JAke's Mascot

stuffed bird, oars . . . then what?

"What do the details tell you about the subject?stuffed bird, oars . . . then what?"...ok I'll bite.

hmm. stuufed bird and oars. Are there futher details that are supposed to tell me something here? Some kind of message that you are trying to get across? Let's see. I see christmas lights! Is it christmas in the bahamas? I see old, weathered wood and rope, which fits with the nautical, tropical theme of the oars and Parrot.

At the top of the picture I think I see some leaves among the rope and the strange construction of the rails the rope is wound around. I see something wormlike, or like intestines at the top centre and I kind of don't like it.

Sorry, not reading anything profound here. Maybe I just don't get it.

PS, ok wait...perhaps it's an abstract rendition of a crucifixion? There's kind of a shape of a cross in there but I'd say it requires a stretch of the imagination.

The fact that you titled it "JAke's Mascot", with emphasis on the name Jake suggests a clue(?) in the interperetation of this photo, but so what - who's Jake???

OK, and then in the title space you named it "JAke's Mascot" but then below in the request critique section you headlined "Jake's Macot" - I'm really grasping here but is this relevant?

haha, perhaps you'd like to fill us in?

The typos are . . . typos.

 

The ropes tell you that the oars are meant to be fixed in the "X" shaped position. The lights tell you that it's meant to be illuminated at night. The curved boards, bench seat, and background should suggest a wooden row boat, and the leaves put it on land, not the water. The whole thing reads like someone's idea for an artistic installation. It's either very recent, or they bring the stuffed bird in every night so he doesn't deteriorate.

Thank you for the explanation.

I see it as a rowboat now. I'm not too familiar with watercraft myself and figured this was some kind of wall of a shed, maybe on a seaside property or some ramshackle, weathered structure in a Caribbean marketplace. I figured the photographer to be sitting at a bar, drinking something fruity and with an umbrella in the glass, and photographing the wall across from him. By the lighting I'd say there would be some kind of roof overhead.

The lights I figured indicated that it was an unmoving structure, that maybe the lights were turned on like patio lights would be, when the owners were having company over.

Yes, the ropes hold the oars in place, and below the parrots feet, where the paddle starts to widen it looks like there is a screw head (round dot) which I figured was used to secure the oar to the vertical column (which we now know is a bench seat).

Yes the parrot is much newer than the rest of the structure. I figured someone put it there recently, perhaps some child, perhaps the vendor that owns this marketplace shack, perhaps the photographer for the photo opportunity. I never really thought about the age difference between the parrot and the structure - didn't consider that it was taken care of (brought inside). I just figured that it was stuck there because it made a nice perch.

Artistic installation? Sure, I'd agree someone put some thought into putting this structure together.

I'm curious about a couple of things,

1) Is this boat sitting on the ground, and we are looking down into it, or is it on its side, so that we view it standing in front of us (like a wall)? I figure it's on its side by the way the lights seem to be hanging and the leaves must be some kind of climbing vine coming overtop.

2) Is there a purpose to this? I notice it is in the "ratings test" folder and it came with a specific request to look closer...

cheers =) watch you don't poke your eye with the umbrella.

This "installation" is at Jake's Boathouse. They're located on the Potomac River right underneath Memorial Bridge in DC. They rent kayak's, mostly, There is a small kiosk, of sorts, a multilevel deck, and a dock. This boat lies on its side on the deck and is virtually upright leaning against the nearly vertical river bank. The only cover is full shade from the surrounding trees.

 

I had missed the screw holding the oars (I suspect you're looking at this at a slightly lower resolution than I am now and/or you have very good eyes.) The purpose is clearly decorative, but what struck me was the incongruity between the permanent nature of the assemblage and the bird.

 

There's really no reason to put it in the ratings folder, except to keep it separate from the earlier upload, but mostly I was wondering what details most people would see (or miss) in images like this as it went by in the ratings queue. I assume, perhaps incorrectly, that they would see the oars, recognize the stuffed bird, think it's cute or stupid, rate it low in part because it has virtually no technical challenges or heavy post-processing, then move on.

I am not an expert or critic.But I shall appreciate the originality and aesthetic appeal of the image and your composition,Carl.

It's very interesting to see other interpretations of one's images isn't it. It's too bad that mostly people don't have the time to fully describe what they are seeing and instead just leave a "great shot" note.

Good luck to you, Carl. It's been a fun exercise.

This should be the norm, and could be if the photo critique forum was set up properly.

 

. . . and thank you for playing aloong. :-)