Ship-shape Shadows: SMASh Contest #302 Entry

This shadow in itself does not quite show what it is, although, some might be able to guess that it is actually a gun on a turret. In this case it was on a battleship in Thailand. An old ship that had been decommissioned and turned into a memorial and tourist attraction that allows visitors to freely wander around on its decks getting a sense of what it must have been like to work and live on it - although it is now on dry land so there's no chance of getting seasick.

In the bright sunshine there were a lot of interesting and strange shadows, some more abstract than others, and all showing up so well on the battleship grey paintwork. With so much unusual equipment and structures around it was hard to known quite what some of its purpose was. These odd storage holders being a good example - I have no idea what they once held but I love the shadows they produced.

Other parts are obvious such as the cords holding the awning over these portholes. This shadow really highlights how the ship's bodywork is not quite as flat as you might expect.

This tap is another obvious one.

But where shadows combine they become even more abstracted from their sources, like these last two.

I can't say much about the history of this ship because, thanks to Shadow Hunters, while exploring it I spent most of my time just looking for shadows!