On the corners of half-timbered houses there are often decorative wood carvings.
They can be very elaborate like these on the town hall of Hadamar:
Sometimes it’s just a simple decoration:
Sometimes it’s large figures:
Sometimes rather tiny ones:
And sometimes it’s a very candid view:
Which – believe it or not – was not an uncommon motive a few hundreds years ago.
When taking photos in narrow lanes it is often not possible to decide on your perspective. Unless you are going for detail rather than the whole house you can only look up.
My Square Perspective no. 5 is linked to The Life of B.
Schifferstadt is a town on the Rhine near Ludwigshafen. The old part has many half-timbered houses dating back several centuries – many are restored or are in the process of being restored.
Traditionally, these houses show the contrast between the dark brown or black wooden beams and the whitewashed mortar pieces in between.
Sometimes these colours are offset by colourful, often red, shudders.
Green is also a favourite, for shudders as well as for window frames.
However, in recent years more and more half-timbered houses have started to sport a coat of paint, ranging from soft pink like the one below to really dark or bright colours.
Often the panels are accentuated with two-tone coloured paint. The writing on the beam reads: Joseph Maier and his wife Katharina built this house in the year of the Lord 1835 (Dieses Haus erbaute Joseph Maier und seine Ehefrau Katharina im Jahre Christi 1835).
Blue is a fashionable tint for half-timbered houses these days. It goes well with green climbers and red geraniums.
Linked to Monday Window. For more windows, click here.
Cee writes on her block: For a great monochrome photo “look for contrast or highly textured subjects to photograph”. — Half-timbered houses then for me!
Linked to Cee’s Black & White Photo Challenge: any kind of house.
pictures imperfect blog 