Accidental Renaissance: the photos that look like Italian paintings

Seen in The Guardian

An image of  has been noted for its beautiful composition – as has a picture of a grieving-yet-celebrating Frank Lampard. Can you name any of your own?

brawling Ukrainian MPs

The Fibonacci spiral has been placed on top of it to show just why its elements cohere so satisfyingly. Starting with one added to one, if you add each number in a series to the one preceding it you create the Fibonacci sequence, whose beautifully exponential growth can be transposed on to everything from the arrangements of petals in flowers to cauliflowers. Here, the violence spirals exponentially outward from the focal point of the fight up to the reddened face of the man at the top of the image; in another brawl image, at the top of this article, the spiral similarly flows around the image to the shiny-suited politico grappling in the middle.

Renaissance painters used this ‘Golden Ratio’ to arrange the elements in the most biologically pleasing – and therefore divinely anointed – order. Take Michelangelo’s depiction of Adam on the roof of the Sistine Chapel, where the ratio helps place the crucial finger of God.

The Creation of Adam, painted on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. Photograph: goldennumber.net

Another example of ‘Accidental Renaissance’ is this Associated Press image of Frank Lampard suggested by Dan Sully.

read the full article here

Ultra-orthodox Jews gather for the traditional Jewish wedding for Chananya Yom Tov Lipa, in the Israeli town of Petah Tikva near Tel Aviv, Israel. Photograph: Oded Balilty/AP

Stephane Mbia of Sevilla FC celebrates after scoring his team’s first goal during the UEFA Europa League semi-final second leg match between Valencia CF and Sevilla FC at Estadi de Mestalla in 2014. Photograph: David Ramos/Getty Images

Oscar Pistorius rubs his eyes in court in Pretoria, South Africa, 2014. Pistorius is charged with the murder of his girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp. Photograph: Siphiwe Sibeko/AP

see more from the gallery here

 

London 2012: The Closing Ceremony the best pictures

The Atlantic reports….Thousands of fans gathered in Olympic Stadium for the Closing Ceremony of the 2012 games. The spectacular show kicked off with fireworks and rolled into a series of performances by British pop stars from the past six decades, including Brian May, The Who, Blur, and George Michael. Even John Lennon and Freddie Mercury made posthumous appearances via video. Brazil gave a preview performance of things to come in Rio de Janeiro in 2016, and Lord Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Games Organizing Committee, praised the execution of this year’s summer games, saying, “When our time came, Britain, we did it right.”

Fireworks explode over the Olympic Stadium during the Closing Ceremony, on August 12, 2012. (Reuters/Tim Wimborne)

DJ Fatboy Slim performs atop a psychedelic bus transformed into a massive translucent octopus in the Olympic Stadium, on August 12, 2012. (Reuters/David Gray)

A giant sculpture of the face of John Lennon is assembled from pieces onstage during a performance of Lennon’s “Imagine” in Olympic Stadium, on August 12, 2012. (Paul Gilham/Getty Images)

Timothy Spall plays the role of Winston Churchill during a theatrical piece at the Olympic Stadium, on August 12, 2012. (Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch)

A overhead view of Olympic Stadium, during the Closing Ceremony on August 12, 2012. (Reuters/Pawel Kopczynski)

British prima ballerina Darcey Bussell flies into London’s Olympic Stadium on a flaming phoenix during the Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games, on August 12, 2012. (Reuters/Fabrizio Bensch)

2012 London Olympics: The Final Week in pictures

Courtesy of The Atlantic, more exceptional images from the London 2012 Olympics. These final week pictures should be seen in conjunction with the opening week pictures and the opening ceremony pictures and to come, the closing ceremony pictures.

Playing around, Jamaica’s Usain Bolt takes pictures with a photographer’s camera after winning the men’s 200m final at the Olympic Stadium, on August 9, 2012. (Reuters/Stefano Rellandini)

Rodrigo Pessoa of Brazil, rides his horse Rebozo in the equestrian show jumping competition in London, on August 6, 2012. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Kenya’s David Lekuta Rudisha celebrates winning the men’s 800-meter semifinal in the Olympic Stadium, on August 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

Belarus’ Nastassia Mironchyk-Ivanova competes in the women’s long jump final in the Olympic Stadium, on August 8, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt, second left, reacts as he crosses the finish line to win the men’s 200-meter final at the 2012 Summer Olympics, on August 9, 2012. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

See all the 55 pictures from this set here

The 2012 London Olympics So Far…in pictures

London 2012: The Opening Ceremony – Best Photos

London Olympics 2012 in pictures, the first week

The 2012 London Olympics So Far…in pictures

This set comes from the admirable Denver Post

Japan’s Ryosuke Irie competes in the men’s 100m backstroke heats swimming event at the London 2012 Olympic Games on July 29, 2012 in London. AFP PHOTO / LEON NEAL

South Korea’s Shin A Lam (R) fences against Germany’s Britta Heidemann during their Women’s Epee semifinal bout as part of the fencing event of London 2012 Olympic games, on July 30, 2012 at the ExCel centre in London. AFP PHOTO / ALBERTO PIZZOLI

U.S. gymnast Gabrielle Douglas performs on the balance beam during the Artistic Gymnastics women’s team final at the 2012 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 31, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Julie Jacobson)

China’s Fang Yuting competes during the final match between South Korea and China of the women’s team archery event during the London 2012 Olympic Games at Lord’s Cricket Ground on July 29, 2012 in London. South Korea won the gold medal, China the bronze medal and Japan the silver medal. AFP PHOTO/JEWEL SAMAD

LONDON, ENGLAND – JULY 30: Michael Phelps of the United States competes in preliminary heat 5 of the Men’s 200m Butterfly on Day 3 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Aquatics Centre on July 30, 2012 in London, England. (Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images

See all 60 images here on the Denver Post site

London Olympics 2012 in pictures, the first week

From the more than excellent The Atlantic pictures from the first days of the London 2012 Olympics. There are some truly astounding images in this set so do go and have a look at all of them.

More than 10,000 athletes from 200 national Olympic committees around the globe have gathered in London for the 17-day 2012 Summer Olympic Games. So far, dozens of Olympic and world records have already been broken and more than 500 medals have been awarded. As we pass the Games’ halfway point, here’s a look back at some amazing events that have taken place in the U.K. over the past nine days. [62 photos]

Jessica Ennis of Great Britain crosses the line during the Women’s Heptathlon 800m to win the race and the overall gold on Day 8 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at Olympic Stadium, on August 4, 2012. (Michael Steele/Getty Images)

Jamaica’s Usain Bolt crosses the finish line to win his second consecutive gold medal in the men’s 100-meter final in the Olympic Stadium, on August 5, 2012. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Russia’s Aliya Mustafina warms up before competing in the balance beam during the women’s individual all-around gymnastics final in the North Greenwich Arena, on August 2, 2012. (Reuters/Mike Blake)The South Korean men’s cycling team trains on Monday, July 30, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Sergey Ponomarev)

Britain’s Jessica Ennis celebrates winning her women’s heptathlon at the Olympic Stadium, on August 4, 2012. (Reuters/Lucy Nicholson)

Gabrio Zandona (right) and Pietro Zucchetti (left) of Italy compete in the Men’s 470 Sailing on Day 6 of the London 2012 Olympic Games at the Weymouth & Portland Venue at Weymouth Harbour, on August 2, 2012. (Clive Mason/Getty Images)

Samantha Arevalo Salinas of Ecuador starts in a women’s 800-meter freestyle swimming heat at the Aquatics Center in London, on August 2, 2012. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)

Jamel Herring, of the United States, after being defeated by Kazakhstan’s Daniyar Yelessinov in their men’s light welter 64-kg boxing match at the 2012 Summer Olympics, on July 31, 2012. (AP Photo/Ivan Sekretarev)

Russian gymnasts and team officials react as teammate Kseniia Afanaseva falls while performing on the floor during the Artistic Gymnastics women’s team final, on July 31, 2012, in London. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham)

See all 62 images here

The 2012 Tour de France in pictures

This summer of sport has thrown up so many memorable moments and images, none greater than the 2012 Tour de France and the magnificent Bradley Wiggins. These pictures from The Atlantic are just a taste of the majesty of the toughest sporting competition on earth.

The 99th Tour de France cycling race began on July 1, as 22 teams of nine riders raced through Belgium, Switzerland and France. The entire tour covered a distance of 3,497 km (2,173 mi). Sky Procycling rider Bradley Wiggins of Great Britain became the first Briton ever to win the tour on Sunday, July 22. Gathered here are images from the second half of the 2012 Tour de France. Part 1 can be found over here.  [42 photos]

Bradley Wiggins of Britain — he first Briton to ever win the Tour de France — kisses the trophy as he celebrates his overall victory on the podium after the final stage, on July 22, 2012. (Reuters/Jerome Prevost)

Sky Procycling rider Mark Cavendish of Britain (left) sprints to win the 18th stage of the Tour de France in Brive-La-Gaillarde, on July 20, 2012. (Reuters/Jean-Paul Pelissier)

Thomas Voeckler of France, center, crosses the finish line ahead of Michele Scarpone of Italy, left, and Jens Voigt of Germany, right, to win the 10th stage of the Tour de France in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, France, on July 11, 2012. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

The peloton passes a woman on a horse during the 13th stage of the Tour de France, on July 14, 2012. (Reuters/Stephane Mahe)

The peloton passes through a sunflower field during stage eighteen in Blagnac, France, on July 20, 2012. (Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

The pack with Bradley Wiggins of Britain, wearing the overall leader’s yellow jersey, Tejay van Garderen of the US, wearing the best young rider’s white jersey, and Fredrik Kessiakoff of Sweden, wearing the best climber’s dotted jersey, awaits the start of the 14th stage in Limoux, on July 15, 2012. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena)

Overall leader Bradley Wiggins celebrates at the end of the 53.5 km individual time-trial and nineteenth stage of the Tour de France in Chartres, France, on July 21, 2012. Wiggins won the stage, all but securing his overall win of the entire tour. (Pascal Pavani/AFP/Getty Images)

See the rest of these fantastic images here

Olympics organisers refuse to clarify photography rules ahead of Games

Do you have tickets to see any of the Olympic events and thought you might take a camera along to record that once in a lifetime opportunity, well maybe you should think again. It seems that for ill defined reasons the organisers are prepared to ban the use of what they deem to be professional type cameras, my guess is this means DSLR cameras with a lens long enough to capture anything on the track or field of play. This is another example of photographers being demonised because those in authority do not understand why people take pictures. We do it because we are interested in photography and like to record our lives, where we go and what we see.  Of course it could be that the athletes, their managers, sponsors or whomever want to have complete control over what images are available. God forbid you might get a picture of an athlete throwing a hissy fit or one of the football stars doing something unmentionable to another.

The BJP, always a source of informed news and comment has an article by  Olivier Laurent, with James Temperton of Computer Active on this matter, read the full article here but this is the nature of what is being considered

“Some venues will be more flexible,” she said. “For example, if you’re attending an event in Green Park, there’ll be more space for spectators, so security might allow you to get in with larger equipment. But that won’t be the case at the Olympic Stadium,” where large lenses and tripods could interfere with spectators’ view of the sporting events.

However, BJP and ComputerActive, another Incisive Media publication, have found that Wembley Stadium, which will host football events during the Olympic Games, will prohibit any kind of “professional-style cameras [any camera with interchangeable lenses] or recording/transmitting devices”.

From the BJP: Aerial view of the Olympic Park showing the Olympic Stadium and warm-up track in the foreground.

Read more: http://www.bjp-online.com/british-journal-of-photography/news/2191402/london-2012-olympic-games-organisers-refuse-to-clarify-photography-rules-in-advance#ixzz21e1ZId5j

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A Comprehensive Guide to Photographing Youth Sport

If you have kids who do sport or even if you just like watching amateur sport and photographing it this tutorial will give you some valuable tips. On the Lightstalking site By Pam you will find all sorts of advice that makes good sense.

“The soccer ball being dribbled down the field, the baseball being hit, the puck flying across the ice all help tell a story.  The shots tend to happen in a fraction of a second and require knowledge of the sport, anticipation of the play … and a lot of luck!  High speed burst mode really helps the cause as well.  Action can be shown with motion blur, the capture of the kicked up dust or by composition.

Most sports don’t have action that can easily be followed by panning, so you might have to depend on one focus point and let the action happen around it.”

Click Here: A Comprehensive Guide to Photographing Youth Sport

and don’t forget the team picture