French archaeologists discovered this sculpture, made of ivory, gold and wood, in 1939. It was hidden below the paving stones of Delphi's Sacred Way. A votive to Apollo, perhaps it is a figure of Apollo himself. I moved in as close as I could and shot this image through the glass case that protected it. The power of detail energizes the photograph. The 2,500 year- old face comes to life because of the eye staring intently at us. The swirls in the hammered gold headdress speak of the hours spent in crafting it. And the ravages of time are evident in the detail as well – we can see where the layer of ivory is breaking away from its wooden base.

Just outside the Antwerp Cathedral, I found a mime posing as a "Madonna with Child" painting. This street performer has covered herself and her doll with splattered paint, and never moves either a muscle or an eyelid, even though I photographed her again and again. When I finished, I dropped a Euro into a basket at her side. Without moving her head even a fraction of an inch, she slowly extended a note of thanks, wishing me good luck. This image expresses itself through the incongruously abundant detail she has meticulously applied to her face, clothing, and doll. The only unpainted detail on her face is her lower lip, another incongruity. Meanwhile, the glittering detail on the doll’s crown brings a shocking gold, green and red counterpoint to the monochromatic balance of the image.

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(Three years after posting this image, I learned, via an email from Jonathan, a street performer in Antwerp, that the mime in this image vanished in late 2007 and was found buried outside Antwerp in May, 2008. Her name was Renata. I dedicate this image to her memory.

I quote part of Jonathan's email message below. It brings a new context to this image, which tragically changes its meaning for us forever:

"I am a street performer in Antwerp and love the picture on Pbase you made of the Madonna With Child. She was always sitting near the cathedral -- that was her regular place. Yes, I am saying she 'was'...The police found her body 2 weeks ago after she was reported missing since December 2007. Murdered and buried in a garden in a small village 30 miles out of Antwerp. The suspect is her boyfriend, but the investigation is still running. He was running some kind of cult and newspapers say that she might have been a victim of a ritual. Sounds like a screenplay of a b-movie, but sadly it's real life and not a movie. I never knew Renata (that was her name) very well, but I remember her, since I am also one of the living statues. She might not be with us anymore, but thanks to your picture she will continue living on the internet." )

This gilded temple door guards the sanctuary where the cremation chariots of the Laotian Kings are kept. At first glance, it looks like just another beautiful example of oriental art. And it is just that. But the detail is compelling, and if you study it closely, it tells a story and does so in a very surprising way. This door carving, made of gilded teak, speaks to us quite sensually, not only because of the carving, but also because of the lush golden coloration and my angle of view, which gently sculpts the figures with the interplay of light and shadow. These figures represent scenes from Lao mythology and religion. They are symbolic – the male is touching the woman on her shoulder and on the abdomen. She also seems to be holding both of his hands in hers. With that, everything changes. A closer study of detail reveals six hands in the image. The man has two extra hands, and must represent a deity. Then I looked once again at the details and they changed still again. She is not really holding his hands in hers after all. She is just holding her fingers in such strange positions, so that it looks as if she is doing so. This is a wonderfully ambiguous work of art, but it only becomes so after the details are studied closely. I am glad I made this image from this particular vantage point – close enough to make detail large enough to easily see and appreciate, yet from an angle that intensifies the ambiguity of that detail and brings light and shadow into play as well.

Buddhists make offerings of plants and foods as part of their devotions. This is one of simplest and most moving offerings I saw -- a single blossom resting in the hand of a sculpted image of Buddha. The blossom is a very small detail within this frame, but comes up with great impact because of its scale incongruity and color contrast. The yellow interior of the blossom contrasts to the white petals, and the white petals, in turn contrast to the brownish black metal hand of the Buddha. I underexposed this image significantly to reveal such detail and make such a contrast. The force of the detail is intensified not only because of the size contrast but also because the detail was recently living material, and the great hand in which it rests is made of metal. This makes the hand seem to incongruously come to life by giving it a function it did not have before. The artist has also exaggerated the length of the fingers, which add a surreal quality to the contrasts I’ve created here. I compose the image so that the wrist of the statue begins in the upper right hand corner, and sweeps diagonally through the frame to the lower left hand corner, where I bring the fingers to a halt just as they are about to touch the edge. But they don’t touch that edge, and never will. The dark negative space in the detail between the end of the fingertips and the edge of the picture becomes laden with tension. A perfect counterpoint to the graceful way the curved hand itself so carefully cradles and nurtures the blossom.

There are few woodcarvings as ornate as this one to be seen anywhere. It is at least 127 years old and probably a lot older, part of Mandalay's Shwe Nandaw Monastery, which used to be the Royal Palace of Mindon, the King of Burma from 1853-1878. This carving, as well as the entire building, was once covered in pure gold. (You can see another example of carving from this palace in my Abstraction gallery by clicking on the thumbnail below. ) I photographed this one segment to represent the entire façade because of the complexity and beauty of its detail, its rhythmic repetition, and its elegant coloration. Even though the gold is gone and the teak has weathered over the years in Burma’s rains, the fine details remain as brilliantly defined as ever. I brought three layers of detail into play here. I frame my scene left and right with strongly vertical posts, to add a sense of depth perception and also to allow the main, middle level of detail to flow between them. The image is anchored by the lithe and supple figure on the right, and then explodes into a curling, diagonal boat-like prow carrying six tiny, exquisitely detailed figures upon it. The final level of detail is emblazoned on the reddish brown façade of the palace wall itself, which provides a softly focused background for this image. I am sure that King Mindon and his 19th Century artisans wanted to evoke both a sense of craftsmanship and history with such renderings in teak, and I tried to bring a sense of it back to life in this image by expressing its essence in the finest details of the workmanship.

This still life is a study of both nature and authority. The United States National Park Service has locked a barn door, a product of both man and nature. I move in with my camera in macro mode to stress the USNPS on the lock, its long broken chain, the rusted door latch, and two wooden planks, one painted, the other naturally weathered. The most striking element in this image, however, is the large oval knot in the weathered plank. It has the same coloration as the rusted latch, and becomes a diagonal arrow pointing directly at the latch. What makes it all work is the wealth of detail that becomes visible at this very close range. Not only the initials on the lock, but the rings in the knot, the grain in the doors, the links in the chain, and the scratches on the latch, all become part of the story because of my close-up vantage point.