Reality

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Nice and original.Good shot.Regards Michael.

Over the time this photo will be getting even better. Cute observation.

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Vazand asta, imediat am zis: "un roman". Interesanta captura, felicitari pentru pow :)

Such a strong message. One single image of this kind can tell all about simplicity and complexity of human society in the same time. Felicitari, Marius!!! You had the eye for it ;)

Wow, great stuff. The composition and colors are so early-20th century modernism, and yet the kid and that frilly curtain create a startling contrast, as if someone tacked a Victorian portrait to a Gropius blueprint or something.

More documentary than artistic I feel. Not the kind of photograph I would want on my wall -- yet it it interesting to view. I see the confusion, yet orderlyness of the place, the softness (within the window frame) yet still a hardness that this child will be growing up into. (The pattern of yellow pipes reminds me of my old screen saver.) There is almost zero depth to the photograph I note, not a criticism, just a comment. Colors are interesting and the sadness of the childs face draws ones interest as well.

 

Willie the Cropper

I have been in Romania and other est european countries and it always hit me that these are places of great contrasts.

 

This image represents beautifully one possible aspect of that places... life in blocks! Blocks are one of the most recognizable landmarks of former communist countries: they are many, tall, as ordered in their position as cahotic in their internal structure.

 

this image depicts so clearly that order - that is still chaos - and the difficulty for human beings to adapt themselves to structures that seems better create for ants rather than humans!

 

on the technical side i really like the geometry depict by gas sewers as well as the choice to wait for a human face to show up and provide contrast.

 

I only feel the lack of a proper story given by the photograph itself, on why he decided to take the shot, what were his thoughs etc etc... but this is becouse i like more the stories behind pictures rather than only pictures alone, and it is surely not a photographer's fault.

A great shot of modern life. Makes me imagine a child who isn't that aware of his/her

surroundings but, soon will be. A frame full of fun details that come together quite nicely.

I like the placement of the window and the meter boxes. Having the child at the window is a great touch. I like this because it does not seem to be real life instead of a digital creation.

No, as mentioned above, it's not "high art" in the sense that it's supposed to be some

great creation from the artist. It's a moment in time, a thought captured by the lens, and

that is still art, just in a different form (documentary, as mentioned, is fine).

 

Having said that, it's a pretty interesting shot. Dichotomy between the kid (his innocence,

warmth, and softness) and the piping (cold, hard). And my first thought was that he

almost feels like he's in a prison, behind bars.

 

Nice shot. Rather than titilate the eyes, this one tends to engage the mind. Not a bad

thing, in my mind.

 

Regards--

j

Finally, a POW that presents vivid, unvarnished realism. Well done.

It struck me how much an antithesis we humans are to the mechanics of the world. Even though we live in cities we created from mechanical principals -- made sometimes badly -- our reflective nature transcends it, and never more so than through the eyes of a child. Nice photograph.

The juxtaposition is superb, as mentioned by a few already, and the balance/ monochromatic color/ meloncholy feeling all blend together to make it a real winner. And it's on the very subtle side, my favorite style too. I just wonder if the kid was 'bonus material', as I say, where serendipity occurs just as you get the composition perfected.

 

So unlike Willie the cropper, I believe this is an outstanding piece of art and I would proudly hang it on my wall; of course I understand, one mans meat is another man poison.

I don't think I would like this above my couch at 48 x 60 inches. It's too cluttered for that. Also, the message is weakly conveyed, in my opinin, regarding the connection between the boy in the window and all the utility meters. There's too much geometry in the pipes, too much chaos to be balanced (if that was the intention) by the human figure.

In keeping with all of the elements I like, but tightening it up a bit to 'clean it up' so to speak, I've cropped it down quite a bit. You lose the clutter, but keep the essence. Too much? Show me a better one.

I just read an article about an eastern European country with beautiful landscapes, and grand old castles which seem to complement the countryside.

 

This sadly shows how modern man has negatively impacted the land.

This shows a unique vision which is unafraid to live outside a normally accepted narrower vision. It is a vision connected to an inner artistic authority, where I think all true inspiration originates, rather than conforming to the fashion-dictated standards of the magazine world. If there were nothing else to recommend it I would admire this photograph for that alone.

But staying with the picture a little longer there is much more for me. The contrast between all the meters and pipes with their implication of the other families that live in this building and the solitary curious boy with a look of wonder so typical to a child's gaze are a delight. It's interesting that the meters are of different varieties and all installed a little haphazardly. So even though there is a symmetry in their installation there is also a fallibility which suggests humanity and it's foibles rather than some cold machine-like perfection. One of the untold stories only hinted here is about the humanity of the super or handyman who did this wonderful, crazy installation. There are other stories also only hinted about all the other families that co-exist with the boy of which he seems unaware but by which he is certainly affected in unknown ways. And all these other stories that are suggested but just outside the frame create a context and a whole world for this photograph to live in. The suggestion to remove some of this context and "clean it up" goes counter to my instincts. It is the uncleaned up world that makes this picture.

Here are two distinct worlds, adjacent and parallel but apparently unaware of each other. The contrast between the old fashion lace-curtain Beau referred to and the contemporary plastic covering, a poor substitute for proper glazing, on the upper window and the peeling paint on the sash are just two of the numerous suggestions of living below the poverty level while the boy's sense of wonderment is so powerful as to be apparently unaffected by ugly reality. Children handle poverty better than adults. I don't know if it's because they are unaware or unconcerned with ugly realities or because they are still so connected to something mythical that transcends the worlds squalor: their imagination. It's clear to me they have different priorities than we do and I admire them for that. My congratulations to Marius for having the imagination to see this.

Before I make any comments, I would be interested in hearing from the photographer why they chose to title the image "Reality".

Perfect in its contradiction.

This is my first time posting on this site so I hope that I do this correctly. This image caught my eye this morning because of the pipes/lines and the repetition of shapes. The complimentary colors of blue and yellow are very effective. The window imitates the shapes of the boxes and the holes in the wall in the upper left. It's interesting that there is a bit of plastic in one of those holes and in the window, thus creating another sense of repetition. The child in the window seems to be one of those moments that can make or break an image and here the curiousity of the child works very well. The lace in the window juxtaposed against the "hard" lines and shapes of the wall speak greatly to the human spirit. The only thing I would suggest is that you give just a tiny bit more space on the right hand side, so that the box there doesn't merge with the edge of the photo so much. Very nice image!

I like this, and the amount of geometry is good. As Mae West said, "Too much of a good thing can be wonderful!" As a matter of fact, I like this enough to hang it on Doug's wall. Blown up to 48 x 60.

 

The emotional pull of a simple child, even in nondescript colors, is a powerful offset to the weight of all those pipes and all that yellow. Yes, a similarly sized and colored stuffed animal couldn't effectively balance the pipes. But a toddler? No problem at all.

Why should that kid balance anything? The kid's job is to disappear in trivia, and piped he is. Now, was that so difficult to figure out? Even w/o the title the message stands clear.

Michael Seewald www.seewald.com , July 10, 2006; 04:30 P.M.

In keeping with all of the elements I like, but tightening it up a bit to 'clean it up' so to speak, I've cropped it down quite a bit. You lose the clutter, but keep the essence. Too much? Show me a better one.

 

 

Yes, it is too much. Some crop from the right perhaps, but that crop is looks forced, like you had a hole to fill in a publication.