FEATURE : Photo
Petinton’s City Street
Diorama
@petinton
A meticulously blurred background paired with a sepia color
filter distinguishes this Photo of the Month, captured by
Petinton (@petinton). Petinton’s photo of retro architecture
in Edinburgh consists of buildings lining the foreground in
vivid clarity and another row of taller buildings blurred in the
background. This blurred background creates an artificially
stark contrast between the two rows of buildings and
draws attention to the foreground.
Petintion’s use of the blur effect evokes dioramas and
stage sets, as if the buildings in the foreground are
merely an imitation of reality or painted pieces of
cardboard. With a few strokes of the blur effect,
what was once real becomes almost theatrical
as brown brick buildings in the foreground pop
out against what lies behind. In this manner,
Petinton’s work becomes part of the surreal,
tempting his audience to peel back the
layers of his two-dimensional city one by
one like the pages of a children’s book.
80| PicsArt Monthly