Old watertower--new face.by
VanGoghComment by ubique: Greetings from the Critique Club.
This stark image is a bit difficult to evaluate. I find it kind of ambiguous ... it's centred, it's severed from the earth, and it's presented square-on (i.e. you have chosen to eschew dramatic perspective). These three factors together, at least on a superficial level, combine to supress the subject's potential for initial interest. However, your compositional choices are clearly deliberate, and the thoughtful viewer is therefore obliged to set aside first impressions and consider whether there is something deeper at work here. It's possible to construct several convincing allegorical interpretations of the image, especially in respect of the decision to brutally sever the subject from its support or foundation, creating a kind of disembodied alarm. But the interpretation that I actually prefer is the one implied by your title; the anthropomorphic appearance of the structure ... the 'hat' recalls the Tin Man from the Wizard of Oz, which I guess actually makes it an anthropomorphic
double entendre!
From a purely technical point of view, it's nicely exposed and quite sharp enough, although the subject is leaning to starboard a bit, and the post and wire at the bottom could have been profitably removed in editing.
Finally, does it satisfy the High Contrast challenge theme? Yes, I think so. There's a reasonable presence of tonal contrast, but of course there is also a very strong colour contrast.
My final evaluation: It's a more interesting image than it first appeared. Not exactly to my taste, but I have a suspicion that that could be my problem, and not yours!
Cheers,
Paul Martin
