T.M.I.: Critique This, Please

Last year Three Mile Island, nearby to my home, closed down. The owners, in a last-ditch effort to lay this off on us taxpayers, made a bid to Pennsylvania’s state government to have the people pay to refurbish and update the facility. Their plea was roundly rejected and they shut the plant down.

 

Clearly, the history of governmental & corporate lies and deceit surrounding The Incident is well enough known that I’m not going into it here, but the closing of the plant brought new light to the conflict between a power grid tied to fossil fuels versus a new order in which “alternative” energy sources become the drivers of our broad system for electricity etc.

 

Much can be said about dystopian futures and Orwellian visions of government overreach but that conversation seems a bit 1984; in other words, 30 some-odd years on from that specific demarcation point, already too late.

 

With these thoughts and others in mind, I drove out one day last December to shoot some photos of the defunct beast. Please let me know what your thoughts are on this image. I’d be surprised if there’s a single soul alive today who doesn’t have some knowledge of Three Mile Island, however vague. By now the imagery of the distinctive cooling towers may be somewhat “already been done” but I like this shot just the same. It’s obvious which are the damaged reactor towers and which were the functioning ones. Dystopian imagery strikes a chord within me and this image hits the right notes.

 

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.

 

http://ricochetridersmotomojo.zenfolio.com/img/s/v-10/p3769831153-4.jpg

I really like this (for me, "documentary") photo! The composition is wonderful, with its parallel diagonals (rails, river banks and aerial power lines). I especially like the dense aerial power lines converging and curving away to the right. Set against the delicate framework of the aerial powerlines, the cooling (?) towers look solid and attractively ''arranged' in size/depth. The same applies to the pylons. I really like the reflections of the towers in the river. The bare trees give the scene a sense of starkness. The range of grey tones looks great.

 

For me, this a wonderful example a photographer can take can a 'documentary' photo of something which has an 'ugly/failed' past that has its own visual interest and beauty in terms of composition and rendering. Masterful photography! I can only guess at how powerful a whole series of this kind of photo would be.

 

Mike

 

PS. Your photo reminded me of a series entitled ''Shroud' by Klaus Thymann and Simon Norfolk which was exhibited at my local photo festival in 2020. It's a completely different subject (a failed attempt to mitigate the effects of global warming on a European glacier). The similarity is they too produced visually beautiful documentary photos of a totally 'failed' project. Like your photo, the visual interest interest/beauty captures viewers' attention so that the documentary 'message' too gets more attention.

It has touches of Robert Adams, the Bechers, and the New Topographics.

 

Keep it up.

 

Your work could realize even more potential with skilled and limited post processing.

I like the image and like Mike sez it's a great documentary shot. The diagonal parallel lines of the tracks, the near bank, river, far bank, and towers, crossing with the opposing diagonal parallel lines of the grid, makes for a really good composition. Without the story behind it though, it would just be another good picture. As for the number of souls around today who don't have some knowledge of what happened. I think you'd be surprised by #.

HI everyone and thank you so much for your comments. Really appreciate it.

 

@mikemorrell Thanks, I agree with your assessment in that yes I am finding out that most of what I shoot does tend towards "documentary" style. I've always like to record things of visual interest along my paths of travel- where ever that finds me. Obviously, a lot of what I shoot is car and motorcycle stuff, but my eye tends towards scenes like this as well. I do tend to get around quite a lot and I almost always have a few seconds to document what I'm seeing. Oh, and I'll check to see if I can find that "Shroud" series you mention.

 

@samstevens Thanks and yep I know its high time from to get some education in postproduction work. My local community college has excellent photography programs and that includes Lightroom & photoshop, I guess that makes the course(s) Abobe- specific, but that's a good foundation, I think, for moving ahead. Ultimately, I could do a 2 year run there to end up with a Certificate In Photography and I'd love to do that when I can find the time. ALSO: New Topographics, yee haw & woo hoo. I am totally energized to learn of that! Thanks! Of course there are f@c3b00k groups, instagram pages etc dedicated to this photographic concept!

 

@MrAndMrsIzzy Thanks for your comments. I suppose it''s true that by now, considering how short the typical U.S. citizen's memory is, that fewer people know of the debacle at 3 M.I. Since I live nearby (thankfully always upwind ha ha) there are more people here who have kept it in the forward part of their consciousness. I found myself surprised tho, at how some of my more politically radical friends expressed mixed feelings about the plant's closing- many of them are totally wishing we (as a society) could move away from fossil fuels, and while Nuclear Energy isn't perfect by any means, at least it's not oil or coal.

Edited November 1, 2020 by Ricochetrider

'Shroud": Shroud – Klaus Thymann (click on the 1st photo and click through to the following ones)

 

 

HI everyone and thank you so much for your comments. Really appreciate it.

 

@mikemorrell Thanks, I agree with your assessment in that yes I am finding out that most of what I shoot does tend towards "documentary" style. I've always like to record things of visual interest along my paths of travel- where ever that finds me. Obviously, a lot of what I shoot is car and motorcycle stuff, but my eye tends towards scenes like this as well. I do tend to get around quite a lot and I almost always have a few seconds to document what I'm seeing. Oh, and I'll check to see if I can find that "Shroud" series you mention.

 

@samstevens Thanks and yep I know its high time from to get some education in postproduction work. My local community college has excellent photography programs and that includes Lightroom & photoshop, I guess that makes the course(s) Abobe- specific, but that's a good foundation, I think, for moving ahead. Ultimately, I could do a 2 year run there to end up with a Certificate In Photography and I'd love to do that when I can find the time. ALSO: New Topographics, yee haw & woo hoo. I am totally energized to learn of that! Thanks! Of course there are f@c3b00k groups, instagram pages etc dedicated to this photographic concept!

 

@MrAndMrsIzzy Thanks for your comments. I suppose it''s true that by now, considering how short the typical U.S. citizen's memory is, that fewer people know of the debacle at 3 M.I. Since I live nearby (thankfully always upwind ha ha) there are more people here who have kept it in the forward part of their consciousness. I found myself surprised tho, at how some of my more politically radical friends expressed mixed feelings about the plant's closing- many of them are totally wishing we (as a society) could move away from fossil fuels, and while Nuclear Energy isn't perfect by any means, at least it's not oil or coal.

Thanks Mike! Good work there!