kandinsky and Marc) that started big discussions because Franz Marc painted horses in blue. Dina couldn’t paint the cattle blue, red or yellow that would have been a stupid copying or at least iconographic quoting. But playing with background colour seemed interesting – or what do you think?

Selma meinte abschließend zu unserer Diskussion von Dinas Fotos: “Ein Bild muss keineswegs schön sein, sondern sollte das Interesse des Betrachters wecken.” Das erinnerte uns an die Künstlergruppe “Der blaue Reiter” (Kandinsky und Marc als Gründer), die große Diskussionen hervorrief, da Franz Marc blaue Pferde malte. So konnte Dina nicht die Kühe blau, gelb oder rot färben, das wäre ein gedankenloses Kopieren oder zumindest Zitieren gewesen. Aber ein Spiel mit der Umgebungsfarbe schien uns interessant zu sein. Was meint ihr denn dazu?

Dina: “I use Lightroom and Photoshop for editing my photos; still got a lot to learn. It’s like switching to M-Modus on your camera, it takes a while to get familiar with the technique. Do you use layers when you edit? I do sometimes. I love the Nik Collection although it’s outdated and causes some problems now. This time I used Topaz and ON1 Effects for a bit of glow. I reduced the saturation and the colour green with sliders in LR.“

Dina: “Ich benutze Lightroom und Photoshop um meine Bilder zu bearbeiten und habe noch viel zu lernen. Es ist, als ob man bei seiner Kamera zum M-Modus wechselt. Es dauert etwas bis man sich an die Technik gewöhnt. Benutzt ihr wie ich bisweilen ‘layers’ bei der Bearbeitung? Ich liebe die Nik Collection wenn sie auch etwas überholt ist und gelegentlich Probleme erzeugt. Diesmal arbeitete ich mit Topaz und ON1 Effects für ein wenig Glanz des Fells. Ich reduzierte die Sättigung und speziell das Grün mit den Schiebern in LR.”

Wishing you a wonderful weekend
Ein tolles Wochenende wünschen wir euch

The Fab Four of Cley
🧚‍♀️ Siri 🙂 and  🧚‍♀️ Selma :-), Dina💃 and 🚶‍♂️Masterchen

 

.

© Text and illustrations, Hanne Siebers and Klausbernd Vollmar, Cley next the Sea, 2018

 

 

279 thoughts

  2. What a wonderful way to present a narrative. Dina – you have chosen remarkable techniques to highlight the beauty of a moment, the story that is unfolding through your eyes and experience. I may not be there in person with you, but I am truly there is spirit with you. Many hugs and love coming from across the pond to my dear friends, the Fab Four of Cley.

    Liked by 9 people

    Reply

    • Good evening, dear Rebecca,
      thank you so much for liking our post. Oh dear, this one was hard to write in two languages.
      We are thinking often about you and your lovely visit. We are busy to change our garden. It’s getting really posh – don’t worry, not too much, it’s still nature.
      We are sending our dear Canadian friends lots of love and finest fairy dust ❤
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  4. Hallo Dina,
    danke fuer diesen aufschlussreichen Artikel. Finde ich hochinteressant. Meine Frage: wenn Du das Gruen reduzierst, hat das dann nicht auch Auswirkungen auf z.B. das Fell der Rinder? Klar, die sind nicht gruen, aber es ist doch ein Farbmix, der – so wuerde ich jedenfalls denken – auch beeinflusst wird.
    Liebe Gruesse, und weiterhin viel Erfolg beim Experimentieren,
    Pit
    P.S.: Und natuerlich auch viele Gruesse an den Rest der Fab Four!

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Lieber Pit,
      ich antworte jetzt erst einmal darauf vom Farbtheoretischen: Der Grünanteil von Braun ist in der Tat relativ hoch, da Braun = Grün – Rot. Das gilt zumindest für CMYK, für RGB, die Lichtfarben, die sich additive mischen, gilt Braun = Grün + Rot. Also bei der Mischung der Lichtfarben des Computers müsste die Farbe heller und zum Rotspektrum hin verschoben werden. Nun kann das ja geschehen, indem man Gelb oder Blau mit dem Effekt zunehmender Kälte oder Wärme reduziert (Veränderungen in Richtung Violett oder Orange). Wie der Computer da vorgeht, weiß ich auch nicht. Mir scheint es, dass er beide Farbabteile im Verhältnis reduziert. Ich schaue für so etwas in Farbatlanten, die solche Effekte verdeutlichen – allerdings nur für CMYK-Farben (suntraktive Mischung).
      Ganz liebe Grüße von uns auch an Mary vom sonnigen kleinen Dorf am Meer
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Hi lieber Pit,
      wie Peter Klopp bereits geschrieben hat, in Lightroom kann man die Farben einzeln in einem HSL Bedienfeld bearbeiten und nicht nur die Farbe, sondern in hue (Farbton), saturation (Sättigung)und luminance (Luminanz) = HSL. Durch die Zusammenlegung finden sich im Bedienfeld die additiven Farben Rot, Grün und Blau als auch die subtraktiven Farben Aquamarin (Cyan), Magenta und Gelb.
      Die Ausrichtung der Farben in diesem Farbspektrum hat den großen Vorteil, Farbkorrekturen in Fotos wesentlich feiner durchführen zu können – vor allem Orange in Verbindung mit Rot ermöglicht deutlich sanftere Übergänge bei Hauttönen. Das ist ein großes Kapitel und ich muss noch viel lernen. 🙂
      Einen wunderschönen Sonntag an euch! x

      Liked by 1 person

    • Oh dear, lieber Pit, ich habe ja etwas Wichtiges nicht bedacht, dass nämlich Grün eine Primärfarbe und keine Mischfarbe bei den Lichtfarben ist. Deswegen kann Grün bei den Lichtfarben sozusagen als Ganzes reduziert oder verstärkt werden. Darum spricht man bei den Lichtfarben auch von RGB für Red, Green, Blue im Ggs. zu den Flächenfarben CMYK – für Cyan, Magenta, Yellow und Schwarz. Da ist Grün eine Sekundär- oder Mischfarbe. Das ist wahrscheinlich auch der Grund, warum Grün auf dem Bildschirm leicht zu dominant wirkt. Primärfarben besitzen ja optisch mehr Power als Sekundärfarben (Sekundärfarben besitzen bei den Lichtfarben eine geringere Sättigung und zeigen bei den Flächenfarben einen Grauschimmer).
      Dina zeigte mir das gerade mit dem Schiebern und dabei wurde mir plötzlich klar, dass Grün natürlich eine Primärfarbe bei den Lichtfarben des Bildschirms darstellt.
      Liebe Grüße
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Like

  7. First, your subjects are a fabulous choice to photograph. The closest thing in appearance to these Scottish cattle are the American Bison which are majestic.
    As to the technique, I love what it does for the image. The animals do stand out and I will remember this fact. The pasture looks like carpet.
    I don’t understand all of the technical stuff, but I don’t need to. I like the results which are wonderful. Well done!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Michael,
      wow, thank you so much for your kind commentary 🙂 🙂
      Exactly, we wanted to achieve what you describe.
      Unfortunately, we haven’t seen buffalos – yet. We know from films that they are much bigger.
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  8. P.S. As I study the first photo I forgot to mention how well you captured the play of light on the cattle’s coats. And the minimizing of the trees in the background does add to the impact of these animals.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  12. They look so cute! After having seen so many lovely lambs during the lambing season, it’s refreshing to watch the cattle and the calves. I don’t understand anything about this technical procedures, though. I’d have to do it like Annie Leibovitz. 😉
    I’m in a hurry right now on my way to the sommerstuga, will get back to you tomorrow.
    Have a great weekend, my dear friends.
    Kram, Annalena x

    Liked by 7 people

    Reply

  14. At first glance, I will confess, I reacted negatively to the first shot. I’m prejudiced, because at home, our spring was very delayed, and our surroundings looked just like that in reality, grayish, so perhaps just a reaction from someone overfamiliar with grayness, and desperate to see Spring and fresh greenery. I appreciate the ingenuity and the thoughtfulness behind this technique, but at first, the background struck me as unpleasant and ashen, as if an environmental disaster had blighted the place. An unappetizing place to graze, like a “salad bar” at a rundown restaurant. But once I adjusted to the concept, it became more engaging, and reminded me of those lovely old-time “colorized” or hand-tinted photos. (You may know a wonderful blogger on WP, named Val Erde aka “Colouring the Past,” who digitally colorizes old photos.) And of course, the photos are all excellent, and you’ve made these archaic-looking cattle look charming and even dignified. (And yes, the scenes are “nice” and “lovely”!!  ) I hope you folks are having a wonderful Spring, (and that I was not too blunt!) with best regards, RPT

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Dear Robert,
      we see it as well now, those pictures look indeed a bit like hand-tinted photography we like very much. In our house we have several hand-tinted photographs hanging on our walls. In a way hand-tinted photography is, to a certain extend, quite similar to Dina’s way of post production. You choose the (background) colours you want to have and to enhance the foreground. One could even see here the old pre-Rennaissance style of colour perspective as the cold colours are establishing the background and the warmer colours the foreground.
      Thanks for telling us about Val Erde’s blog.
      We have had a wonderful spring until now and so we worked hard in our garden and forgot about blogging. But today it’s raining and therefore time for blogging.
      All the best to you and thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  15. Great pics. The ‘isolation effect’ I really like. Must remember it. And the Highland cattle do make irresistible subjects don’t they….. I have a brown Labrador who I blog about and do try taking nice pics of but I am afraid his dark brown colour usually defeats my limited skills behind the lens!

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Thank you very much for liking Dina’s pictures. We studied quite some old master painters to get the idea how to change the colour scheme without producing a picture that’s too unnatural. It’s logical from an optical point of view to have the lighter and/or warmer colours in the foreground and the colder and darker colours (preferably with a blue tint) in the background. This colour-perspective is natural for our way of perceiving. If your Labrador is dark brown you could change it to a lighter brown and make the background a little bit darker and kind of hazy.
      With lots of love from the little village next the big sea
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  16. When I lived on the Queen Charlotte Islands highland cattle like these lived there. The locals called them “hippie cows” because of their long “hair.” Your photos are great. I like what you’ve done with the colours for effect.
    Enjoy your weekend.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Dear Anneli.
      we really love the expression “hippie cows” 🙂 🙂
      Thank you very much for liking Dina’s photography.
      We wish you a great rest of the weekend as well
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  17. I am ‘old school’, and do not think that Dina’s photos need any manipulation at all. They are going to be good, no matter how green the grass. The fluffy Highland Cattle are a great subject for any photographer, and it doesn’t matter to me how many times I have seen them photographed. I can be sure that Dina’s connection with her subject is always going to produce excellent results. That’s because she is good, and has a photographer’s ‘eye’. But if she wants to experiment with muted backgrounds, then of course that is also very acceptable to me. I could take 1000 photos, and not one would be as good as any of these.
    Love from Beetley, Pete and Ollie. x

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Good morning, dear Pete,
      there is always that question if you want to document reality as real as possible or if you see your pictures more as art. Well, in a way every photographer always does both. Dina tried to find the middle between too much and no manipulation. As we wrote, the function of this manipulation is to make these pictures interesting to look at, to stop and think about them.
      Referring to the Alienation-Effect: Brecht distinguished the V-Effect (Alienation Effect) from the Aha-Effect (you say “aha” in German when you see something you kind of expected). The question is if we want to please the onlookers or if we want to make them stop and think about what they are perceiving. You see more if you produce a certain kind of distance that’s the alienation, a way of seeing something more preferably to catch the essence or idea of the object. But nevertheless, the picture has to be pleasing as well.
      That’s the theory behind Dina’s pictures. Like any artist, a photographer needs a theory leading him or her, we suppose. And we are working on this theory that will make Dina’s personal style.
      Thanks a lot for your kind comment 🙂 🙂
      Wishing you a wonderful Sunday, lots of love
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭
      xxxxxxxx

      Liked by 2 people

  18. I have been using the technique as done by Dina with Photoshop and Lightroom for quite some time and can only recommend to follow her advice. In response to Pit’s question you need to a professional photo editing program to direct its built in function to focus just on the a particular colour and then manipulate it. In flower images it is often useful to select the background and make it blurry. I love these cattle images as they highlight what is the essential in the pictorial message: the unique features of this brand of cattle. By the way, I am using a British editing program, which is a lot cheaper, but equal in quality: Affinity Photo is its name.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Peter,
      thanks a lot for mentioning Affinity Photo we didn’t know before.
      We think that editing needs a theory that gives you the idea in which direction you want to edit. We wanted to show what are our leading ideas why we edited these pictures in this way.
      We wish you all the best and thanks for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  19. All technical tricks aside (which are lost on the non-photographer moi), something was achieved which made me linger on these images. Perhaps it is the fading of the background which makes me pay closer attention to the shape of the cattle heads, their lost eyes, the flow of their coats. The image of the mama and her suckling calf is most arresting. So much detail.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Dear Susanne,
      thank you so much for your commentary 🙂 🙂
      Well, the technical side is a means to get an interesting picture. Of course, the picture matters in the end – and if the technique is overdeterminating the picture is spoilt.
      Wishing you a wonderful Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  20. It’s always good to try something different. If you don’t like it, with photo processing you can change it. I was smitten with the ‘cuddling’ shots. My walk last week had a single Highland cow lumbering through a sculpture park, of all places. I don’t think it was as interested in the sculpture as in the grazing, whatever colour the grass. 🙂 🙂 Dina’s photos are, as always, beautiful.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Jo,
      thanks a lot for liking Dina’s photography.
      The Highland Cow visiting a sculpture park is a great picture. It’s unexpected and therefore interesting.
      Wishing you a great Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  21. Your playful post has inspired me to reread Brecht’s “Good Woman of Setzuan” now. I’d never expected to find such a clever interpretation of the Alienation Technique when I read the title above. Wonderful photos and brilliant narrative, Fab Four!
    Sarah Xx

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Thanks a lot, dear Sarah,
      from a distance, you see more and that’s what the Alienation Effect is about. It’s actually our idea to apply the ideas behind the Alienation Effect to photography.
      We love Brecht’s “Good Woman of Setzuan” with it’s topic how to be good in capitalism.
      With lots of love
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭
      xxx

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Fab Four of Cley,
    I saw the calves as adorable and curious and the mothers as impressive and imposing. The background I considered irrelevant and was glad it did nothing to distract from the animals.
    Happy to see a new post – I was beginning to wonder!!
    Have an outstanding weekend (what’s left of it)
    GP Cox

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear GP Cox,
      sorry, that it took us some time to publish this post. We have had beautiful weather that made us work in our garden and forget about social media. Now it’s raining and we are back blogging happily.
      It was Dina’s aim to make the background irrelevant to make the foreground more relevant.
      We wish our dear friend a wonderful, easy and happy Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thanks, our dear friend 🙂 🙂 We are very well and love to be out in the garden when the weather is nice. Actually, we can’t stay in when the sun is shining. We are just very busy to adjust the old slabs of our terrace. We feel always that well after physical work outside. And then, when the weather turns wet, we love blogging again.
      Love
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  24. Those iconic creatures are so cute. 🙂 Friends of ours in the North have them and they (the cattle 😉 ) are very friendly and gentle. I think you have the captured the spirit of the animals very well, Dina! The editing looks great, but I’m a greenhorn and layers means nothing to me.
    I wonder if Brecht was inspired by Karl Marx and his theory of Alienation?
    Sending the FF best wishes from Weimar,
    Per Magnus.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Dear Per Magnus,
      indeed, Brecht was inspired by the Marxist theory of alienation. But he had to change it slightly transforming it into an aesthetic theory. In Marxist theory, alienation is based on the division of labour – actually, we have this division of labour as well as our dear Master and Siri work about the theory and our dear Dina and Selma are the practical ones. For Brecht, the essence of the Alienation Effect is the distance that gives you an overview and makes room to think about what you are perceiving.
      Brecht knew the writings of Karl Marx pretty well and was quite inspired by the Marxist theory.
      With lots of love from the little village next the big sea
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭
      xxx

      Liked by 1 person

    • P.S.:
      For the non-German speakers, it is important to see that in Englisch you use the word ‘alienation’ for two different German words ‘Entfremdung’ und ‘Verfemdung’. Marx in his theory of alienation uses the word ‘Entfremdung’ whereas Brecht in his theory used the word ‘Verfremdung’. That shows the difference between the two although Brecht was inspired by reading Marx formulating his V-Effekt (Verfremdungseffekt).
      So long and take care
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  25. Die Bildbearbeitung ist sehr gut gelungen, da sie gezielt auf die Besonderheit der wunderschönen Rinder lenkt. Enstättigungen nutze ich auch oft unter LR. Ebenfalls oft auch das Grün, insbesondere bei Stadtfotografie. LG Simone

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Guten Tag, liebe Simone,
      habe herzlichen Dank, dass dir Dinas Fotogafie gut gefällt.
      Grün, speziell ein warmes Grün mit Gelbstich, hat die Tendenz sich in den Vordergrund zu drängen oder wie Selma kürzlich meinte: “Es knallt zu sehr!”
      Mit lieben Grüßen vom Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  27. To me, the strongest images don’t inspire happy feelings, but rather force me to question what is happening. To go further the question must be based on my own self-reflection, and not the piece in front of me. There is nothing that brings out those feelings better than photographed alienation. You did a very good job!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Tom,
      thank you very, very much 🙂 🙂
      You made an important point: photographic alienation has to do with self-reflection in the end. It means to see your way of perception analytically. The perceivers have to see themselves from a distance. They have to see themselves as an object as well.
      Wishing you a wonderful Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  30. Die schottischen Hochlandrinder sind wirklich sehr hübsch und Dinas Fotos stellen sie ins rechte Licht. Tolle Ideen habt ihr bei der Bildbearbeitung. 👍 LG, derzeit aus Irland, Susanne

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Guten Tag, liebe Susanne,
      wir wünschen dir eine wunderschöne Zeit in Irland.
      Vielen Dank, dass dir Dinas Fotografie gefällt 🙂 🙂 und unsere Überlegungen dazu.
      Liebe Grüße von Nord Norfolk
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 3 people

    • Vielen Dank. Heute war unser erster kompletter Urlaubstag hier und wir sind ca 25 km bei schönstem Sonnenschein durch das wunderschöne Glendalough-Tal in den Wicklow Mountains gewandert. LG nach North Norfolk, Susanne

      Liked by 3 people

    • Vielen Dank. Heute war es etwas neblig, aber größtenteils trocken, so dass wir auch heute gut wandern konnten. Mal sehen, wo es uns morgen hin verschlägt. LG, Susanne

      Liked by 2 people

  32. Looks all a bit odd and bewildered. Sorry – can’t see the point of it. Nothing really stands out really. Wie der Ox vorm Tor. Tut mir leid. Will wirklich nichts Böses sagen. Aber diese Bildbearbeitungen scheinen mir alle irgendwie daneben/misslungen. Nicht böse sein, bitte.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Aber hallo, da sind wir doch nicht böse, no way!
      Interessant wäre für uns zu wissen, warum dir diese Art der Bildbearbeitung nicht gefällt. Was ist denn deines Erachtens das Ziel einer Bildpräsentation? Welcher Wahrnehmungstheorie folgst du?
      Selma fiel gerade auf, dass bei deinem Gravatar der Hintergrund – wie bei dieser Malerei üblich – auch ‘unnatürlich’ gestaltet ist.
      Wir wünschen dir einen angenehmen Sonntag
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

    • Na, das ist nett von euch, dass ihr nicht böse seid. An der Bildbearbeitung gefällt mir nicht, dass sie nichts bringt, was nicht ohnehin schon auf den Bildern erfasst ist – wollige Tiere, die die Fotografin interessiert, vielleicht sogar leicht amüsiert anschauen. Tiere haben auch ihren Stolz, ihre eigene Aura und wollen vielleicht gar nicht fotografiert werden. Das jedenfalls ist der Eindruck, den mir die Bilder vermitteln. Jungtiere aller Gattungen haben immer diesen umaffektierten Charme und der ist leicht zu erfassen. Was wäre da noch hinzuzutun? Was mir fehlt ist die Geschichte, Geschichte im Sinn von Erzählung. Wiederkäuende oder sonst sich im Geschäft der Nahrungsaufnahme befindliche Tiere aufzunehmen – da fehlt mir hier in diesen Aufnahmen der erzählerische Kontext. Vielleicht ein Traktor im Hintergrund, der die Tiere ins Schlachthaus befördern soll, zum Beispiel. Oder ist die Wolligkeit das Thema – dann hätte ich das betont, wäre näher heran und hätte mehr Farbe und Kontrast hineingebracht, wie Dina das in ihren Landschaftsaufnahmen so schön gezeigt hat. Die Bilder hier schaue ich mir an und weiß nicht recht, was ich damit – beyond the ” how cute” – machen soll. Nun fragst Du, Klausbernd, nach meiner Wahrnehmungstheorie. Ist das nicht ein bisschen weit gefasst? Der Aspekt des Erzählerischen scheint mir im Augenblick das wichtigste Element einer Theorie der Wahrnehmung zu sein. Alles was wir sehen, ist “automatisch”, vom Betrachter bzw. dessen angesprochenem Bewusstsein von selbst kontextualisierbar. Die Fotografin /der Fotograf steuern in ihrem Aufnehmen diesen Prozess. Sie nehmen das “automatisch” (generisch) Kontextualisierte (how cute!) auf und versuchen das in ihrem Sinn zu steuern, ihm eine neue, vielleicht unerwartete Richtung zu geben. So würde ich sagen: Sinngebung ist ein wesentliches Moment der wahrnehmungstheoretischen Reflexion. Und diese Sinngebung fehlt mir hier.
      Vielen Dank für eure positive Antwort und alles Gute für einen schönen Wochenanfang.
      P.S.: Wenn ich an ein Beispiel denke: die Aufnahme eines verlassenen Hauses auf Fuerteventura (Cornwall Photographic) ist für mich das perfekte Beispiel einer solchen Sinngebungsstrategie.

      Liked by 2 people

    • Lieber Walter,
      Ganz herzlichen Dank für deine konstruktive Kritik 🙂 🙂
      Wir glauben, dass der Sinn eines Bildes nicht durch die Andeutung einer Geschichte gegeben ist (was, glaube ich, Cartier Bresson sagte), sondern durch seine Form (was seit den frühen rezeptionstheoretischen Ansätzen der Prager Schule bis heute die Rezeptionstheorien prägt) Dina dokumentiert ja keineswegs eine Realität, sondern die Realität ist das Bild. Das verhält sich wie bei Landkarte zu Landschaft.
      Nun zu der Anzahl der Elemente, die eine Reaktion beim Betrachter hervorrufen sollen. Wir steben der Einsicht Ockhams nach, dass wir weniger für besser halten. Man könnte diese Bilder auch unter dem Aspekt des Symbolismus sehen – es gibt ganz deutliche Jugendstilbilder in dieser Richtung. Was also geschieht, ist Abstraktion oder die Zentrierung auf die Essenz. Die erste Abstraktion findet bereits statt, wenn die 3dimensionale Realität in die zweite Dimension verwandelt wird und bei der Isolierung aus Raum und Zeit etc. Ich will damit sagen, dass die Logik des Bildes durch die Abstraktion bereits an sich geprägt ist. Es ist doch konsequent, dem Wesen des Bildes folgend dieses beim Editing weiter zu abstrahieren, wenn’ es der Wirkung zuträglich ist.
      Wir sehen ein Bild als die Konzentration auf ein Thema an, mit dem wir die Rezipienten bewegen möchten. Das, so wird mir gerade klar, ist wahrscheinlich der Unterschied zwischen dokumentarischer Fotografie und ‘Kunst’-Fotografie. Dokumentierend möchte man die eigefrorene Zeit im Foto befreien, indem man die Illusion einer Geschichte beschwört.
      Ich persönlich finde die ‘Kunst’-Fotografie ehrlicher, da sie nicht Realität und Abbild (Sinifikat und Signifikant) verwechselt.
      So, jetzt müssen die Blumen im Garten gegossen werden.
      Tschüß und es ist angenehm mich mit dir zu ‘unterhalten’.
      Bis dann
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Like

    • Die Reduzierung auf ein Essentielles – wenn und wo Fotografie das kann oder sucht – in Licht, Farbe, Form – die Annäherung an Gott – die Reduktion auf eine Struktur – mag Fotografen bewegen, mag sie motivieren. Je näher aber sie sich diesem Ziel zu nähern meinen, desto weiter entfernen sie sich von ihm. “Der blaue Reiter” ist auch nur eine Phase in der Bewegung der Malerei. Keine Annäherung an irgendein esoterisches Ziel. Kandinsky ist am schönsten, wo er mit Farben und Formen die “Realität” spielerisch umwirbt und neu gestaltet. Fotografie wirft einen Lichtstrahl in die Welt und erhellt für einen Augenblick ein Ungesehenes. Mehr nicht und doch so viel. Sie bewegt den Betrachter und will das auch. Wozu sonst diese Anstrengung. Theorie der Wahrnehmung bleibt was sie ist: Theorie. Matisse hat das auf einfache Weise angemahnt: “Ceci n’est pas une pipe”. Fotografie sucht diesen Unterschied aufzuheben und ab und an gelingt ihr das auch. Dann sagen wir: “wow!” – und sind beglückt. Gegenüber dieser Beglückung erscheint alle Theorie unendlich grau. Die Reduzierung auf ein Essentielles – klingt endlich doch verdächtig martialisch und wohl auch deutsch. Mit Wittgenstein würde ich sagen: Photographie ist alles was der Fall ist. Mach was draus.
      Vielen Dank für Deine Gesprächsbereitschaft. Hoffentlich haben die Pflanzen in der Schreibzwischenzeit nicht gelitten.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Also diese Theoriefeindlichkeit war ja auch nur eine Phase in der Kunstgescichte und weitgehend bei nur wenigen Künstlern. Es war vielen schnell klar, dass die Benutzung von welcher Technik auch immer ohne Theorie zur Entfremdung führt. Mir ist es dunkel, wie du Gott hier ins Spiel bringst. Es geht nicht um Esoterisches sondern um Abstraktion. Das ist schon lange bei der Fotografie angekommen, wie z.B. Gurskis Bilder deutlich zeigen. Fotografie, als Kunst betrachtet und betrieben, hat ein bestimmtes Ziel, wenn du so willst, eine Interpretation der zeitgeistigen Wahrnehmung. Hast du Umberto Ecos Bücher über das Schöne und Hässliche gelesen? Da werden diese Entwicklungen in der Kunst deutlich. Wir hoffen, uns auch weiter zu entwickeln (wie man das in einer leistungsorientierten Gesellschaft so macht).
      Wir halten eine Theoriefeindlichkeit oder Theorieabstinenz für ein Markenzeichen konservativer bis rechter Ideologien, die wir dir jedoch nicht unterstellen wollen.
      Anyway, wahrscheinlich werden wir uns da nicht einigen können und das macht auch nichts. Meinte nicht Nils Bohr, dass eine Wahrheit nur dann eine Wahrheit ist, wenn ihr Geenteil auch gültig ist 😉
      Bis dann
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Like

  33. Good job of “playing with post-production possibilities”. I think all the photos are very well done. It just so happens I been using a similar if not the same technique this week to post process some photos from a Cinco de Mayo parade. In order to get my subject out of the mix of all the other people I have been putting a Gaussian blur on all but the subjects and reducing the color saturation in the burred areas.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear David,
      we like playing with post-production possibilities. Soon we found out that we need a theory (of perception) that gives us the direction of our playing otherwise we are lost in endless possibilities.
      We are looking forward having a look at your pictures from the parade.
      Thanks a lot. Have a happy Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  34. Such a subtle effect the changing of the green, but it does enhance the cattle. If you hadn’t explained it I would not realise that my eyes were being directed to the main feature by this technique. It certainly worked. My favourite is the image of mother love in the second photo

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

  35. Meiner Meinung nach sind die Fotos an sich gut, wie sie sind hinsichtlich Motiv und Bildausschnitt und sie bräuchten überhaupt keine Veränderung. Klar hebt man die schönen Tiere durch Verdunkelung des Hintergrunds oder durch Verschwimmen der Umgebung stärker hervor, aber ich finde, sie gehören doch genau in ihre natürliche Umgebung bzw. sind Teil davon und durch die künstlichen Effekte entsteht eine etwas fremde Stimmung, Düsternis sogar und ich glaube, dass die Atmosphäre in der Realität „heiterer“ war. Mir wären die „Original-Fotos“ sicher nicht langweilig, ich würde sie mit mindestens ebenso großem Interesse anschauen.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Liebe Rotewelt,
      witzig, unser Masterchen wurde gerade gerade eingeladen, einen größeren Vortrag zur Farbe Rot im Produktdesign im Herbst in Deutschland zu halten.
      Du sprichst die fremde Stimmung an, genau darum ging es uns ja bei der Verfremdung. Wir hielten diese Verfremdung für notwendig, da sonst das Grün des Hintergrunds den Blick vom Vordergrund ablenkt. Uns geht es weniger darum, Natur mit höchsten Wiedererkennungswert abzubilden, als darum das Wesen des Objektes hervortreten zu lassen. Das bedeutet auch, dass solche Bilder unsere automatisierten Sehgewohnheiten in Frage stellen sollen. Das bearbeitete Bild soll als Mittel zur Erkenntnis dienen, sowohl des ästhetischen Objektes als auch der Selbsterkenntnis des Betrachters.
      Danke für deinen kritischen Kommentar.
      Alles Gute
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Hallo, ihr Zwei,
      ich kann eure Gedanken natürlich nachvollziehen und das Verfremden von Fotos ist auch mir nicht fremd. Wollte nur sagen, dass ich die Tierfotos auch ohne Verfremdung schon als „erkenntnisreich“ genug empfunden habe. Vielleicht liegt es aber auch daran, dass ich sowieso immer genau hinsehe, egal, was sich im Vorder- oder Hintergrund abspielt. Soso, Masterchen hält einen Vortrag über Rot im Produktdesign, interessant, manche Produkte und Zielgruppen eignen sich für diese Farbe, andere weniger. Liebe Grüße

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Rote Welt,
      uns ging es, wie schon gesagt, nicht darum, die Tiere in ihrer natürlichen Umgebung zu dokumentieren. Uns inspirierten die Tiere zu bestimmten Artefakten, eben Dina’s Bilder. Dina ist keine Naturfotografin, möchte auch keine sein, was nicht bedeutet, dass die Natur uns nicht inspiriert.
      Habe eine feine kommende Woche
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  36. This is so interesting. I have long thought that color was far different as an art form from black and white photography. It takes the focus away from form and detail in many ways and plays with light. Color surprises and draws the eye in different ways. I photograph differently if I am photographing in black and white–there is line and form and light. With color, not so much line, but color form and light. So muting color can bring out line and detail. I love these cattle. A few years ago I wrote about this in a blog: https://arlingwords.wordpress.com/2015/03/29/light-and-shadow-color-and-form/ By the way, does Dina sell her photos? I’d love that sleeping seal pup.

    Liked by 5 people

    Reply

    • Your blogpost about light, shadow, color and form is really good and very inspiring, Lisa. Thank you for taking the time to read and make such an eloquent comment! I feel flattered that you like my sleeping seal pup, he’s such a cutie pie and I’d be happy to let you have him. 🙂 I’ll get in touch with you per email.
      Wishing you a wonderful Sunday. x

      Liked by 3 people

    • I have sent you an email! 🙂 I noticed you have not published your address on your blog, but as I’m deeply into “I’m Pilgrim” by Terry Haynes (one of the best book I’ve read for ages) it was easy to find you. Only joking, when you post a comment your email shows up on my dashboard. 😉 Please have a look if I ended up in your spam as I enclosed an image.

      Like

    • Dear Lisa,
      personally, I like black and white photography as well very much as it enhances the graphics and it’s honest. It shows that the picture is an aesthetic object and not so much a documentation of reality. By changing colours you can get the same effect. On the other hand, it has to be done quite subtle so that the edited picture looks pleasing. Colours are so important, as you write, as they lead the eye where to look at first. The Bauhaus artists studied how colours enhance certain shapes like blue the circle, red the square and yellow the triangle f.e. Kandinsky used this in his abstract pictures.
      Thank you very much for commenting.
      Wishing you a wonderful weekend
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  38. I like all the photos and I am fascinated to look at them and then look again once I have read about the editing. Nice work Dina! I use Lightroom but I am a beginner really. In a post I put up yesterday I took the background to almost white for two photos of my riding coach on her horse. In one the horse and rider were a silhouette and in another the background was white and the horse( black) and rider(in a blue shirt) really stood out. Thanks for telling us the work behind these very good photos.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  39. Superb photography and I like the background disappearing so that all you focus on are the cattle. Highlighting the sun on the backs of the cattle is a very effective tool in drawing the viewer into the scene and immediately focusing on the subject. Each photo’s composition is so beautifully balanced.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Vicki,
      we are very happy that you like Dina’s way of editing her pictures 🙂 🙂
      Our leading idea of editing is based on the perception of colours, like which colour effect attracts the view of the onlooker in which way. And we are so happy that you see these pictures as beautifully balanced. All the editing has to produce a balanced picture to please the eye.
      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Well, well, dear Jude,
      you haven’t seen all the pictures we deleted 😉
      Those calves are so cute. Dina had to photograph them.
      Wishing you a wonderful Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭
      xxx

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Cornelia,
      we use to discuss the editing of Dina’s pictures quite often for days. There is always the question where do we want to end up. Our background is the theory of perception and colour theory. To get ideas we study classic and modern paintings.
      Dina wants to get the gist or essence of her object and make the receiver see it as well.
      Thanks for commenting 🙂 🙂
      Wishing you a happy Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  43. Oh I love these. I like the second to the last the best. Gorgeous! We have free range cattle and calves, including a huge Ankole Watusi African Bull with 9 foot horns! I don’t want to get too close to him, or any of the bulls actually. They are quite wild.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Cindy,
      wow, 9-foot horns that’s impressive, indeed. We even kept quite a distance to this much smaller cattle. We wouldn’t like to meet such an African Bull without a strong fence between him and us.
      A Happy Sunday wishing you
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  45. Liebe Fab Four, heute hatte ich endlich mal die Zeit, zumindest diesen Beitrag ausgiebig zu lesen. Ein großes Kompliment für die wunderschönen Aufnahmen und die perfekte Bildbearbeitung, die Master(chen), wie immer, hervorragend erklärt. Ich glaube, wenn man sich in der Fotografie und de Möglichkeiten von Lightromm und Photoshop nicht auskennt, fällt die Bearbeitung nicht auf. Und dies ist für mich, bei vielen Fotografien das Kriterium, einer gelungenen Bildbearbeitung. Etwas anders sieht es aus, wenn die Bildbearbeitung zum Stil sich entwickelt. Dies kann in einzelnen Fällen zu herausrageneden Ergebnissen führen, ist aber meistens nur dem Trend geschuldet und letztendlich langweilig bis abstoßend. Aus diesem Grund benutze ich zumeist die Bildbearbeitung in der Form, wie es hier so schön beschrieben wird. Ich finde die Entwicklung hin zu einer hochwertigen digitalen Fotografie faszinierend. Früher musste ich mich dabei ins hauseigene Labor, sprich Bedezimmer zurückziehen, um nur ansatzweise auf die Entwicklung Einfluss nehmen zu können. Heute reicht es, sich vor den Rechner zu setzen. – Von daher freue ich mich schon riesig auf unsere gemeinsmaen Fototouren, die wir baldigst wieder unternehmen können. 🙂 Lassts euch heute gut gehen und bis bald!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Guten Tag, lieber Konrad,
      bei der Bildbearbeitung gibt es stets die Fragen, wie weit geht man und was will man ausdrücken. Ich glaube, um nicht zu weit zu gehen und das Urbild zu zerstören, sollte man ein Konzept haben, wohin man gehen möchte. Das wiederum ist abhänging von unserer Wahrnehmungstheorie, da ja jede Bildbearbeitung die Wahrnehmung in bestimmter Weise leitet, z.B. wohin wir zuerst schauen, was uns innehalten lässt etc. Als Fotobetrachter glaube ich, dass Editing ein Teil dessen ist, was einen persönlichen Stil ausmacht. Da scheint mir jedoch weniger mehr zu sein. Ich gebe dir nämich völlig recht, zu viel Bildbearbeitung lässt das Künstliche zu sehr in den Vordergrund treten und es besteht die Gefahr, dass das Bild unausgewogen wird. Allerdings eine mittlere Abweichung von Erwartungshorizont des Rezipienten ist ideal, da sie erst innehalten lässt angesicht der Bilderflut im Netz.
      Wir arbeiten z.Zt. daran, eine theoretische Grundlage für Dinas Fotografie zu entwickeln, die dann das Editing leitet und zum eigenen Stil führt, ohne zu künstlich zu wirken. Wir probieren und tasten uns denkend und lesend daran. Uns, Klausbernd 🙂 und 🙂 Siri, bereitet das viel Spaß. Wir lassen uns oft von der klassischen und modernen Malerei inspirieren.
      Wir freuen uns schon sehr auf euren Besuch. Bis dahin wird hoffentlich die Baustelle auf unserer Terrasse, wir legen die Platten neu, abgeschlossen sein, und ihr könnt ein schnuckeliges Gartenhaus bewundern. Die letzen Wochen war derart schönes Wetter, dass wir von morgens bis abends im Garten arbeiteten und völlig das Bloggen und andere social media vergaßen. Dina freut sich bereits sehr darauf, mit dir gemeinsam zu fotografieren.
      Gaaaanz liebe ❤ Grüße an euch and see you soon 🙂 🙂
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Thank you very much for liking our work 🙂 🙂
      Dina loved reading your commentary. Changing colours really change the focus a lot.
      Have a happy Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  49. I think of post-production changes in photography as being glaring and obvious but this is so subtle. I don’t think I’d have noticed the manipulation without having it pointed out but I can see how it makes a huge difference in elevating the cows to something bigger than mere cattle (does that make any sense at all?)

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Kerry,
      your commentary makes perfect sense! Thanks a lot for it 🙂 🙂
      We wish you a wonderful Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Like

  51. Hanne’s editing techniques have definitely worked for this viewer. I am lingering over each photo, wanting to know more about each cow and each calf. Do they have names? Are they first time mothers? Are they sisters? Do they belong to a large herd or a small herd? Do they like humans? They look content and happy. In some of the photos the calves look to me as though they have little white saltires on their noses. That adds another endearing element to their features.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Gallivanta,
      those cows belong to a small herd. We don’t know if they have names and if they are first-time mothers and if they are sisters.
      They are shy. It’s nearly impossible to lure them to the fence where we were standing. We tried it with carrots and grass but with nearly no effect.
      Thanks for asking these questions, even we can’t answer them.
      Happy Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 3 people

    • Sorry, that’s not quite right. This time, they were very shy due to the small ones and stayed away. Actually, this breed is well known for being friendly and rather inquisitive. Normally it’s easy to attract their attention. The last time we went there we brought carrots with us and they all came forward, not the least aggressive. You can see the tiny ones are on their way towards us, but their mothers called them back. Happy Mother’s Day! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

  55. I like these images of highland cattle – the adjustments to reduce the saturation of the greens have worked well to focus the viewers attention 🙂 Siri’s comment is a valid one up to a point. There is a difference between artistic photography and the documentary image – both are valid approaches to the subject matter though someone doing street or transport photography will tend more towards the documentary style. I suspect Siri is really referring to all the snapshots we take while out on a family walk or holiday – everyone takes a picture of the sheep by the footpath don’t they in much the same way as they might take a selfie. I plead guilty as charged in my latest post 😉

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Thanks a lot for your commentary.
      Siri wanted to express, she explained to us, that the amazing amount of pictures in the net and media has the effect that hardly anybody really looks at a picture. Seeing and not-seeing pictures at the same time is an automatism, especially as there are masses of similar pictures. “It doesn’t make sense to present another sunset or those sheep as quoted or snowdrops and daffs. Why? There are already millions of similar pics of it around.” That means, we have to think about in which way to present an object that it makes sense and causes reactions, moves the receiver.
      Documentary photography is very reflected nowadays (f.e. National Geographic) and if you look at the beginning of this kind of photography you have WeeGee (Arthur Felling) his realistic black and white street photography was something very new changing the mode of seeing pictures.
      Anyway, that’s our idea of photography and presenting pictures.
      Oh dear, you are guilty 😉 But we have a big heart and forgive you. You will not drown in the photographer’s hell of millions of similar pictures trying to suffocate you.
      Wishing you a great week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Isn’t that one of the positives/negatives of the internet. Everyone can upload their photos and the world is swamped with sunsets 😉 I agree that this results in only a cursory glance but that shouldn’t discourage us from making our own images of a common subject to – as you might say – present our interpretation. And having so much competition now is surely likely to drive serious photographers on to greater heights? 🙂

      I’ve enjoyed the work of WeeGee 🙂 As a railway photographer I’ve drawn inspiration from UK photographer Colin T. Gifford and the work of O.Winston Link in the US.

      Best wishes you all 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • First of all: THANK YOU VERY MUCH to go on discussing this topic. We Fab Four really like this because that make us reflect our standpoints again.
      In the last decades our main communication has changed from verbal to iconographic. During the overdetermination of verbal communication you had the effect that everyone thought they can write and a lot of trash was published. With digital photography everyone can photograph but not everybody can take pictures worth publishing them. There two sides of it: First of all, pictures get devaluated and the receiver looses a feeling for quality. The second effect is more sociological. Photography has become democratic. Everybody can take pictures.
      Our democratic soul says that the fist point tends to be elitist, my philosophical soul says taking pictures that make sense needs a lot of reflection, a knowledge about perception, art and fashion, physics etc before photographing. Oh dear, we are elitist we want quality!
      When we were kids our parents used to show their holiday pics and everyone was hoping that this soon will be finished (because then the drinking started 😉 ) My father was very proud of his photographs, we were very bored. So what is quality? – But that’s another topic …
      Thanks again and warm greetings from the sunny coast of Norfolk
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks for the ongoing thoughts 🙂 I remember a well known press photographer commenting bitterly about the impact of the digital age on his profession – “Now everyone’s a Photographer”. Very few local newspaper these days have more than one staff photographer if they have one at all. That’s partly because they can’t afford to have as many staff now as paper circulation numbers have dropped . But it’s also the impact of us amateurs providing content that is good enough for the web-based version of the paper. The Ham & High regularly uses some of my images to illustrate their reports on our local football team. As long as they give me attribution I’m happy with that because they’re doing a great job of publicising the team and we’re seeing a small increase in numbers coming to the games 🙂

      Understanding the physics of photography – now that is something of a Star Trek issue! When I started we had box brownies and range-finder cameras. You had to learn about the correlation between shutter speeds, film speeds and f-stops. Now people get cameras that do all that for them so they never get to learn. It’s a bit like comparing the world of Geordi LaForge with Scotty 😉 I’m slowly stepping back to the range-finder days. I’m now using the Fuji X-Pro2 as my main camera outside of sports photography and I’ve just taken delivery of a Fuji X100F for my street photography. And I’m employing fixed focal length lenses a lot too. It’s such a joy playing with settings as you set up a shot rather than just lifting the camera to your eye and using the zoom to crop before firing the shutter as I would normally do with the Canons!

      Here’s to thoughtful photography – Good hunting! Best wishes, Martin 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Good afternoon, dear Martin,
      you made me curious so I just visited you. As I commented I like your pics 🙂
      I fully agree with you what you were writing about press photography.
      I am not the photographer in our little group. My job is planning a picture and discussing the editing. Hanne takes the pictures with a Nikon D800 camera. Quite a heavy tool with all the lenses our beloved Bookfayries and I have to carry. We are mostly interested in ‘art’-photogaphy. We experiment with how pictures are received or how to edit a picture that it produces a reaction. Intersting is that the same pictures are seen differently in Instagram and the blog here. That depends on the horizon of exspectations of the receivers which is formed by what they have seen before, what they are used to see.
      We are interested in the theory of reception which doesn’t mean that we don’t want to present a ‘beautiful’ picture that moves the receiver. Here on our blog we are happy about discussions and critique of pictures and texts we are presenting. It’s the exchange with our visitors writing a commentary that makes us learn and getting clearer of what we do and how it’s received. We believe that using techniques without a theory produces alienation (in the Marxist sense).
      You see we are more interesting in the philosophical aspect of pictures but that doesn’t mean that we don’t want to please or at least move our visitors here.
      Wishing you an easy day
      Klausbernd 🙂 and the rest of The Fab Four of Cley
      We are off to a stroll to the Cromer lighthouse 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  56. There are so many choices to make today….one choice Dina made that I really like was to photograph the cattle at eye level – their eyes – it seems she’s a little lower than one would expect, and that enhances their presence for me. So even before processing, there were plenty of decisions that helped. And reducing clarity a little was a great choice too, it brings out the roundness and all the curves, from the horns to the fur. I prefer having a little green to removing it all. Where I live the greens are very, very bright and intense, so I have often tones them down a little, and when all the color distracts from the essence, yes, black and white is the way to go! Isn’t it great that we have so many tools!

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Bluebrightly,
      you are right Dina and the cattle are of about the same hight (Dina is tall).
      First, we looked for a standpoint of a slightly lower level eye level of Dina concerning the cattle. That wasn’t that easy because the ground was very uneven. There were many other decisions to make f.e. what time we choose to have the light we wanted, which lens, which image section. But we wrote about the editing only that comes after the actual photographing. Before and after having taken a picture we have many choices how to do it. We find that GREAT as well. It’s an ideal playground for adults, isn’t it?
      Thank you so much for commenting.
      Wishing you a wonderful week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  57. Hello Dina (and everyone else too). What fabulous photos of those Highland Cattle – aren’t they beautiful animals! This was an interesting post for me to read, I am a hopeless photographer – I point and shoot and hope for the best and nowadays I only use my phone camera. The way you are manipulating the original photos to make the animals stand out became very clear as I read and I admire your ability very much. I was wondering how you managed to make your way to my little blog and, after scrolling down through all your comments, see we have many friends in common, which is also very nice. I shall look forward to seeing more of your work. Pauline

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Pauline,
      isn’t it GREAT that we found each other?
      We are 4 and so many talents come together. Dina is a brilliant photographer, our Master is a specialist for perception and symbolism and our beloved fairies add the magic. And the most important: We blog for fun 🙂 🙂 and for experimenting with our ideas and abilities.
      Indeed, we have many friends in common which is really nice.
      Thank you very much for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

  58. Greetings to the Fab Four and thank you so much for walking us through your technique and the reasons behind it. The de-saturation of the green grass and the use of low light give a bit of what I call eclipse-lighting, for example, in the first photo. I have just started using layers and masks in my photo-editing and like the effects and challenges that they provide.
    Ω

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  61. hello dina its dennis the vizsla dog oh hay wow those shoor ar sum big shaggy cow dogs!!! i hav never seen cow dogs like that!!! of korse i hav not reely seen enny cow dogs at all but i hav herd abowt them!!! ok bye

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

  64. Das ist eine andere Sorte Hornvieh als bei uns im Odenwald! Da ich ohne Brille eine verschwommene Wahrnehmung habe und außerdem kein räumliches Sehen, bastelt mein Gehirn sich sowieso alles mögliche zurecht….
    Charakterkühe, man kann die Nähe und Wärme spüren, es riecht und dampft…
    Habe einige Tage mit diesen Fotos verbracht, wie gesagt, dieser ungewöhnlichen Sorte: jede Menge Ströme innerer Bilder, Gedankenflüsse, Dialoge über Sinn und Unsinn des Geldes, der Familie, der Natur, der Freundschaft, des Flesichkonsums, des Konsums und noch vielse mehr…Lifestyle, Mode, Frisuren…Astrologie, Symbolik, die menschliche Gier, die Angst vor der Angst als Ursache des Wahnsinns, das Werden und Vergehen.
    Große Fotokunst! Viele liken eure Kunst, manche sind verstört, also Kunst! Great! Bin begeistert!

    Angenehme Woche und herzliche Grüße
    Pia

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • ..und ich sage euch was: bis zur Aufführung nächstes Jahr von “Die Erde tanzt” werde ich zum Warm-Up immer nur ein Lied spielen: “I can see clearly now the rain is gone”…
      Welcher Sänger nun dieses Lied berühmt machte, ist mir wurst…witzig Faboulus Five Inc.
      Es gibt so viel zu entdecken! Naja, vielleicht könnte man doch den Stirnpony etwas kürzen, aber wenn die Haare so natürlich wachsen, was wollen wer machen, ne?!

      Gerade fällt mir ein: Josi soll morgen ein Kinderlied zum Tanzen bei ihrer Ausbildung mitbringen…ich hatte da mal eins komponiert: Dieses Lied gibt dir Kraft..
      So, jetzt die Suche…es läuft hier einfach nicht nach Plan, oder doch irgendwie aus innerem Antrieb…ach, egal…

      Liked by 2 people

    • Liebe Pia,
      danke für deinen lieben Kommentar. Wir sind froh, dass Dinas Bilder solche Assoziationsflut bei dir auslösten. Und wie du so treffend schreibst, Kunst muss auch verstören – sonst ist sie Kitsch.
      Ganz liebe Grüße vom sonnigen Norfolk
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Liebe Pia,
      Pläne sind da, um über den Haufen geworfen zu werden 😉 Huch, das darf jetzt aber nicht unser Masterchen lesen. Er liebt nämlich Pläne, die er meistens , auch wenn’s verbissen wird, durchzieht.
      Liebe Grüße und Feenstaub
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Meine Spürnase für gute Pläne ist noch nicht ausgereift…wahrscheinlich…gehe jetzt in den Keller…Orangeriekindergarten braucht Stoffreste und Meeresdeko fürs Sommerfest..
      Ida holt alles um 12 Uhr ab…der Tag hat nur 24 Stunden…manchmal ist das wichtigste entspannt zu bleiben und sich mit Siri und Selma heimlich in der Eisdiele zu treffen!

      Liked by 2 people

    • …übrignes, Siri, Selma und ich lieben, wirklich lieben, Estas Tonne, es sind zwar keine spanischen Stiere und Kühe hier abgebildet…
      ich musste das noch schnell berichten, denn ihr braucht ja sicher gute Musik bei Stimmungstiefs…ok, vielelicht auch nicht, also wir hier schon….ich überlege, wen ich mehr liebe Mikhail Baryshnikov oder Estas Tonne, es es schwer zu entscheiden…
      So, schwinge die Hufe, viel zu tun! Liebste Grüße in den Garten! Ich finde es super, wenn die Kuhmütter ihre Kinder vor den Karottenhaltern schützen….aber bei Euch hätten sie eine Ausnahme machen können…

      Like

  67. Thank you for the photos and how they were processed. I’ve been seeing On1 mentioned a lot perhaps I should look into it. But the hairy coos are fantastic and to have them nearby? Wow! I hope to see these one day soonish.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Thanks a lot 🙂 🙂
      These hairy hippy coos live a quarter of an hour’s drive from us. Originally they come from the Scottish Highlands.
      Wishing you an easy week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • Hi, dear Nia,
      they are so sweet, aren’t they? Oh dear, our beloved Bookfayries Siri and Selma wanted to take some home. “They look like teddy-bears!” is their commentary.
      Wishing you a relaxing week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  69. An interesting experiment without doubt. Highland cattle are very photogenic and usually quite cooperative. It would b be a challenge to apply the same process to a more mundane subject in an attempt to encourage curiosity and interest.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Louis,
      we will try that. Actually, Dina tried this several times before but with these pictures it worked especially well.
      On the other hand, we always have to find the editing technique that is best for the picture. This was one technique only to encourage interest but there are other ways as well.
      Wishing you a happy week
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

  71. Well done. Those Highland cattle have come out of the Cavern. No mere shadows on the wall anymore. 🙂
    Thank you for the work and the result.
    And for the “Idea” of a Highland cow.
    Tschüss
    Brian

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

  72. I am always happy to see photographs of Highland Cattle and if those photos are taken by Dina then I am more than happy! I like the effect you have achieved with Lightroom and Photoshop very much. I hope you have all had a pleasant weekend! 🙂 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Das ist ein tolles Lob, lieber Gehard, das Dina und den Rest von uns sehr erfreut 🙂
      Mit lieben Grüßen vom kleinen Dorf am großen Meer
      The Fab Four of Cley
      🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

      Liked by 2 people

    • For us, it is most important that a picture is interesting. We suppose, it’s intersting if it doesn’t fullfill the horizon of exspectations of the receiver. It’s different, but not too different.
      With lots of love from the sunny coast of Norfolk
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Good morning, dear Janet,
      we saw a lot of ‘Hairy Coos’ in Scotland as well, but those are living in North Norfolk, not far from our house.
      Thanks for commenting and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  78. There is such a very fine line between enhancement and photoshopping. The treatment here is subtle and honours the subject – highland cattle are such exemplars of the species – I often wonder what passes through the minds of these beautiful animals.

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Frederick,
      we agree one has to be very careful not to kill a picture by over-editing. Like in homeopathy: the dosis makes it.
      Well, we asked ourselves if these ‘Hippie Coos’ were conditioning us to feed them with carrots. The clever beings make us think that we are conditioning them coming near to the fence.
      All the best and thank you
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  79. The cows themselves are so unusual to me that they would have completely grabbed my attention even without the photo editing. However, this furry version is similar enough to the cows I’m used to … curiously looking at the observer as if to say ‘what are you looking at?’ 🙂

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Joanne,
      they are unusual especially here in Norfolk. One exspect them in the Scottish Highlands but not in the North Norfolk lowlands.
      We had te feeling these cows are vain, liked to be looked at.
      Thanks and cheers
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

  80. Stunning images … and yes I see exactly what you mean about turning down colour .. in this instance the grass. I must try this. We used to have a highland bull at a neighbouring farm .. how I loved taking photos of him. I’m a huge Lightroom fan. But I find photoshop overwhelming, especially those layers 🙂 Super post, thank you

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Dear Julie,
      indeed, Photoshop is really a complicated programme. A friend of ours running a PR Agency has a whole bookshelf full of Photoshop manuals. On the other hand it’s amazing what you can do with this programme.
      Dina can surely write about Lightroom and Photoshop much more as she works with those programmes regularly.
      Thanks for liking our post. Wishing you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • Good morning, dear Lady Fi,
      those little ones with their mothers are sweet, aren’t they?
      We wish you a happy weekend and say thank you for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 1 person

  82. Mir zeigen diese eindrücklichen Bilder ganz eindeutig, dass die Kälber zu den Müttern gehören, wie bei den Menschen! Es ist immer wieder eindrücklich, wie ihr es schafft Denkanstösse zu vermittelt.:) Habt’s gut ihr 4 in Cley. Cari saluti Martina

    Liked by 4 people

    Reply

    • Guten Morgen, liebe Martina,
      das mach für uns das Bloggen reizvoll, diese Denkanstöße. Sie gehen ja in beide Richtungen. Nicht nur, dass wir Denkanstöße vermitteln, wir bekommen dadurch auch viele Denkanstöße. Nach dem Beantworten der Kommentare zu unseren Beiträgen wissen wir immer mehr oder haben sogar unsere Meinung zu dem Thema geändert. Es ist eine Gegenseitigkeit, je mehr Denkanstöße wir vermitteln, desto mehr Denkstöße bekommen wir. Da soll noch einer sagen, Bloggen würde nicht bilden 😉
      Dir wünschen wir ein wunderschönes Wochenende, mach’s dir gemütlich.
      Mit lieben Grüßen
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Liked by 2 people

    • In Scotland you will see them everywhere, here in Norfolk they are very special.
      Thanks for liking Dina’s photography.
      Wishing you a wonderful weekend
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 2 people

    • Dear Miss Marzipan,
      thank you so much for your kind words 🙂 🙂
      Wishing you a great week to come.
      By the way, especially our beloved Bookfayries Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma love marzipan.
      Love
      The Fab Four of Cley ❤

      Liked by 1 person

    • Guten Morgen, lieber Ernst,
      auch dir wünschen wir frohe Feiertage. Bei uns wird Pfingsten als Bankholiday nächstes Wochenende gefeiert. You know, we are British, we are different 😉
      Prima, dass dir Dina’s Fotogafie gefällt – uns auch 😉
      Alles Liebe vom kleinen Dorf am großen Meer
      Mach’s gut
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks a lot, dear Tiny 🙂 🙂
      Dina is very happy that you like her pictures ❤
      With lots of love from the little village next the big sea
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  88. I grew up on a small ranch in Texas and have always had a soft spot in my heart for little calves. When you are close to them, they have the biggest eyes and the longest eyelashes you have ever seen. Naturally, I love these photos.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Dear Karen,
      thanks a lot for your commentary.
      Indeed, we saw this as well. They are so sweet 🙂
      Wishing you a happy day.
      With lots of love from the little village next the big sea
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

  89. I agree with Selma that a photo doesn’t need to be beautiful or nice as long as it create some emotional response—any—in the viewer. Otherwise what Siri is saying about the processing is a part of the classical way of telling stories by putting emphasize on the main character in the story. And the result in this case are lovely images.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Otto,
      Siri is so happy that you agree 🙂 Thanks a lot! She is sending you lots of finest fairy dust.
      Our dear Master thinks it depends on what you call a story. Does a story needs a plot and a story line? Of course, the receiver can always find a story seeing a picture. But there are different ways of seeing it as well. We were much more interested in the composition, light and colours. For us those pictures are more abstract like a sign or symbol. But it isn’t the producer of the aretefact who decides how an aesthetical object is seen.
      Do you think we need even more abstraction to transport the message ‘stop telling yourself a story but look at what a picture really is: composition and colour. See it as a picture and not as reality.’ Well, a picture is a picture, is a picture … Does it need to inspire a story?
      By the way, Siri 🙂 and 🙂 Selma immediately saw a story of mothers and their little ones here. They argue, if you want a emotional response you need a story. That reminds us on the discussions about abstract paintings. The Onlookers were quite often angry because they couldn’t find a story. Their puzzeled question was ‘what could that be?’ Well, it is what it is, playing with colours and forms. But Dina stopped in the middle between abstract and telling a story because to go too far away from the horizon of exspectations of the receiver leaves them annoyed and irritated and produces a rejection what is quite an emotion as well.
      Our aim with these pictures was to make the receivers think about art and pictures and their exspectations.
      Anyway, we are very happy that you like Dina’s pictures and thanks a lot for commenting
      The Fab Four of Cley
      💃🚶‍♂️👭

      Liked by 1 person

    • First, I think a story doesn’t necessary have to have a plot or story line. It can be intangible, it can be a mood and it can be an abstraction that triggers associations. I think even pure form, composition or colour need to trigger something in the viewer, more than just the pleasure of looking at form, composition and/or colour. Even a picture that isn’t a reality can tell a story on its own terms. As far as I am concerned art doesn’t not disqualify story telling. 🙂 In the end it comes down to how you define as story, does’t it.

      Liked by 1 person

    • Dear Otto,
      oh dear, we didn’t mean that art is against story telling. Sorry, if we could be understood like this.
      There is lots to say about the definition of ‘story’. I suppose, if we define the notion ‘story’ too wide we are in danger that it doesn’t make sense any longer. But, as you know, I am an author and in my world ‘story’ is defined quite clearly. I see that for a photogapher it’s problematic to speak about a ‘story’ because photography lacks a timeline which is essential of a story.
      If I look at early abstract paintings (f.e. Theo van Doesburg) or Jackson Pollok’s action painting, Frank Stella and Mark Rothko, like I did several times at Tate Modern, I am moved but that isn’t connected with a story I associate. Especially Mark Rothko’s paintings are moving me because of the power of their colour, Pollock’s paintings because of the power of the lines. Their power is based in the absence of a story.
      For me, there is art telling a ‘story’ and art that doesn’t. Especially between the twenties and sixties of last century there was a strong tendency of being abstract. I really like abstract art because I want my intellect to be triggered rather than my emotions. But the 3 female beings of the Fab Four love their emotions being spoken to. Maybe a classic gender difference.
      Wishing you a great weekend and thanks for discussing with us, we love it
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

    • Maybe a gender difference, although I, as a male, tend to agree with the female threes of you. 🙂 And maybe their is a difference between the photographer and the writer – certainly in the understanding of “story”.

      Liked by 1 person

  91. First, my apologies. It has been far too long since I visited. That, of course, is my loss.

    Secondly, it seems this alienation you speak of, in photography, is not unlike the editing our minds engage in while using the lens of the eye. If we treated all visual input with equal weight of importance, we would be paralyzed by the overload of information fighting to gain access to our frontal lobes. For all intent, we would become these shaggy bovine, caught in the farmer’s headlights. 🙂

    Thoughtful pics and post.
    Well done, Fab Four.

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Good afternoon, dear Thorsaurus,
      we absolutely agree with you. One has to focus one’s attention on what one wants to express and block all the other infos out. In photography as in writing (and actually in every kind of art) less is more and this is what abstraction is all about. In philolosophy (Habermas and others) you speak about guided interest (‘erkenntnisleitendes Interesse’ as Habermas calls it).
      Thank you very much for liking our post.
      Wishing you a great Sunday
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

  92. Es ist erstaunlich wie oft man diese Fotos anschauen kann und immer wieder Neues entdeckt. Ebenso mit Büchern, man kann sie immer wieder neu lesen…plötzlich macht es klick…
    Dankeschön nochmal für Spiegelreflex-Fotos von instinktgesteuerten Wesen. Sie helfen mir gerade sehr, mich zu klären. Muuuuhhhhlti!!!
    …in der Nachbearbeitung möchte man etwas anderes zeigen…aha….got you…oder auch nicht, aber jedenfalls sehr tolle Bilder! Heute gibt´s Karottenapfelsalat mit Rote Beete.
    Fragte gestern meine Schülerinnen was wir heute feiern und deshalb kein Tanzen wäre…die Antwort:…Mist, mein Kurzzeitgedächtnis….irgendso ein ganz lustiges pfälzisches Wort…ich frage nochmal nach und schreibe es euch später…als vorhin die Glocken läuteten, saß ich kaffeetrinkend auf dem Balkon in der Sonne und summte die Töne mit, es war nicht soooo super, aber was will man machen, sind ziemlich laut und durchdringend….muuuuuuhlti…..
    Schöne Grüße in den Garten vom Schillerplatz, über den die Schwalben tief fliegen, wenn das Wetter wechselt, heute Sonnenschein, Tauben relaxen, freche Elstern auf dem Dach!

    Ha, Anne schreibt: Happy Kadaver…o, ist ja gar nicht pfälzisch…es ist schlimm mit dem Kurzzeitgedächtnis und mir…
    …

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Gten Morgen, liebe Pia,
      uns ging’s wie dir, wir wussten auch nicht, welcher Feiertag gestern war. Hier hatten wir eh keinen Feiertag, dafür letzten Montag ein Bankholiday.
      Wir müssen nun nach Norwich fahren, um gute Freunde vom Flughafenbus abzuholen.
      Das Wetter ist leicht bedeckt bei angenehmen 19 Gad C. Unsere Fasane kommen mit ihen Jungen in den Garten, und wir pflanzten gestern einen 2 m großen Olivenbaum in unseren Garten, um den Siri 🙂 und 🙂 Selma herumflattern, dass er sich an die neue Umgebung stressfrei gewöhnt.
      Dann mach’s ‘mal gut.
      Ein wunderschönes Wochenende wünschen wir dir (wow, da ist uns ja ein feiner Stabreim gelungen)
      The Fab Four of Cley

      Like

    • Wünsche dem Olivenbaum ein gutes Gedeihen! Liebe Oliven! Wann kann man die erste Ernte erwarten?
      Schon wieder Wochenende….
      Als wir Tarantella tanzten letzten Donnerstag, ist der Blitz in den Brauereiturm eingeschlagen, der noch mit der Kriegstarnfarbe beschmiert ist…jetzt ist er etwas kleiner….
      Eine Sizilianerin hat uns den Tanz beigebracht, und ich habe beschlossen, dass meine Damen alle einen Tänzer mitbringen müssen, (Ehe)mann, Sohn, Bruder, Onkel, Nachbar, Liebhaber, egal..Hauptsache einen “Kerl”…sonst ist es albern, das Gehopse!
      Wie findet ihr das Siri und Selma?
      Wunderschönes Wochenende wünschen wir!

      Like

    • Sehr erstaunlich: Die Rindermütter bringen die Kälbchen mit den Vorderfüßen voraus zur Welt…hatte mich gefragt, wie das in der Wildnis vor sich geht…
      Hatte einen richtigen Schreck bekommen, als ich darüber nachdachte, ob wir nur hier sind, um Kühen beim Kalben zu helfen, das wäre ja schlimm…
      Mein Fotografen-Freund, er hatte einen Herzanfall vor kurzem: Pia, im Moment glaube ich, dass wir hier sind um die Pharmakonzerne reich zu machen…(er ist Dr. Biologie in der Krebsforschungsabteilung gewesen, bevor er seinem Leben mehr Sinn geben wollte..)

      Noch ein paar Tage, dann sind Sommerferien, wir improvisieren ein wenig und analysieren “den Tanz”, Kombi aus Denken und Fühlen in Bewegung.
      Dabei bemerken wir, dass die meisten aus völligem Fühl-Denk-Matsch-Brei in Kopf und Körper bestehen, wir räumen auf…leider, wenn du Antworten suchst, gibt es oft nur mehr Fregen, aber gute!
      Liebste Grüße in den Garten

      So, jetzt werde ich meine “Russland-Story” zu einer 150 Zeilen Geschichte erweitern…
      ..und dann 2 Seiten für KInder, 2-3 Jahre alt, schreiben (müssen), Bär, Eichhörnchen..etc als “Held”, könnte ja ne Kuh nehmen, Siri , Selma, wie sieht es aus: Habt ihr schon nen kuhlen Reim?!
      Angeblich haben sie eine vernünftige Sprache, keine Babysprache, verdient…
      Kann man eigentlich wirklich nur Gedanken denken, die man auch in Sprache “bannen” kann…das andere heißt dann Fühlen?…oje, gute Blödfragen sind seeeehr ansrengend in ihrer Nachwirkung!!!
      Beim Stadtfest, Thema “Ritter”,…, werden wir “Sonne, Regen, Blumen” tanzen, die meiste Zeit dürfen die KInder völlig frei tanzen, ich schicke euch Fotos ihrer glücklichen Gesichter, hoffentlich, denn es ist schon erstaunlich, wenn sie frei tanzen sollen, haben einige echt Probleme…
      Liebdrücker

      Like

  93. Highland cattle are beautiful animals! For me, Dina has succeeded in her goal. By making the photo edits, the cattle get the attention they deserve! Well done, Dina!
    I also use photoshop and the Topaz filters. They are great with beautiful effects!
    Best regards, Heidi

    TIP: When working in photoshop or lightroom, always use a mask for all your edits you make. You can then restore the parts that you do not want to edit in their originality. With the aid of the brush (black / white) you can go over parts of the picture with your brush which you want to restore in their origin.

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

  97. Pingback: Abstraction As Fun | The World according to Dina

  98. Hello, Klausbernd! The article was a bit too technical for me. In India, we don’t go so much for ‘Art Appreciation,’ at least in our schools. Our loss. But I DO like nice pictures. For me, Nice pictures are those that Lift up my Spirit. Just seeing these Beautiful animals was great. Thanks for sharing. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • Hi, dear Swami,
      you know, everything I am writing is seen from a Northern European perspective. I like and feel at home at this my culture. I have travelled through India as well and was very much fascinated by your culture, your art and way of looking at the world. We see art differently or at least give it another priority. I have the feeling that the function of art is different in our societies. Thanks for making me think about it and for having seen that Dina wanted to honour these animals.
      All the best
      Klausbernd 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

Leave a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.