Renovation

I don't know how you managed to pull this off, what wizardry you're up to, but this shot is a classic. It seems like a very real place, even if that place is located in our imagination.

stripping walls in preparation for new paint....falling leaves in preparation for the rest that precedes new growth....brilliant work Jeff

Somebody left the door open and the outdoors managed to sneak indoors.

I like the way the two worlds collided each adding meaning to the other.

 

Terrific the way the arc of cloud below the window , taking on the role of a rainbow, leads up and over to the dust mask on the doorknob and offers up some tubes of caulking in place of gold on the other end.

You should put this up for rating. The tonal qualities and somewhat fantastic rendering sure make this an attention grabber. I mean, it seems like an inside of a room, yet overgrown with vegetation. The light seems to come from the window, yet, there is a shadowy eminence coming through the door, leaving disaster and chaos in its wake, like a vision from Goya or Revelation, or, heck, Stephen King.

This is a remarkable scene - a show stopper for sure. Very imaginative work, and well executed. I would rate very highly if offered.

 

Regards, David

Jeff! What a well ordered mess! Wery uncommon and well composed image. Congrats!

there is lots of food for the eye from the floor to the ceiling and yet the image is well organized and readable with the window as anchor point...I particularly like the front branches and the dust (at least that how I see it) suspended in the air...the grey mid tone are very rich...a pleasure to look at, abandonned and decaying places have both charm and mystery, probably because it triggers the nostalic chord...probably also the decay-voyeur mood (at least in me)....

I hope this is digitally made...too good a scene to be true...but then you make us pine to be there. great composition and effects. compliments -koushik

Comments/suggestions welcome.

It is almost not real, but very interesting to look at, this strange light/dust. I like it verrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrry much

 

kind Regards Els

Wow! Everything about this is fantastic, Superb work on this one.....

Jack: It is a real place, although tinkered with. It's a matter of inside-out or outside-in or somewhere in between. I rarely engage in such wizardry these days, but this seemed to have something real to say, so there you go.

 

 

Linda: This is my office, pre-renovation. My desk chair now sits where that pile of caulking tubes lay. I can see trees stripped bare out my window. I thought merging the two would be interesting. Thanks.

 

 

Gordon: Collision is a good descriptor. Unlike the graveyard shot, I took your advice and tried to be more careful in managing the aesthetic in this one.

 

 

Emmanuel: I did put this up for rating, which I rarely do, mostly because without entering the PN world at large through ratings, the PN world becomes smaller and smaller. Anyhow, I was thinking more of an adult "Where the Wild Things Are." But I won't pass up a comparison to Goya or even Mr. King.

 

 

David: Thanks. I typically don't put things up for ratings, but thanks so much for yours and for encouraging me to do so.

 

 

Claudio: A well-ordered mess. May I borrow that as the title for my autobiography (that is, if I ever do anything worth writing about)?

 

 

Laurent: We moved to this house in May, an old-farmhouse that had been maltreated by its previous owners. I took great joy ripping the wallpaper off and created photographic evidence of my misdeeds.

 

 

Koushik: This is a merging of two scenes, although the collision (to use Gordon's word) made sense. Thanks.

 

 

Els: It's not real. Well, actually the dust and dirt were real. We lived in squalor for several months while working on the house. I always enjoy your comments.

 

 

Andrea: Thank you ma'm. Just trying out some new things here.

 

 

 

After reading all the comments what is rest for me is join the chorus.Interesting melange of in /out elements, so many of them, took me a while to "digest" the richness/organized chaos, the B/W and rich tones of grey. The source of light and shadow play.Very interesting Jeff, old in "honor" of the coming new.I have my personal thoughts where you have photographed this scene....;-))

 

I see that we wrote simultaneously...

 

( btw, Adan W. is here for a short visit, and we are having some time together)

Thanks. Feel free to share your thoughts and private reflections. I'm always open to hearing them. Say hi to Adan for me. What world travelers you both are. I can barely manage to make it to the grocery store.

hahahaha! Jeff, feel totally free to use the words. I'm very pleased to lend you something!

This is amazing, it's like I just woke up from some dream and this is what I found, the contractors left without finishing and somehow I have a tree in the new bedroom that I didn't ask for. I cant figure out how you did all of this but it's seamless.

Now this is the sign of a great photographer......making such a mess into a work of art! I had to laugh at this amazing combination. At once there is both discord and harmony. Having remodeled a room like this myself, I can really understand the scale of the mess. I love these old rooms with high ceilings, wide moldings, and squeaky floors (are they wide-planked?) The plants can serve as the vision for what the room WILL become. Now you know you're going to have to send us another shot of this after completion. :-)

Amazing composition, Jeff. I like this scene for a cleaning and maintenance company. :)

This feels like a mood piece, like in spite of the disarray, your head is in the clouds as if imagination is what we see. In this state of transition, "the sky is the limit." The vegetation is cool -- like even in the clouds, there is life and growth.

Claudio: The office is now freshly painted with refinished floors. And I have to tell you, with the amount of clutter I generate, the renovated room doesn't look much better than this.

 

 

Bob: Those damn contractors. I should've read the fine print. They also do interior landscaping. Always check references, my friend. Always check references.

 

 

Christal: So, earlier this year, we bought this old farmhouse circa 1845 because it had much more space than our previous digs. What a nightmare it's been. The previous owners (who had been in the house 30-plus years), did nothing. And they had a pack of dogs roaming around, scratching things up, doing their business, etc. It's taken about six months just to make a dent in restoring this house, not just cosmetically, but the guts as well, all left unattended. It's been a hectic six months trying to renovate, work, and parent two kids. So, Claudio's "well-ordered mess" description rings true. On the plus side, the house is charming and well worth the effort.

 

 

David: Yes, perhaps I could sell this as a stock photo for disaster ads.

 

 

Donna: Noah has been reading "Where the Wild Things Are" every night. He loves Max. Before he goes to sleep, we try to get the "wild" out of him by letting him gnash his terrible teeth, roll his terrible eyes, show his terrible claws, and make a terrible roar at me. And then I pronounce him "cured" of his wildness and he goes to sleep. Sort of. He surreptitiously sneaks into his sister's room and soon a wild rumpus begins, usually involving jumping on the bed. At least until Deb or I intervene. We're pretty strict about curbing wild rumpuses. Gabi loves the part where the room melts away into forest. I remember when I was little, that was my favorite part. I suppose it still is.

In summary: A classic example of a photograph that works and that does not need to be explained by the author, leaving the viewer free interpretation... Congratulations!!!!

 

I like the indistinct light from the window source, more yet the other dissimilar streaks of light vapor, which, with an imprecise source, hit the ceiling the door and just below the window sill as well as right of frame. As if traces from another time this light evokes presences, and belongs perfectly with the grand old chaotic scale.

Jeff, you have magically transformed mess into a masterpiece.

there's not that many photos that I would pay money for and hang on my wall. This however, without a second thought and enjoying it for a long time to come.

Hi Jeff!

 

When I looked at this my first thought was how determined nature is in reclaiming man made structures when they are abandoned. The branch seemed to be reaching across the debris in an old, abandoned building toward the light in the window, taking back it's own. Now I know it is a renovation I really have to admire your energy and ambition in taking on a project like renovating a farm house when you already have so much on your plate. It is a compelling image. Are you going to post pictures of the progress? Best wishes, Linda