Triptyching the Light Fantastic - Part 2

First things first, "tripping the light fantastic" commonly, and quite literally, is to dance nimbly or lightly, or to move in a pattern to musical accompaniment. However, it is sometimes used to refer to just plain having fun or, back in the day (60s) it could refer, again quite literally, to tripping, or using some sort of hallucinatory substance (I know you know what I'm talking about). 

So, bite me if the first thing I thought of when I thought of triptych was this phrase. And, now that I look at it, perhaps I am talking about "light" in the photographic sense. It really doesn't matter. It is a "secret about a secret" (Diane Arbus).

But, I digress. Back to the triptych...

Separate images, variants on a theme

A triptych is a work of art (usually a panel painting) that is divided into three sections, or three carved panels which are hinged together and can be folded shut or displayed open. The triptych form arises from early Christian art, and was a popular standard format for altar paintings from the Middle Ages onwards. A triptych may consist of separate images that are variants on a theme, or may be one larger image split into three, or may be the same image captured at different times.

Same image,
different times

I first though about a triptych or at least some sort of multiple photo image while editing some shots from the North Shore of Hawaii. In order to catch a wave at its peak, splash, droplets and all, I did some continuous shutter release or burst mode. While I got the peak, I also got other interesting aspects of the wave approaching and breaking. To convey all of that I combined the shots into one photo. And, I liked it. Same spot, just different times. Oh, and I liked it both horizontal and vertical. Your choice.

Al E. Gator

Then on to this week and Mr. Al E. Gator. I struggled to get something of interest from a single shot, and at first ended up with a close crop of just the head, and then a black and white transform to better show the details of the jaw and bumpy skin.

But I wanted to show the whole gator, but in a new way, hence - gator triptych. The thing is that now you can kind of focus on one part at a time or gather in the whole gator. I like it. How about you?

One image, split into three

For a real trip, try reading Ed Kashi's comments regarding his book, THREE. Okay, okay, an true artist has passion, but sometimes Ed gets a little carried away for my taste.

In the next post we'll get back to the amazing OM-D E-M10, although I am perplexed. Actually, a little disappointed although I'm not done exploring the subject, so to speak, quite yet...