Blown away. Project

I've looked at these a few times over the weeks, but only now read all the commentary about these photos. It's a great series of shots. Tho I like 3 & 4 best of all but as a group and especially in the context of destruction, the whole series is pretty strong.

The stand out for me however is how introducing any sort of title or a descriptive thought mechanism, such as been done with these, takes the photos to places nobody would have gone otherwise. This represents how powerful titles or words can. be in influencing the way we see things in general and photos or art particularly.

In this case - particularly in photo number 1, the building looks like it could be close enough to the time period that I didn't even question the context of "Hiroshima" or "Nagasaki". Even photo number 4 doesn't give the game away, with whatever we can see of the surroundings that remain intact. The more or less generic surroundings here add to the overall feeling of each shot, adding some context as well, however unrelated it may be to the subject of "destruction" or even atomic bombs dropped on cities in Japan during WWII.

I could perhaps nit-pick a little bit over these but to my eye the strength of the 4 photos together negates any need to pick each shot apart. Cool photos, nice series, and kudos for adding something to them that provoked so much thought. Well done, all the way around.

The stand out for me however is how introducing any sort of title or a descriptive thought mechanism, such as been done with these, takes the photos to places nobody would have gone otherwise.

A title can, as you suggest, be effective when it accompanies a photo that can relate to what the title says, either in reality or in our imaginations. In this case, I don’t see that kind of relationship, real or metaphorical, between the title and the photos, so the photos never took me to where others went. From the beginning, the title did lead me to question what I was “really” looking at but I didn’t feel the photos as others did or in the way intended.

I think the metaphor might be more effective if the backgrounds were eliminated. I'd do that by photographing at night with a flash.

Without explanation the resulting near-abstractions would be more strongly connected to that title.

With these photos, for me, the metaphor worked only with explanation.

I think the metaphor might be more effective if the backgrounds were eliminated. I'd do that by photographing at night with a flash.

 

Without explanation the resulting near-abstractions would be more strongly connected to that title.

 

With these photos, for me, the metaphor worked only with explanation.

Thank you terrykelly. Interesting idea, I'll try it if I'll have chance.

Cheers.