Grass In Sandby
togtogComment by dsidwell: Greetings from the Critique Club!
I concur with all of the compliments below!
In this image, I get an alien feeling, as if this were taken on another planet. First, the grass isn't a "normal" color. Add to this the strange colored gravel and other surroundings and the complete absence of shadows and hightlights. The grass in the upper right catches our interest, but you've also created interest elsewhere with your strange use of light and texture, that I find both puzzling and appealing. The second darker object in the upper right seems as though it is partially covered with water--note the slight highlights at the "water line" near the edges of the object. It is difficult to recognize anything in this shot, so it succeeds as an abstract of sorts.
As photo gazers, we are looking in this image for something concrete on which to "ground" ourselves so we can recognize things and have the peace of mind of knowing that "Ahhh, this is a tidy clump of grass amongst the sand and gravel." Instead, the photo is more challenging, tempting us with a few--and only a few--bits of concrete imagery. I infer from your image that you meant to do this: to be a bit postmodern and bleak and make us work for our pleasure instead of handing things to us on a silver platter. It's not exactly what DPCers want, but then DPC ribbons are not always congruous with excellent photography--or at least many good photographs do not win ribbons, especially if they are experimental, as I'm thinking this one is.
I may be way off base here. If so sorry. But I do think that we do need to take photography into new directions, and this is not always a pleasant journey for the photographers who do such work. So thanks!
In sum: I like the photo, but I acknowledge that it takes some work to get at it, and I'm still unsure as to whether or not all of my assumptions, based on the clues given, are correct.
I look forward to seeing your excellent work in the future!
David
Photographer found comment helpful.
