影と陰の一体曲線 (The Single Curve Made of the Shadow and the Shade)

　1枚目の写真は、1月31日のウォーキングの折に右手の赤い屋根が青空によく映えている様子に見とれて撮ったものである。掲載に当たってはトリミングを施すつもりだったが、左手に、撮影時に気づかなかった太くて黒い曲線が意外にも写っていた。それが面白いので、トリミングをしないまま掲載した。歩道と車道との間の柵には、そのような曲線状の影を作るような太い横桟はない。曲線の左右での柵の影のずれから、歩道・車道間の段差によるものと思われるが、手前では、段差の側面は見えていないはずで、段差の影のみが黒線を形作っているだろう。他方、道路が右へカーブし始める辺りから前方では、側面（それ自身の陰の中にある）も見えているはずである。つまり、黒い曲線は、前方へ行くに従って影が陰を取り込んで一体となったものと思われる。

　2枚目の写真は、1月30日に撮ったもので、これも影が面白い。午後のまだ早い時間だったが、冬の陽は木々の影を長く映して、道に美しい模様を作っている。

On the occasion of walking exercise on January 31, I was fascinated by the red roof shining well under the blue sky and took the upper photo. Trying to crop it for posting here, I found, on its left, a thick, black curve, of which I had been unaware when shooting. The origin of the curve was a little mysterious, so that I am posting the photo without trimming. The fence between the sidewalk and the roadway does not have such a thick horizontal bar that would make such a shadow. From the mismatch of the shadow of the fence at the left and the right of the curve, it seems that the curve was made by the difference of the heights between the sidewalk and the roadway. Portion of the black curve nearer to my camera must be made only of the shadow of the side face, because the side face itself is unseeable from that position. On the other hand, portion of the black curve further than that, where the road turns gradually to the right, should consist of both the side face, in its own shade, and its shadow. Namely, the black curve is considered to be the shadow that captures more of the shade as it goes further.

The lower photo, taken on January 30 in Tsukuno-minami housing complex, also shows intriguing shadows. Though it was still early in the afternoon, the sun of winter was projecting long shadows of trees on the road to make a pretty pattern.