My Backyard

Cellar door is a phrase considered by many to be the most phonaesthetic.  This means it is beautiful solely based on the way it sounds, and not due to any connotations or mental images that may surface when heard.
Donnie Darko, a fantastic movie, brought this concept to the general public even though the idea has actually been around for awhile and has been written about by many great minds, including J.R.R. Tolkien.
Oddly enough, it seems that there are very few cellar doors left.  I am one of the lucky few that still has one connected to their house, and so, once I was ready to go in search of today's picture, I started in my backyard, near the cellar.  

 

The Most Beautiful

Spring's slow but steady approach has me photographing more flowers and plants than I ever have before.  But which is more beautiful? A tangible thing like a flower or a phrase or idea, like "Cellar Door"?

For both of these pictures, I used a technique called TTV or Through the Viewfinder.  You can read more about it at the end of this post, but basically I shoot with my regular camera, through the viewfinder of another camera...in my case an old Kodak Duaflex IV.  You can see my other TTV photos at my Etsy Store, look for "through the viewfinder" in the title.  next2hector Etsy

A Fence Through The Viewfinder

"Fence" may not be so phonaesthetic, but if shot from a decent angle with a unique technique, it might end up looking pretty decent.  This fence is also in my backyard.  As of late, some beautiful cardinals have been using it as a tight rope.

These images were taken using a Kodak Duaflex IV, manufactured from the 1940s-1960s. The Duaflex was not the only camera used to create this photo. 'Through the Viewfinder' means a picture is taken, usually with a digital camera, of the viewfinder on another camera, usually an old camera (in this case the Duaflex), in order for the final image to have a vintage feel. The vintage feel comes from the dust specks that are on the old camera’s viewfinder as well as the vignette that images will tend to get due to the convex surface of the viewfinder.