I like pretty pictures. Who doesn't? Sites like Pinterest and Tumblr (and I'm a fairly avid user of both) cater to this, inundating (overwhelming?) the user with thousands of beautiful images. However, I also love information. How frustrating it is to see a photo of a delicious-looking cocktail or meal on Pinterest, only to click the image and have it not lead to a recipe. (Some people, apparently, are really just into beautiful pictures of food, and not the food itself.) As much as I like pictures of beautiful things, most of the time I find that my appreciation of the image is much enhanced by having some information about it.
 |
| Photo by Fritz von der Schulenburg |
That's when I find the right-click useful. When you right-click a photo (using Google Chrome anyway), one of the options you get is "Search Google for this image." (You can also search using the Google Image Search, here...but it's a lot quicker to just right click.) When I saw the above photo in my Tumblr feed, it had no caption, and led nowhere. I right-clicked and, voila! I found a post on an interior design blog with a host of information. This photo was taken in La Torre, the Tuscan holiday retreat of jewelry designer Elsa Peretti. La Torre is a 16th century watchtower, and rather than whitewash the walls and keep the interiors (historically accurately) bare, Peretti and her architect, Renzo Mongiardino, decided to go full-on fantasy, creating a fairy tale-like atmosphere with trompe l'oeil effects like the incredible fireplace you see here.
 |
| Spiral stairs that lead to a rooftop terrace. | Photo by Fritz von der Schulenburg. |
The right click doesn't always work. Often, it leads only to thousands of Pinterest or Tumblr "sources" which have no further information about the photo. But I've found it's always worth the couple of seconds it takes to click and look.
 |
| A collection of paintings hanging on a wall painted with stripes in Peretti's bedroom. | Photo by Fritz von der Schulenburg. |
 |
| The bathroom has both real terracotta tiles, and trompe l'oeil stenciled ones. | Photo by Fritz von der Schulenburg. |
 |
| The guest room, with its beautifully stenciled walls. | Photo by Fritz von der Schulenburg. |
You can see and read more about La Torre at The Art of the Room.
xo
K
Posts
As you know, my big objection to tumblr and pinterest is the very issue you are discussing. Why would anyone pin a photo from a recipe and not the recipe itself, at least in a link?
ReplyDeleteI've finally had to unfollow any recipe boards, as it is just too crazy-inducing!
I love the right click trick. Seriously, I did not know you could do that with a photo. I've been doing it the hard way!
I was thinking of you as I wrote this, Lizzie! I've found some great recipes on Pinterest, but before I re-pin anything anymore I click through to see if it's a real link to something. (I've also been known to "fix" links here and there.)
DeleteOh, how I love Google image source search. I think I spend equal times on there and on Pinterest and Tumblr! ;)
ReplyDelete