This food story came to be in the same way as the one there. First I shot a closeup of a cucumber thinking of adding it to my macro collection. After multiple shots capturing best the patterns, subtle colours, and textures, it felt like the idea had to be pushed further.
Diptych is based on the principle that two are better than one. It works like two pieces of a puzzle, completing each other. And the result outweighs the value of each image alone. For a diptych to work, the composition, colours, and light need to complement each other when put together.
The diptych may play on similitudes and variations or juxtaposition and contrasts while keeping a visual coherence.
Here I decided to go for the second approach, which applies to:
The perspective: To bring interest into the diptych frame, different points of view usually work best. In this case, a closeup shot is combined with a contextual shot. One frame focus on the subject details and the other shows a broader view of the subject as part of a larger scene. Ultimately the overall composition of the diptych needs to be well-balanced.
Colours: They play an important role in tying together the two frames. Here the warm colour of the background in the second shot creates an interesting contrast with the cool colour (green) of the cucumber in the first shot. The orange background also represents the summer heat in contrast to the refreshing taste of the green cucumber. Also, the orange tomatoes are like little touches reminding the main background colour.
The light: Soft on one side and hard (strong shadows) on the other.
Yet the diptych is coherent thanks to a shared main subject (food, cucumber) and other subtle elements present in each frame, like the honeycomb-like patterns and the different shades of green.
I enjoy building visual narratives and making a diptych is a playful exercise to do so.
