a fine place, once
by 2mccs

Comment by PennyStreet:
Fabulous!

a fine place, once
by 2mccs

Comment by streetpigeon:
Wonderful composition and sense of being gutted. Real feeling of quiet, bygone gentility.

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by 2mccs

Comment by daisydavid:
I like this, probably because, as with Paul's essay, it is culturally representative. An assumption from someone who has experienced neither place physically, but I can see the presence of a universal theme. The veneer of environment on the human condition peeled back. Not unlike an archaeological dig, all dust and rocks, the facade to the human condition. One could go to either place, and hidden behind all that sparseness, one would find the whole gauntlet of human nature, the good, the bad, glory and despair. You and Paul are unpacking your environment, that irresistible urge to pick at it, poke it with a stick, turn over the rock, reflecting the same attributes within yourselves that you are exploring outside yourselves. Just a hunch. Thank you for sharing.

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by 2mccs

Comment by RKT:
I always find these sort of vernacular, typologies fascinating...and I'm not sure why. Or maybe fascination is wrong? Curious works. They make me curious. Does "fascination" convey "delight"? I don't know. Of course these images don't conjure delight in any sort of way, yet I don't find them depressing. They, as in the situations depicted, aren't happy either, they're just there. We pass them in a our cars with looks on our faces, secretly hoping we'll never have to know such ways of life. I have this sort of thing all around me. I can walk down the road not half a mile and take a picture of something just as bad, but instead of settings of barren dried earth it's lush green-ness and out of control vines that try to cover what shouldn't be put out there for all to see...Eden gone bad. Decadence and squalor always seem to occupy close quarters. I think it's the way of the world. It all still leaves me wondering though...what happened? What was that precise point of no return? Why is there so much garbage and why does no one pick it up?

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by 2mccs

Comment by 2mccs:

Originally posted by mariuca: Marla, I do not understand your reaction to your own essay. Are you unhappy because you made an excellent documentary about a depressing place? Do photo essays need to be only happy and uplifting? Is not what you showed is a part of life? Looking forward to your next essay.

Thank you Mariuca for the comment. I am not unhappy with my essay. I think I captured what I saw accurately. Both your and Paul's essays crystallized my feelings towards my own essay as depicting a very empty depressing part of the world.

a fine place, once
by 2mccs

Comment by VisionsBySuzanne:
Nicely captured. B&W fits this photo perfectly.

a fine place, once
by 2mccs

Comment by Zita:
Commendable B&W work - subject is certainly apropos for it.

Instinctively, I keep scrolling up to catch more of the top of the window and the rotting curtain which makes me wonder if a portrait orientation might have been worth considering. However, the landscape orientation does force the eye immediately to the wooden seat, the peeling wall covering and that rotten window sill, which are all most interesting, and nicely framed with the delicate, repetitive wallpaper design. Ah, I may have just answered my own question about your choice of orientation. :-)

Fascinating study. Good eye.

a fine place, once
by 2mccs

Comment by tanguera:
Wonderful, gentle touch with your pp'g. Perfect for this delicate creation.

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by 2mccs

Comment by herfotoman:
The fleeting/moving bits in each image gives it an extra dimension, enriching it.

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by 2mccs

Comment by mariuca:
Marla, I do not understand your reaction to your own essay. Are you unhappy because you made an excellent documentary about a depressing place? Do photo essays need to be only happy and uplifting? Is not what you showed is a part of life?
Looking forward to your next essay.