Thursday, November 26, 2009

A Part of the Picture

At a recent family wedding, my cousin Phyllis and I discussed our respective blogs. We shared our awe at just how many wonderful people come by to leave encouraging comments, and we marveled about having readers who visit from countries, large and small, all over the globe. We each expressed how much we enjoyed putting our posts together, knowing that when we hit "publish," our words and images go out to all of you fine people and in very little time - sometimes just a few minutes later - readers are leaving feedback.

Phyllis' blog is an invaluable resource for food safety information. She posts daily food and product recalls and allergy alerts for products sold throughout the world. She's right on top of food-related illnesses such as Salmonella and E. coli outbreaks, and quickly posts information as it becomes available. If you have concerns about what's happening with your family's or your pet's food, you might want to subscribe to her blog at eFoodAlert.com.

While Phyllis and I were chatting, she mentioned a blog theme I had played with a few times in the past which I called Perspective is Everything. I would photograph a common household item and crop the image so that only a tiny portion of the object was visible, and readers were to guess what these items might be. She nudged me into thinking about trying my hand at that again and I believe I might just do that soon but the conversation triggered a similar idea.

Frank and I have recently returned to one of our favourite shopping spots and as I took a few more photos of various items throughout the store, I began to notice how many of their creative designs had art within art - sometimes just in how they were displayed. When I uploaded the photos, I cropped some of them closely, hiding much of the rest of the image.

I've decided to post just the close-up images today, and invite you back in a few days to see the full pieces of artwork from which they were taken. I think some of them might surprise you though some will be obvious - you're a clever bunch. Please do feel free to guess or suggest what you think the full image might be but keep in mind that they are pieces of art and couldn't be further from the everyday items I've posted in the past. You can answer any or all of them. There is of course a "right" answer but not necessarily a predictable one. I would like to know where your imagination takes you. What do you see when you look at a part of the picture?



Turquoise and black. Horizontal and vertical lines. Light and dark. What might it be?





What do you think these colourful, patterns belong to?





If your eye were to look above this boot, what would it see?





Orange, yellow and green with a spiral circle. It's kind of the middle... of something.





Light and multiple colours. It sparkles and shines.





A dromedary and a man about to load something on its back. But what's just outside of this picture which will change how you look at it?





Tubes of some sort.. but what?





Bright and bedazzled. Any ideas?





How rude! Who would do such a thing?





What idea does this image weave?





This guy has been fishing for a long time. What do you suppose he's caught?





Colourful, aren't they? Fingers? Petals? Something else?

51 comments:

Boozy Tooth said...

Oh! Those images are just so lush and gorgeous. Can't wait to see the "big pictures."

I'm thinking that boot has to belong to Santa, right?

Nessa said...

They are all so fascinating and beautiful.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving if you celebrate and a Happy Thursday just to celebrate.Thursday Thirteen

Maggie May said...

This is fun....
I recognised a stack of childrens' red Indian headresses!
Pan pipes
Coloured cushions (Indian type & design)
Not sure about the others.
Santa's boot yes!

Nuts in May

Tabor said...

These are wonderful and the only one I have time to really look at is the first which is perhaps a lamp shadeof some kind? Sorry, got to get the bird out of the fridge to he gets to room temperature!

Russell said...

Lots of fun and a great idea for photo bugs who are always looking for a new approach to their favorite hobby!

I really liked the fourth image -- the orange, yellow and green spiral cut in glass (I think!). Also, I really like the final image of the metal item.

Always fun to visit your blog. You certainly know how to bring a bit of sunshine into a person's day!

Now it's time to go out and play with my zoom lens!!

Brian Miller said...

oh hilary, really some beautiful shots! fascinating!

Lori said...

Such beautiful pictures. And a great idea. I am going to guess that boot belongs to table leg? Perspective...I like this idea.

Phyllis E said...

Oh my goodness, Cuzzie H! What a great idea. I am totally flummoxed by most of the close-ups and am dying to see the big pictures. I'm willing to guess that the "bright and bedazzled" are stacks of hats.

BTW, Tabor, please don't let your turkey come to room temperature before you do anything with it! Get it from the fridge to the oven ASAP!

Cuzzie P

solarity said...

[Insert wordless babble of admiration]!
I don't care what they are--they're too stunning to let me think.
{runs to grab camera]

Mary Anne in Kentucky

Leah J. Utas said...

Rich colours and textures. Beautiful.
I don't have a clue what anything really is.

Shammickite said...

Love these colourful pictures, most of them could be framed and displayed in a gallery of modern art photography... except perhaps the boot and the "giving the finger" shot! Love that second one, but what it is I have no clue. I'll have another look when I've had my second cup of coffee, maybe I'll be inspired by then.

Jinksy said...

My brain is too happy digesting the loveley images to worry about what they really are - why spoil the illusion? :)

Anonymous said...

So cool Hilary! I'm excited to see what the photos are!!! Here are my guesses:
Turquoise and Blue: reminds me of asparagus a little bit
Boot: the leg of a bathtub?
Light & multiple sparklies: looks like a lampshade
Dromedary: is that an old Camel ciggie pack?
Bright and bedazzled: masks

And LOL, I can't wait to find out who's flipping us the bird!!!

Great post!
:)

Frank Baron said...

I suppose I'm not allowed to guess, since even my leaky memory recalls what a few of those partials are from.

You caught the lovely, vivid colours. Definitely part of the charm of folk art and crafts. :)

Zuzana said...

Beautiful images, details of objects, paintings, vases, bowls, statues and who knows what; I really couldn't guess.;) As a painter, I have taught myself to look at details only. I look at colours and shapes of parts of objects, forcing my mind not to see the bigger picture. So, I ashamed to admit it, but I find it difficult to see anything else but colours and shapes in your images.;)
But with that said, I simply can not wait to see what/who they belong to.;)
What a great post!
xo
Zuzana

Country Girl said...

I'm amazed as well, when I hit publish and almost immediately I begin receiving comments.

At first, it sort of scared me. But I'm used to it now.

This is fun! Love that first one.

Reb said...

These are all such lovely images Hilary and I love this game!

Chinese type lantern nestled in a twig base

Fans in a basket

More Dust? A leg, ending in a table?

The middle? of a pregnant kokopelli

(Lovely) A mosaic bowl

Sphinx

Xylophone

Masks

LOL - no idea

Wine

Octopus

Frog toes?

Wendy said...

OMG these are fun!! I have to admit I cheated and looked at others' answers. Haha!

The first pic I thought was a lantern.

Second one feathers in a basket.

The pipe thing was a set of pan pipes or xylophone (someone else said that).

I thought the boot was on one of the table legs! Then I looked again and saw the brown leg was a chair leg, not a table. So the boot belongs to an ooooold granny. Or a flower pot!

Can't remember the rest. Oh, except the spiral thing might be jewellery. Last pic a dollar store garden ornament??

Checked out your cousin's blog. It's chock full of good info. Thanks for letting us know.

Gary's third pottery blog said...

Well I would do such a thing, and have made little sculptures flipping the bird :)

photowannabe said...

Love the bright colors and real art in the way you have cropped the pictures.
Think the boot is an umbrella stand. the first one is a paper lantern in a willow twig base. The pipes look like a xylophone to me too. What ever they are they are beautiful (except the finger one...) Can't wait to find out what they all really are.

Hilary said...

• Wrong, Alix but thanks for guessing and especially for your very kind words. :)

• Thank you, Nessa. Thanks for the happy Thursday wishes. Our Canadian Thanksgiving was in October but I wish the finest of holidays to you. :)

• Maggie, I'm glad you think it's fun. :) I appreciate your stopping by and playing. :)

• Tabor I'm glad you think so and thanks for playing along. :)

• Russell, thanks so much for the very kind words and for playing along. I hope you have fun playing with that zoom and that you'll show us the results if you do. :)

• Thanks kindly, Brian. Much appreciated. :)

• Smiles4U, thanks for playing along. I'm glad you like the idea. Perspective can be enlightening, eh? :)

• Thanks kindly, Phyllis. I'm glad you stopped by to play along. Thanks for the encouraging words, Cuz. :)

• Mary Anne, thank so much for the kind babble. :) Much appreciated. :)

• Thanks very much, Leah. I'm glad you think so. I'll reveal the bigger picture in a few days. :)

• Shammie thanks so much for your very kind words. How flattering. :) Keep working at them and let me know what you come up with. And please be sure to come back in a few days to see the full pictures. :)

• Jinsky, you have a point.. but then again you always do. :) Thanks for stopping by. :)

• Rain, your comment made me laugh. Here it is American Thanksgiving and it's we Canadians who are flipping the bird. ;) Thanks for the kind words. :)

• Thanks, Frank. I'm glad you like how these came out. And yes, I'm not letting you answer them even though I know how sketchy your memory can be. ;)

• Protege, thanks so much. I expected you'd like this .. with your artist's eye and all. I'll be posting the full pictures in a few days so be sure to stop by again then. Thanks so much for your always warm comments. :)

* Thanks, Kate. It sure is pretty incredible, isn't it? And fun. Thanks for stopping by. :)

• Thank you, Reb. I'm glad you're enjoying this game. All I'm going to tell you is that at least one of your guesses is correct. Thanks so much for playing along. Full photos coming up in a few days. :)

• Wendy, you're allowed to cheat since I'm not giving up the answers anyway. ;) I'm glad you're enjoying this post though and especially pleased that you've been to Phyllis' blog. Thanks so much for playing along. :)

• Gary, yes you have! :)

• Thanks for the very kind words, Sue. I kinda like the finger photo and you might too when you see the full image. Thanks always for stopping by. :)

Bogey said...

Some very clever and colorful shots, of course leaving the viewer wondering to what extent the real image holds. Guessing may be futile but interesting.

Thanks for the mention earlier Hilary. Much appreciated.

SandyCarlson said...

The colors here are a feast for the eyes. Wonderful. Thanks for being a bright spot in the day.

Cloudia said...

How wonderful, Hillary!


Aloha, Friend!


Comfort Spiral

Unknown said...

A pleasure to add you to my roll Hilary. I quite agree with you about the wonder of blogging to say many in far off places! Fascinating photos! Thanks for your kind wishes for little Trevor. I appreciate your kindness! :)

Ciao,
Michael

Dave said...

You had me with all of your photos except maybe the boot table leg? Enjoyed the colourful pictures though. - Dave

Kerri Farley said...

These are so artsy and creative. LOVE them! will be cool to see the "big" pictures!

maddie said...

What a thought provoking post. Looking at things in a different light. Thank you.

colbymarshall said...

The eye is really cool! Happy Thanksgiving! I'm visiting from over at Angie's blog-- thought I'd say hello! :)

Bren Haas said...

I just came across your creative blog... LOVE IT!
Happy Thanksgiving Weekend to a wonderful Canadian Blogger!

Shrinky said...

Love how you encourage our imagination to take these images and to run with them, the photo's are of your usual high quality, as ever..

The first one reminds me of an underwater scene. For some reason a dream-catcher springs to mind with the next one. And yes, I agree with Alex, that boot simply HAS to belong to Santa, right? I have no idea at all what the citrus coloured circle might be, but for some inexplicable reason it reminds me of a cricket ball. I confess to being quite clueless as to what the rest may be, but I've had lots of fun pondering them.

I do hope you will adopt this as a regular feature, HILARY - IT'S A FUN IDEA, I've really enjoyed my visit!

Susan said...

Such fun! And oh the things I think I see...an umbrella stand, a xylophone, a drawer/door knob, glittery masks, feathers,an image within an eye, a light fixture...I can't wait to see the whole image. Although I have to wonder if they will be as much fun as these little bits.

Anonymous said...

Oooh, I like this Hilary, although I'm not very good at figuring out what things are. Is the boot an umbrella stand? And, I thought the first one might be a lamp. I'll look forward to the "reveal". :)

imbeingheldhostage said...

I think I LOVE these photos. They kind of tease, but yet are complete compositions just as they are.

We had to do a series of paintings along these lines in my art school-- fascinating things happened.

Karen (formerly kcinnova) said...

Oh, WOW!
At the very top, a statue of nose ("Eskimo") kisses
A display of walking sticks
Bird of paradise?
A peg-legged pirate!
--- (but it sure is wonderful!)
mosaic
--???
xylophone
--??? BEAUTIFUL!!
LOL
basket
hey, it's Frank! ;)
sunshine


I can hardly wait to see what they "really" are! Some of these photos are Art in their own right!

I'm always blessed when I come here, Hilary. Thank you for blogging and enriching the world for the rest of us!

Joanna Jenkins said...

Hi Hilary, I am loving your photos and the way your are slowly revealing them to us. As much as I love these images, I'm anxious to see "the bog picture".

Have a great weekend.

jj

Anonymous said...

I enjoy your blog with all of its amazing photos. You are too cool!
I must now go and visit your cousin Phyllis!
Happy Thanksgiving weekend!
The Bach

kazia said...

wonderful photos :)

Unseen India Tours said...

Beautiful And Fantastic shots !!I loved the Beautiful Designs !!Unseen Rajasthan

Anonymous said...

Came across your blog via Lime...great shots...I'll be back to find out the answers!!!

cheshire wife said...

The photographs are wonderful. You are turning into Authorblog with a more twisted imagination. And I intend that as a compliment.

Jo said...

I would never in a bazillion years be able to guess what any of those items represent. But they are beautiful photographs.

I'll be back in a couple of days to see what they are. :-)

Crabby McSlacker said...

I love having NO CLUE what these lovely images are! Looking forward to finding out.

Unknown said...

How fun is this? I just love it : ) Very fascinating. Can't wait to see from whence these pictures came : ) How is that for a great sentence!

Hilary said...

• My pleasure, Bogey and thank you for your very kind words. Thanks for stopping by. :)

• Thanks kindly, Sandy. I can and do say the same thing about your visits. :)

• Thank you, Cloudia. Aloha! :)

• Thanks very much Michael. It's one of the best parts of blogging, isn't it? Friends from far-away places. :)

• Thanks, Dave. I'm glad you played along. Full pictures will be up before too much longer. :)

• Thanks kindly, Kerri. I'm glad you enjoyed them. Much appreciated. :)

• Thank you, Maddie. I'm glad you like the post. :)

• Welcome, Coby and thanks so much for the kind words. I'm glad you stopped by for a visit and hope you'll return again soon. :)

• Welcome, Bren. I'm glad you found my blog and hope you'll find your way back often. Our Canadian Thanksgiving was in October but I do thank you for the wishes and hope that your holiday was lovely. Thanks for stopping by. :)

• Shrinky, thanks so much for playing along and for your always kind words. In order for me to make this a regular feature, I'm going to have to do a lot of window shopping where store owners don't mind their merchandise photographed. I'll see what I can do about a semi-regular spot. ;) Thanks for the visit. :)

• Susan, thanks so much for the encouraging words. You got some right. :) I'll have the full images tomorrow and then you can let me know if it's as much fun. Thanks for stopping by. :)

• Sandra, I've always said you're a clever lady. Thanks for playing along. I'll post the full pictures in a very short while. :)

• IBHH, I'm glad you like the idea and I'd sure love to see the outcome of your paintings series. Plan on blogging about it? :)

• KC, you're pretty good at this. You got at least one right. ;) Thank you so much for your always-warm and kind words my friend. You make me smile. :)

• Joanna, I'm happy that you're enjoying this game of sorts. I'll reveal the big pictures very soon now. Thanks so much for playing along. :)

• Thanks kindly, Bach. I'm glad you're enjoying it and that you're visiting Phyllis' fine blog. I hope you had a nice holiday. :)

• Thank you, Kazia. Much appreciated. :)

• Thanks very kindly, Unseen Raj. I'm really glad you like theme. :)

• Welcome Coopernicus and thanks for seeking me out via Lime. I'm glad you did. Thanks for the kind words and please return soon. :)

• Cheshire Wife, thank you very much for the kind words. Like Authorblog, eh? :) I like the idea that you think I have a twisted imagination and yes, I take that as a fine compliment. Much appreciated. :)

• Jo, with your creative eye, I'm sure you could get at least a few of them. Thanks for the kind words and I look forward for your return when I post the big pictures. :)

• Thanks, Crabby. it might be more fun to not know and ultimately find out, but I sure did have fun putting them together. Win/win, I'd say. Thanks for stopping by. :)

• LWK, I'm glad you're enjoying this and yes, that is indeed a great sentence. Stay tuned to see whither I go with this. ;)

abb said...

The fishing guy reminds me of Fishing Guy at ~This is my blog~ (I have no clue how to do a linky thing in comments, but just google that or look on my sidebar and you'll find his blog). Every Tuesday he has a contest in which he zooms in on one particular area of a photograph and you have to guess what it is. I've guessed correctly once or twice, but it's amazing when something/a photo is taken out of context how ones imagination can run wild!

Hilary said...

Oh nice to know, TSannie . Thanks for that info. I'll be sure to check it out. :)

Sandi McBride said...

David would love this Hilary!
Sandi

Hilary said...

Sandi, that's a big compliment. Thank you. :)

Maria said...

Going straight to the next one now!

Hilary said...

Thanks for playing Gaelikaa. :)