Untitled

dark area in lower left is a distraction from the composition.

The authoritarian tone of the comment is surprising. Its concision somewhat reveals the short lenght of time spent not on looking, because all can look, but on seing with a photographer and an artists perspective.

No sorry Miss, the black curve area balances the curve described by the rope... It is reminiscent of feminity as, I dont know if you took the time to notice, theses are childrens panties. More essentially it leaves a space for imagination and interpretation, this image is not locked. I understand that the black curve area could be deemed anoying to people with a less artistic eye, this however is not an add for Tide. Regards.

I had diverse opinions and ratings of this photography, some who like

it and some who dont... Still when I take a look at the works of

those who dont I am deeply relieved, but why is it that some like or

dislike it ? This is not a picture that communicates an intense

emotion... Rather an impression of stillness and quiet, introspection

perhaps...

Please let me comment about your previous comment before I go ahead about the picture's comment itself...

I think you are both right in your own way. "The black curve area balances the curve described by the rope." Agreed.

"It is reminiscent of feminity". Agreed, though that isn't really so strong in this case...

"More essentially it leaves a space for imagination and interpretation". Certainly, but... We can't really blame somebody for not watching a picture long enough to see all of its architecture and strong points and finesse. I'll get back to this further...

"I understand that the black curve area could be deemed anoying to people with a less artistic eye, this however is not an add for Tide."

Here I disagree a little. Not with the point you are making, but with the way you make it. This black area IS, as a fact I would say, THE originality of this composition. It doesn't mean it's good or bad. It means, and here you are right, that it is what we should be looking at and wonder "where is it going?" Fine. But if Cedar saw it as something disturbing, that doesn't mean she is less artistic just because of that.

The fact that you willingly included the black within your frame doesn't mean either that it will work for everyone.

Now, what do I think of this image ? I think it makes sense. You took a common subject - I mean, hanging clothes are REALLY a common subject - and you framed them in a totally unexpected way.

Clothes are almost right in the middle of a vertical frame whereas most shots we see show them off-center in an horizontal format. Then, this black area comes as a surprise as well, and that's why Cedar made this comment. Basically, originality of the subject is low, but originality of the treatment is VERY high. Originality rating at 7 or 8 seems therefore quite fair. Yet, it's a 7 for me, because you haven't managed to grab Cedar's attention with this. You got mine, but honestly, I feel you have done much smarter than this a far as originality is concerned... Here your picture pulls be in a lot less than other shots of yours...

Minimalism is about less becoming more, and here, to me, it never really becomes more... Of course that's just what it does to me, and I explain it in this long post. Cedar was actually telling you the same in a quick a apparently unfriendly way. I know Cedar for quite a while, and she's a quick and brutal critic... not always a bad one, though... Call her the Queen of Shortcuts or something like that...:-)

Now, aesthetically... The picture has no imperfection and is consistent with the theme, though not really outstanding either. I'd say 8...

The main part of this long boring post of mine being... that I feel this shot was very close to be great and to please Cedar and myself and many more people I guess... Had you just left a bit more of this black area on the left... It would be black and large enough to arrest our attention. Here, one needs to be looking really for something in this image in order to find it and start dreaming...

If you had left a larger black hole there, people would understand easily that it is an important element in this composition... Here, it isn't easily understood. Art is not always for all and for all times any time... When I want a picture of mine to be understood and loved, I use larger black holes, if you see what I mean. We are not talking about anybody being stupid, I think: just talking about adapting a communication to a targetted type of public...

If you want MANY people to travel through your image, you need a large hole at the bottom left. If you want a more stubtle main subject, you do just what you did, and you have still high chances to appeal to a few people looking for subtleties in an image to interprete them. If you are not calling us to look and if we are not prepared to look high and low for a key to the meaning, you've lost us. That's a plain reality of communication - which applies as well in advertising by the way...

I uploaded a few images here knowing that the meaning was difficult or impossible for most people to grasp... Did I expect a large success ? No. Were these images very successful ? No. Did SOME people like it ? Yes. Makes a lot of sense to me. No complaint.

That's all in my still life folder if you want to have a look. "Past-midnight dialectic" Black and white toned version works better for me than the color version, but the color version was more successful because the colors were strong. The meaning of this image ? Yes, I see a meaning. I'm not quite sure what others see, except for 1 or 2 comments that seem to have told me about it... I don't think it's easy to understand either. For me it is clear because I took this picture, but others don't live in our minds...

Another example would be my "Silence and the cross", which I really love very much... The meaning is almost impossible for outsiders to catch. Never mind... It shall remain a question rather than an answer... "Side by Side" is a lot clearer and therefore communication with others was more successful - I think it's normal. Etc.

Your work is often VERY original, AND very much an attention grabber... That's why I like it. Because it is bold and strong and immediately captivating. I'm not a subtle photographer at all. Doug Burgess is. Others are. That's all fine. But I think you real style - well, as I see it at least - is governed by STRENGTH followed by FINESSE... Here, I see the finesse, but less obvious, because I see less strength... You basically didn't force me to look, whereas I had no choice at all but to look when I saw your other images - and I liked that about them...:-)

Regards.

I like this photo, but agree with comments that the dark area puts this composition out of balance.

De la finesse en toutes choses.

Nabil, would you mind if I were to download this image, modify it, and then repost it to further this discussion?

Not the least Doug. Suit yourself. I dont own a computer and have access to the net using friends machines. So if you see that you can better it go ahead.

 

In my opinion, the first variation very strongly supports Marc's thesis, that more of the passageway creates a higher degree of viewer interest and environmental depth, as compared to the original shot. Variations 2, 3 and 4 were produced to address comments related to issues of compositional balance. I realize they do not exist in real life. Their inclusion is to prompt discussion.

|Im lost for words, thank you again for your interest in my work | Your variations push this photo further, and discussion there shall be with those who want to provide their insight | Here's my feedback | V a r i a t i o n 1 / Is exactly what Marc had in mind, I would say why make what is obvious, ie the black curve area, even more so ? I think that the shot would loose of its fragility, because I see this image as fragile, almost nothing to see there, few elements but they blend into a composition almost seemingly | This photography's main asset is that it doesnt strike as being obvious | The black curve is there to tilt something in the subconscious of the looker | Also speaking the pull of this picture I think its weak and agree with Marc on this, still I dont consider my work to be meant for a large audience or I would be doing color to start with... | If a few people appreciate this shot as it is that is all im asking for | V a r i a t i o n 2 / Balance is lost, the image becomes obvious, it becomes a 'cute shot'| V a r i a t i o n 3 / 4 | // Here is pasted a comment made on July 11th concerning 'looking to the future' http://www.photo.net/photodb/photo.tcl?photo_id=846000 // I think that at some point our community will have to draw the line. A line that is clear for all to see between photography, that is what you get when you press the shutter, and computer modified imagery. We need to draw the line because the confusion is too great to ignore, when rating a picture I dont know anymore if its a formidable shot im looking at or a formidable amount of time spent at a desk keying on photoshop. This image bears its name well, we are looking at the future of photography where people absorbed by the culture of mass entertainment and consumption will not be satisfied anymore with what exists. What to expect of generations raised with mtv and nike adds as visual 'repéres' ? Ultimately, after all the efforts that have been made to popularise it, photography will remain the secret garden of a select few, that see a human genius in the works of Brassai and Cartier Bresson that no 'photoshoper' will ever match. // end of pasting // | My personal view regarding variations 3 and 4 is that they are both extremely interesting , variation 4 is a knock out, but... they dont exist, thus they betray the hole process which gave birth to our Art | The manipulations I have made on my picture are all listed as follow | reversal, negative reversal, and on my selfportrait you can see that the blank of the eyes is missing, because that image finds its context in the Teleport presentation, or maybe because I am looking at the future and considering a transition to photoshop | I like to freak out people as you surely noticed and got some ideas concerning photoshop (expect the worse) | But whatever comes out of photoshop will NOT be labelled photography, it will be digital art and sitting on a separate folder | Regards |

// personal note / |If you consult my community profile there is an appeal for donations, or trade and exchange | It would be hard for me to embark in photoshop without having a computer to start with |///