SOUL CONSOLING TOWER

Manzanar. I am trying to decide if the flags, which seem so out of

place to me, were put there by super patriots as an "in your face, my

country right or wrong" statement, or if they could have been put

there by internees or their descendants to show that they were still

Americans and patriots even after being wronged.

Good questions Dave, Very interesting photograph.

David, a million-dollar question.

It's a great shot. You composed it well, including both the American flags and the fence, getting the three-dimensionality of the monument to read very nicely. The mountains in the background add another level of "monumental." Very nicely seen. I get an amazing sense of Americana, and the Chinese characters take on more meaning because of that, standing out as they do.

 

Curious about any processing you did. The mountains seem so hazy, yet the ground seems perhaps a little deepened in value compared to the rest of the atmosphere. So there's an inorganic quality to the overall atmosphere. Perhaps it's simply a filtering issue or just my eye.

Bouncing off Fred's comment, the hazy background and the murky foreground meld well to underscore those dark, hazy memories of patriotic mistakes and missteps, covered, as you've implied, by self-absolution.

Fred and Jeff, this image has some serious problems. First off, it was raining. Not heavily, but, nevertheless, raining. So the soil is wet as is the flag and everything else. Next issue was I worked on this on my laptop with PhotoShop Elements. I'm not very familiar with Elements, even though many of the features are similar. I'm having a lot of trouble in adjusting saturations and contrast. So, I'm not very happy at all with the outcome here. I'm home now, and will try to work on this with my familiar CS4 program. I think it can be much better.

 

For those of you who have not been to Manzanar lately, they have a very nice interpretive center and they are starting to reconstruct some structures and better mark the locations of others. It is a very moving place.

I went to Google to understand the significance of Manzanar in American history, learned a bit, but will not refer to the different feelings it evokes in the American population. It is an interesting composition, for me ,because of the white monument with letters which are not in English, and the difference between FG and BG.that adds to the unusual composition ,I do think that a very tiny bit adjustment, darkening the mountain will not change the meaning,but will add composition wise. As usual you put your finger( camera...) on interesting ,sometime controversial subjects in your life surrounding and culture. ;-))

why do you think it has something to do with soul consoling? It could as well be a fine mechanical device with a vibrating feature. I agree, nice composition. Cheers, Micheal

a pure white obelisk in a bleak setting on a dull day with silver light rimming the barren mountains... tawdry flags hanging limp... a fine composition... and interesting

First of all, it's a wonderful picture, the tones and composition are as soul consoling as the tower and there's a great feeling of depth, of a moment of peaceful reflection in the stretch of eternity. As for the flags, I would guess they were put there by the internees or their families. It's ironic to think that Roosevelt was famous for saying "we have nothing to fear but fear itself" and it was exactly that, "fear itself" that put these Americans behind barbed wire. It's a lesson we would do well to remember in these days when so many "patriots" trade in rumor, conspiracy, innuendo and that old standby, fear itself.

I have made some changes, although I'm still not happy with the image. I'm glad I made you aware of Manzanar. As a citizen of Israel, and as the person I know you to be, I would imagine you have a keen interest in human rights.

As always I'm grateful for you commentary. There was a letter in our local newspaper a few days ago from some clown who had just been vacationing in Canada, and, while he conceded it was a beautiful country, he waxed poetic about how glad he was to be back on American soil. As if he had just fled a concentration camp or something! At least your country does not have the stain of Japanese internment.

Thanks. I always enjoy your very intelligent commentary.

I could not agree with you more. I'm still flabbergasted by the number of people I talk to who have either no concept of the Japanese internment or simply think it had to be done. To me it is as shocking as if it had happened yesterday. Those "patriots" who think this country is perfect and who are not willing to look at the mistakes made are a grave danger to us all.

" . . . he waxed poetic about how glad he was to be back on American soil" I wish him a long life. Grating from Canada.

 

Just one of the many. . . . . . . Bravo David

 

Cheers; Bela

Thanks. Good to hear from you.

If I recall my 20-years-ago visit to the cam, this monument is in what was the camp cemetery. Unlike other countries' concentration camps, there weren't a lot of dead out of Manzanar, but there were a few. I photographed the same thing, but on black and white film. No flags or fence at the time, and no interpretive center. You were pretty much on your own.

It is being minimally reconstructed to give a better idea of how it was. The interpretive center was really good. It taught me something I already kind of knew. There is no way I could go to the Holocaust Museum. I just can't take the lovely way mankind deals with its problems.