Next to Oatlands (near Leesburg) is a property known as Little Oatlands. It's privately owned but the beautiful gardens were open to visitors as part of Historic Garden Week. We found the gardens to be delightful and I took many pictures, including several of the statuary. Since classical-style sculpture is typically monochromatic, it looks fine in black and white or sepia tones.
Sepia toning was prized in film photography because it made prints last longer. Now it's sometimes done in digital imaging to give a warm nostalgic look to images.
Even though monochromatic treatment is appropriate for sculpture, there are times when I like to see the color of the background. It can distract from the subject, so I have mixed feelings about these examples. I love the colors of the Virginia stone on the wall. (I'm fairly certain this is Bull Run Mountain stone, which we had on flagstone walkways of my childhood home.)
Which treatment do you prefer? Let me know in the comments.
Sharing with Sepia Saturday
I really like the sepia photos of the statuary. The color is nice, but the sepia presents a timeless quality to go with the statues.
ReplyDeleteI love the color pic of the Virginia stone wall & statue, it's so beautiful. I love seeing garden statuary, it's one of my favorite things. How fortunate you were to tour this historic private garden!
ReplyDeleteLove & Biscuits,
Dogs Luv Us and We Luv Them
I always like the natural colours myself.
ReplyDeletebeautiful color in that stone. shame not to show it, but i like the sepia, too.
ReplyDeleteI really like the sepia tones for these statues.
ReplyDeleteFor me, the colours as are. The sculptures are beautiful!
ReplyDeleteYes, this place is gorgeous, I like these pictures, beautiful sculptures!
ReplyDelete