september - as i was saying... Street Composition b

Jack,

Of your three compositions at this location, this one works best for me.  I tend to prefer clean and simple pictures, with regular geometric shapes.  This one compresses the depth of the subjects into an apparently flat, single wall.  Everything becomes rectangles within rectangles.  I especially like the way the shadows play across the closest wall - I start to see waves or moire patterns.  Putting the dark pole way off to the left works well to add needed contrast and balance.  And the bits of yellow in the pavement are perfect.

I hear repeating myself once again: what a wonderful way to start a day by looking and enjoying this gem, , my favorite of this series. Sorry being this short but duty calls. Up and Go....

the color and style somehow reminds of an Edward Hopper painting. Really very nice!

The cleanliness, the lines and the pastel colors are all very appealing. I read a study somewhere in the past that churches where membership is mostly 'homogeneous' tend to be the most successful. What has this got to do with this image? Well, that black 'pole' on the left side keeps me wondering whether it fits in. I close my eyes and imagine that it is not there and then I think it is missing something. So there lies my conundrum!

 

In the end, I still like the original as presented.

 

All the very best and nature calls me to sleep,

 

Jack, Beautiful composition. I like the balance and the colors. Well seen and composed. Best regards, Marco

Jack,

Graphically speaking, this one has a pretty palpable calming effect on me. I just feel like I can look at it whenever I need to calm down. 

On the other hand, one may see these carefully spaced human artefacts as cold, alien and depressing. A rather fitting description of most of our "developed", "dehumanized" corners of the world. 

I hope it is not a sign of a sickness but still, I find the image really relaxing! Just cannot help!

Three baby sundials and Papa sundial out for a stroll.

Contrary to something I read above, I find this image has surprising depth. I say surprising because I would think that it should feel flat, yet it does not feel that way to me.

I suspect I'll be roundly criticized for my view, but from my POV, I prefer everything about this composition, except for the dark pole far left. I'd a cropped it out. Otherwise, I love this high key low profile study in shades and tonality.

Gosh, Jack, I came back and now I think I like this one the best.

 

--Lannie

Mark: Appreciate your taking time to comment at length. Living in a big city like Osaka has its advantages and disadvantages. On the one hand it offers a myriad of shooting opportunities but on the other, it's like living in a three ring circus - there's just too much going on all the time. It's difficult to be able to isolate structural elements as I have here without some passerby strolling through the scene or a taxi driving right into the middle of your composition. This was a rare chance in an industrial section of town on a Sunday and luckily the streets were deserted. I feel I made the most of my opportunity.

 

Markku - Thanks. By now I have a pretty good idea of which of my pictures will catch your eye. I've learned a lot from the way you compose your pictures and I'm sure something of your style has rubbed off on me. I was almost certain you would respond to this one.

 

Nick - Interesting you should say that because the thought crossed my mind as well. The other more vertical view of this scene, on the other hand, reminds me of the artist and illustrater, Saul Steinberg, especially his New Yorker Magazine covers.

 

Tony. Interesting comment about the churches, sounds like something that Malcolm Gladwell might do an article on. Personally I never doubted the inclusion of the dark pole; for me it just seemed right. But you're not alone in wondering whether it would have been a stronger picture without it. (see David Meyer's comment below)

 

Marco - Thanks for the comment. I agree; this picture has two elements that are very important to me: simplicity and balance.

 

Bulent - Every time you show up with a comment on one of my pictures it causes me to lose an hour or so. You so often seem to cut straight to the heart of the matter that I feel compelled to respond but to do so, I have to answer everyone else's comments as well. So your remarks often serve as the trigger that sets the whole time consuming (but ultimately rewarding) process in motion. Like you, I don't find this picture cold or distant but rather calming. I'm quite happy with it, actually. I hope you'll post one or two of your latest photographs. I've missed your pictures and I'm sure a lot of others feel the same way.

 

Gordon - thanks for dropping by. This doesn't feel like a formal picture at all, there is something of the feeling of Edward Hopper in it. Even though he often painted deserted streets, building facades and people in various degrees of isolation, there was always something inviting about his work, a kind of inner warmth. I think the pastel colors work particularly well here. It's kind of a disarming picture, if I do say so myself.

 

David - Thanks. As I said to Tony earlier, I never really considered omitting the pole; for me it just seemed natural to include it. It would doubtless be a different picture without it, but somehow the picture as it is fits my particular sense of balance - even if it is rather quirky sometimes.

 

Lannie - Thanks for the comments. I'm also torn between the two. As I said to Nick, this one has a kind of Edward Hopper vibe and the other reminds me of Saul Steinberg. Actually, I like them both though this one has proved the most popular.

 

 

 

 

 

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Like Bulent I find it telling that a photo consisting of nothing but human artifacts brings to the fore a notion of the "dehumanised". Like those doors leading to empty space, this place holds Nothing in store. (But wait, there is an open sky where gods may dwell, and looking closer still, tufts of grass appear in the fissure along the fence, reminding us that this preternatural place too rests on the earth, and not mere emptiness resides where those doors lead, but danger too.)

Mark already said it perfectly all the way at the beginning; I fully agree with what he wrote.

Sorry it's taken so long to thank you for your comments. Bengt, I appreciate you taking the time to express the feelings this picture engendered in you. I agree that though this is largely geometrical, it is not coldly or clinically so. And as for you, Wouter, I give you a pass on this one since I got some nice comments already and am in a generous mood. I won't be so lenient next time. :-))