"Au repos" - At rest no. 1 = tirage argentique

I will appreciate your comments on this photo that is a copy here by my

digital camera of my original print from a black and white film negative. It

may be best left untitled, although "resting" or "life and afterlife" may

express some sense of now and timelessness. What do you think?

Best regards Arthur!

PDE

Thanks, Pierre. I was lucky that my friend decided to sit down at this spot and it took only slight encouragement to ask her to move slightly for me to centre the shadow a bit better.  Interesting how the more recent bench was placed so close to this 1821 tombstone, but I assume that the grave must face backwards.

Best regards, Arthur  

I know it shouldn't be like that, but knowing you made the photo happen as it is, rather than 'accidentally found' it, somehow detracts for me.... It shouldn't, as the photo in itself has more than enough merit, but well...

The photo jumped at me as "a decisive moment" for this scene, caught perfectly well. In its simplicity, it's a very profound photo; highly effective in triggering further (and deeper) thoughts and ideas. So, no doubt, it is a very strong photo, and I do like it.

There is a certain 'street'-style flair and nonchelanche in the composition that gave me the idea you passed by this scene on a walk, - stranger on a bench - and squeezed out the best of the situation. And there, I just did not manage my own expectations right; hard to blame this photo for that, so I'll just chalk that up for myself ;-) It's not a big problem anyway.

Seriously, it is a photo that comes together perfectly. Very nice.

Wouter,

Thank you for your thoughtful comments.  I appreciate your view, somewhat more purist than mine, regarding the importance of naturally occurring subjects and ones that we stumble upon in our "image hunting" (a term freely borrowed from the title of the popular photo magazine in France, "Chasseur d'Images").  Yes, it would have been nice to find my friend resting there (that is, escaping from my photographic pursuits) with her shadow perfectly transposed on the old Savannah gravestone, rather than developing the idea from a less than definitive original shadow projection. On the other hand, the set-up type of image is for me part of the excitement of photography, where one doesn't just stumble upon such an image, but has to (wants to) spend some time getting to know the surroundings and the subject matter before framing and creating an image and interpreting it in a personal manner. 

Nicole wasn't aware of my intention when I just asked her to move slightly along the bench and I consequently hardly disturbed her relaxation and position, which I think you mentioned comes across quite naturally. That was definitely desired. This photo (12 x 16 inch print), and another composited one of a different subject which was largely "made" in the darkroom, had been in my little summer gallery for a few years, attracting a little interest but no buyers. In 1989 they both got the attention of a Canadian group putting together a 150 year retrospective of photography and printed in that anniversary edition. You can imagine my luck and pleasure in being one of three amateur photographers published by two well known Canadian art and photography historians alongside the well known works of many international professionals from 1839 to then. I am glad you like what this photo attempts to do. The fact that it remains unsold to the present doesn't bother me, just as those prints that I have sold in decent numbers don't inspire me more than this one. It was in a way a good reference point in my on-going attempt to become a good photographer (and, happily, an endless quest).