"Hindsight is always twenty-twenty. " Billy Wilder
"Hindsight is an exact science. " Guy Bellamy

04 December 2011

Contre-jour

Little did I know the word "silhouette" derives from the name of Etienne De Silhouette a French finance minister who, in 1759, was forced by France's credit crisis during the Seven Year War to impose severe economic demands upon the French people, particularly the wealthy.

Because of de Silhouette's austere economies, his name became eponymous with anything done or made cheaply. Prior to the advent of photography, silhouette profiles cut from black card were the cheapest way of recording a person's appearance.
Hong Kong 2011.   Image  © PeteM2020
In photography silhouetting occurs when there is a lighting ration of 16:1 or greater. If the image is created by natural light, the technique is often referred to as  “countre-jour”. Caught this image in a shopping arcade one evening.

Source:Wikipedia

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