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Shadows on the wall; dramatic, pastoral to abstract!

Michael Nagel

Well-known member
Thanks Asher. I did not ask, but it seems to be a punch/riveting tool.
The picture was taken in a mixture of atelier/shop and the owner told me that she placed the light intentionally underlining the shape of the tool and creating the shadow.

Best regards,
Michael
 

Mike Shimwell

New member
Shadow Play

One frame.
Shadows play.
Stairway.
Light!

shadowplay-1-of-1.jpg

Mike
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
One frame.
Shadows play.
Stairway.
Light!

shadowplay-1-of-1.jpg

Mike

Mike,

This is so pristine and the "door/window" space is mysterious and we can just get locked into wondering what it might be. The shadow angles are so soft, delicate and interesting. You obviously could have increased the contrast to make them snap and I applaud your decision not to do that and leave them as gentle playing on the wall.

Asher
 

Mike Shimwell

New member
Asher, Ruben

Thanks. I really didn't want to darken the shadows as that left the image too graphic and not airy and light - the whimsy gets lost.


Ruben, very different pictures. The second appeals to me more immediately for the shadow. The first I suspect grows in print from as more things and relationships are noticed over time.

MIke
 

Ruben Alfu

New member
Thanks Charlotte, I thought using this photo to start a mystery challenge, then I remembered you, and it became clear that it would be an unfair challenge for myself and the rest of the forum LOL!
 

Michael Nagel

Well-known member
Asher,

Thanks, I did not think of this interpretation. I saw the two shadows as preceding and following position of the dancer.

Best regards,
Michael
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Michael,

Once you announced the obvious, there being two shadows, then came the question, well, what are these additional folk doing. So I thought of the ancient talmudic mythical idea that we all travel with two contrary advisors whispering in our ear. These are gentle folk. (There's no evil "devil-figure" in the one that urges material pleasures and acquisitions, just a self centered-inclination with no conscience).


Asher,

Thanks, I did not think of this interpretation. I saw the two shadows as preceding and following position of the dancer.

One tempts us with bad choices the other always gives wise advice, but they both sound the same. However, to have this interpretation, one needs to be aware of the mythology going in to the picture! You made the association possible for me and it's so enjoyable.

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
This is a favorite thread of mine, so it's time to reawaken it!





_MG_7487_700.jpg


Asher Kelman: My Garden Wall #1





_MG_7489 1edited in CS5 copy.jpg


Asher Kelman: My Garden Wall #2



Cheers! :)

Asher
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Waking the shadows seems such a fictive thing to do.


Michael Stone will be proud of you! You're quick and you did it!




_D302167 by tom.dinning, on Flickr​


I wonder though if it's not factive instead. After all, you didn't alter anything. We just don't see the woman and, so simply imagine her.

This reminds me of Henri L. Bresson's street work, but it's far, far better! Actually this is an exceptional photograph; just superb! Those legs, BTW, are really so very delightful! :)

Asher
 

Tom dinning

Registrant*
I was thinking in terms of mysterious and fanciful , not fictional.
Thanks for your kind words Asher. Irrespective of the quality or appeal of my photographs I am very much at home with a camera in my hand these days, moreso than ever before. I'm never at a loss to find things that interest me, nor am I at any time ill at ease when viewing anyone else's photos. This is a good time in my life with photography. There is no pressure to appeal.
 

Asher Kelman

OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
I was thinking in terms of mysterious and fanciful , not fictional.
Thanks for your kind words Asher. Irrespective of the quality or appeal of my photographs I am very much at home with a camera in my hand these days, moreso than ever before. I'm never at a loss to find things that interest me, nor am I at any time ill at ease when viewing anyone else's photos. This is a good time in my life with photography. There is no pressure to appeal.

and it shows! This is one of the 1 in 1/10,000 pictures we'd all hope for! It happens so fast, that even with the finest skill in composing and capture, it's surely beyond any "musing", "interpretation" or "recollections". So this tells us something about the work; like "found art" in which we discover endless fascination once we pick it up on the beach.

The saying, "f8 and be there!" is the backbone for such images. One simply has to have a camera as an extension of one's being to react that fast! This is the strike of a hunter!

Asher
 

Tom dinning

Registrant*
That is good.

But, just as an intellectual exercise, if we suppose that you wanted to "appeal"... what would you do?

It might be too early in the morning for any intellectual exercise, Jerome. Nevertheless I'll give it a go.
(Brief time span elapses. Go to next scene)
****! Nothing happened. That either means I am incapable of said exercise or I have no ambition to appeal. I wonder if that's as a result of me spending a lifetime teaching others how to appeal that I forgot to learn how for my own self. Or do I indeed need to know how?
I'm not trying to be self righteous here or even antagonistic or smart arsed. You have indeed raised an interesting point. I am thinking that it probably does matter that my photos appeal to people but the list is short: me and a few close friends, and even the close friends don't really matter.
And appeal for what? Money, career, prestige, fame? Too old for that. My students? They get the old line: this is how it is done.
I find this all a bit disturbing, really. I'm locked away in my self made cave taking pictures and wondering why I do it if its not to appease the masses.
Jerome, you have given me a headache. I'm going back to bed.
 

Zeeshan Ali

New member
Lovely photographs on the thread. The subject of Shadows is a personal favorite and so here are some of mine:


Title: Courting the Shadows

courting-the-shadows.jpg

Title: A Bowl of Hope

a-bowl-of-hope.jpg

Zeeshan
 

Jerome Marot

Well-known member
It might be too early in the morning for any intellectual exercise, Jerome. Nevertheless I'll give it a go.
(Brief time span elapses. Go to next scene)
****! Nothing happened. That either means I am incapable of said exercise or I have no ambition to appeal. I wonder if that's as a result of me spending a lifetime teaching others how to appeal that I forgot to learn how for my own self. Or do I indeed need to know how?
I'm not trying to be self righteous here or even antagonistic or smart arsed. You have indeed raised an interesting point. I am thinking that it probably does matter that my photos appeal to people but the list is short: me and a few close friends, and even the close friends don't really matter.
And appeal for what? Money, career, prestige, fame? Too old for that. My students? They get the old line: this is how it is done.
I find this all a bit disturbing, really. I'm locked away in my self made cave taking pictures and wondering why I do it if its not to appease the masses.
Jerome, you have given me a headache. I'm going back to bed.

Since we live on opposite sides of the planet, it is late in the evening for me when it is early in the morning for you and vice versa, so it is my turn to get a headache now.
You wrote that you taught your students how to appeal and you pretend that you could not do it yourself?
 

Tom dinning

Registrant*
Since we live on opposite sides of the planet, it is late in the evening for me when it is early in the morning for you and vice versa, so it is my turn to get a headache now.
You wrote that you taught your students how to appeal and you pretend that you could not do it yourself?

That's a statement, Jerome, not a question. I'm not pretending, I'm just not sure. I've not had the need to appeal for some time. As I say to the barber when she shows me the back of my head after a haircut: I don't have an image problem because I don't have an image. Those I wish to appeal to died years ago.

As for my students, I usually ask them what they want out of their photos. Generally the answers revolve around some sort of appeal to some individual or group. These include editors, publishers, tourists, art critics, shoppers, family and friends - and me, of course. In my experience, each appealee has a short list of requirements which are easily identified and can be used to increase the chances of a budding photographers ego being stroked and purse being fed. The purists among us might consider this a bit crass and unethical but when your income depends on it you need to find out what works pretty quick or starve in the process (or continue living with your parents).
My choice 50 years ago was to teach what I could to those who wanted to make a career from photography. Along the way I discovered there were some who had no intentions of earn a living in this way but to appeal to a different group; themselves. Strangely enough I found myself being drawn to these people and their purpose, aspirations and needs, so much so, I have since spent most of my career assisting them in their quest, along with my own. I would say that it's only been in the last 10 years or less that I have come to grips with why, not what, and that is the difference. It's not about what we do but why we do it. When that is clear, the process is also clear. But this is such a personal thing, identifying some magical formula that will achieve general appeal has never been possible. Occasionally it can be fluked, even with some consistency by a few. But the answer lies not with the image. The answer lies within the person. People who have this need to appeal to themselves alone must firstly find detachment. That ain't easy to achieve let alone maintain. Sometimes detachment can slip through our fingers like warm butter and we fall into the trap of relying on the appeal of others to maintain our own self respect. That's when it gets ugly.

There! That should give you a headache for the rest of the day.
 
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