MECCA BILLIARDS

A tasteful and elegant paint job if I've ever seen one.

Pretty good tromp d'oeil. I've always wanted to use that term in a comment and now you've given me the chance, so thanks. Oh, very good picture, too.

I had no doubt you would like this.

I'm very impressed that you can spell "tromp d'oeil." I can't, and I'll be damned if I can pronounce it either. Well, it's not Osaka, is it?

Love it. Great perspective and scale. There's a surreal aspect to this and your straightforward capture of it seems harmonious with that.

What Fred said.

Well, since you said the same thing, I only have to write one thank you note. No, really. Glad you like it. I always have some negative feelings about this type of image. All I did was drive up and snap some artist's work. Not much credit to be had in that. Even a blind pig could have seen this shot. I take more pride in the "unseen" stuff, but I do appreciate the positive response from everyone.

Now, now, now, don't undersell yourself.

 

Please read especially Roger's few comments and my replies to him (lengthy though one of them is) on my latest photo. I'd love to hear more of your thoughts on this matter.

 

Looking at the photo of mine, I think you'll probably sense vast differences in our approaches to things and situations we find in the world. Yet, obviously, the same or similar questions are probably pondered by each of us.

 

No blind pig am I, and I know I would not have taken this picture in this way. I think you shortchange yourself and your potential by assuming that you merely have presented what was there. For better or worse, in all cases, you present what was there in the way that you see it. My visualization of this would, I'm pretty sure, not have resulted in this same final image. This is yours, David, and I encourage you to own it. If you think negatively of it, then that's worth taking a look at and determining why and what you might do differently that would make you think positively about it. But the one thing I encourage you to do is to NOT deny yourself here. You are clearly not JUST a button pusher and recognizing that, in my mind, is the path to growth and development.

 

I think worth a whole lot more discussion among us photographers, as we are continuing to learn and grow, is this topic of what and how much of a photo is simply capturing what's there and how much is the photographer. I think it's worth considering what your motivations are with this kind of shot and whether or not the shot is accomplishing what you want it to. I don't really think there's a totally objective standard by which to judge how personal a photo should be. Nevertheless, I do find myself responding to these kinds of shots differently depending on how sincerely and personally I think the photographer has approached it. But it's more than that. It's also whether I feel the photographer has put me, me Fred, me personally, in touch with what was before him/her at the time.

Blind pigs dream of a better world. And of shooting pool.

 

 

 

And as far as photos go, this is one of your great observational shots. The whimsical, unembellished world that happily registers on your Richter scale.

Mecca and Billiard....David, bring it to the Middle East....;-))

WOW! superb capture David !

David, I hope you take to heart what Fred said, I know I have. When I clicked on this thumbnail and it popped up on my screen I just loved the image, truly. For one thing it doesn't look like a photo but more like an "urban landscape" painting, there's a renewed interest (always has been) in this style of "street" Artwork. Your photography is so similar to this genre of painting. Here's a list of contemporary young artists that paint images so similar to your style of photos that I think if you look up some of them you'll have a renewed appreciation of your own work.....Ken Auster, Tim Horn, Tony Peters, Bruce Cody, and Timothy Horn. David I want a BIG print of this! I think this is the best job of editing color you've ever done too. I just like everything about it. The lack of cars and or people really works for me also, it's like a prairie sunset with nothing to distract the eye.

This surely isn't drive up and snap somebody else's work. This one gives a very surreal feel, something like a Edward Hopper but without a strong shade. I'm surprised that you don't see that. Maybe you were just lucky with the right kind of light and everything. I don't know, that's for you to answer. I just see a very good photo which I wouldn't mind a bit having in my own portfolio. Now go forth and maketh some more.

I went over to your page and reviewed the conversation between you and Roger. Of course it was interesting and very stimulating, even though you both are clearly far more knowledgeable about art than I. The reason I made the self-denigrating comment was not false modesty, but because I have always rather disrespected images of someone else's art. Buildings and statues are at the top of that list. Through reading those comments, I can see that I have been a bit harsh in my judgment, but I have no doubt that the images I will always cherish the most will be those that mostly haven't been "seen", and were not "created" by anything other than circumstance or a combination of circumstances. For instance, I have an image of a Pepsi Cola machine stuffed into a dumpster. Pretty it isn't. But all mine it is. Nobody made that to be a piece of art, and, until I got there it wasn't (and many would argue it still isn't). It has always seemed too easy to simply walk up to a world renown piece of art and take its picture. Beyond that, it approaches plagiarism in my book, unless it is commissioned or done for the purpose of showing others something they could not go and see for themselves. And, now I begin to see the error of my ways in that one does not have to approach such subject matter in a straight forward catalog type style. I'll take a little credit for having the sense to climb into the back of my pickup in order to get a higher angle. And only a little credit for framing and composition. That seems obvious to me. I can only take a very small amount of credit for processing. Anyone with a bit of skill could have done that as well. But, having looked at the image to which you made reference, I do see that you had a great affect on the lighting and angle of view, and those were all creative decisions. I'm still not going to get all ga ga over a straight on shot of la Pieta.

 

This is a likable image, but the greatest credit still belongs to someone else. I thank them and thank all you folks for saying such nice things about it. I'm also looking forward to thinking a bit more about this general subject. And, as always, Fred I'm extremely grateful for your fantastic and erudite commentary.

Thanks again.

I made you a print. That's the good news. Bad news, is you have to put us up for a few days as payment. :)

 

Thanks for your kind words. You are a sweetheart.

Thanks a lot. I've responded a bit to what you said in my answer to Fred. And, you can bet I'll be out there trying to come up with some more ASAP.

I don't know much about Mecca, but I'm thinking they may not play billiards there. But what do I know?

Mecca is the holiest place for Muslems,there is a huge pilgrimage to Mecca,and they for sure don't play billiard there and anywhere in the Muslem countries, so it is a good irony that it is called "Mecca Billiard"....

what gorgeous colors David...call me a fool but I like the two park coin machine as a bonus...real nice...

So glad to see you again. You've been away so much lately. I hope all is well, and that simply reflects either a busy life or having too much fun traveling to be wasting time on Pnet. At any rate, I've missed you. And I, too, like the addition of the parking meters. They somehow add to the image in a way that I cannot explain.

What seems odd to me is the 1 ball on the awning. The awning is the same color as the wall, as if it were meant to blend in. But by having a small 1 ball on the awning, it looks like there's a small ball on the table, like someone put a yellow marble on the pool table.

Interesting point. If I were the artist that did the wall, I would probably leave that out. It doesn't quite seem to fit.

It's all been said above, so I'll only add my personal "Terrific!" Warm regards...

I agree with your comments to Fred. Cheers, Micheal