Woman with Umbrella – Zurich, Switzerland

It started raining only an hour after arriving in Zurich. It put a damper on our short tourist stay and made photography more awkward. However, there were also benefits. The umbrella became a visual element in a few of my photographs. My favorite is the one above — a woman sandwiched between beautiful old-town architecture.

I could see the woman’s face in the color version. However, in monochrome, I crushed to blacks erasing her identity, liking the anonymity. The black silhouette enhanced by the geometric umbrella works well as a focal point.

Man with Umbrella – Zurich, Switzerland

Sometimes, the person with an umbrella could be subtle. Do you see the man? He is a small but visible element in the photograph. Because of the positioning and contrast, he is more visible than the woman with the dogs. Both add scale to the architecture.

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