Reactions?

Any reactions you got.

(with special thanks to Francis Bacon)

Conflicted! Clown? Critic? Observer?

Composite or reflection ? either way it's good editing and well presented, though not sure about the message it's trying to give or my reaction.

Looks like a reflection off of a painting, catching a gallery patron viewing another painting. I like the composition. A photo does not have to convey any specific message in order to succeed. Presenting an visually well constructed photo with an open ended interpretation is often more interesting than banging someone on the head with the photographers storyline. I like the image and enjoy that it is a bit of a puzzle to sort.

 

In terms of suggestions for improvement, perhaps burning in the upper left corner to keep my eye in the frame would help with balance. Also some selective dodging and burning to make the eye in the foreground painting more prominent and the cheek area and other highlights stand out less, would heighten the connection between the viewer on the other side of the gallery and the foreground face. in the same vein, the sharpness and contrast could possibly be selectively altered in the background subject to make it fee like less of and extension of the canvas texture and more like it exists within its own context.

 

Despite the title of this forum, I am approaching the notion of "critique" in a broad sense by offering suggestions along with my reaction. I hope that this is okay.

Conflicted! Clown? Critic? Observer?

Whatever you want.

Composite or reflection ?

Reflection.

not sure about the message it's trying to give

It’s not.

Looks like a reflection off of a painting, catching a gallery patron viewing another painting.

That’s what it is.

Also some selective dodging and burning to make the eye in the foreground painting more prominent and the cheek area and other highlights stand out less, would heighten the connection between the viewer on the other side of the gallery and the foreground face.

Great suggestion.

the sharpness and contrast could possibly be selectively altered in the background subject to make it fee like less of and extension of the canvas texture and more like it exists within its own context.

Also a reasonable suggestion. I was aware of how the canvas texture imposed itself on the viewer in the background but liked that it sort of made the viewer a part of the painter’s canvas, sort of bringing together the viewer’s context, which felt defined enough for me, with the painter’s.

Whatever you want.

 

 

 

Also a reasonable suggestion. I was aware of how the canvas texture imposed itself on the viewer in the background but liked that it sort of made the viewer a part of the painter’s canvas, sort of bringing together the viewer’s context, which felt defined enough for me, with the painter’s.

 

 

Interesting, I hadn't thought of it that way but it does make sense to see the texture as a way of connecting the two scenes. Approached from that angle, the reflection stops being a reflection and becomes a part of the original painting.

A grotesque face appearing in the canvas, an expression full of intrigue with a hint of distress. The brush strokes appear like strings of mucous on a dry mouth. The foreground character is way too close to the viewer to be in his comfort zone, creating the sense of unease that is central to the feeling I get from this image. The photo makes efficient use of cinematic perspective and lighting (fully lit foreground character with distant figure in the shadow), and thinking in that angle, it reminds me of a thriller theme where characters of paintings in a museum are observing the visitors without their knowledge, who are trapped in the frame and cannot speak up.

 

From a different angle, it also reminds me of a selfie, or a still from a video chat, and in that way I find a connection between the foreground character and the photographer himself. I am kind of switching between these two kinds of feelings, the above and this one.

 

I like the contrast between the foreground and background by virtue of colors (reds and warmth vs pale and cold). I think this plays the bright, almost garish foreground against the more subtle, somewhat mysterious background character, highlighting the drama.

Supriyo, many thanks for your close attention and wonderful description of what you see and take away from this. I almost don't want to say anything because your comment should simply stand by itself. But, just because you hit the nail on the head to some extent, I'll tell you that it started out to be a sort of selfie with painting and background viewer, as I was trying to also get my own reflection in the glass covering Bacon's painting. I just couldn't get that part of it right, so I kept it more simple and just got the Bacon face and the background viewer, leaving the photographer to the imagination ... if the imagination were to go there. Again, wonderful to read your response!

Sam, its great to know that it started off as an attempt to catch a selfie in the reflection., Even without the level of complexity in reflections that you were looking to add, it stands quite well on it's own, as it is.

 

One interesting anecdote. I showed the image to my five year old daughter and asked her, what the image means to her. I sometimes do that to get the breadth of imagination that a picture can evoke. She saw the foreground figure as the painting of an alien, and the background figure as a museum guard. When asked how the two things connect together, her answer was, some robbers placed the alien's picture to scare away the guard so that they can steal paintings from the museum. I guess that's a more imaginative stance on your image than what I could ever come up with. :)

Supriyo, I hope your daughter will soon start taking pictures or writing stories!

She is wanting a camera for some time now. May be its time to get serious on that.