This month's blur project inspired me to try something different from my usual sharp, noise-free entries.
I also owe thanks to Louis for his wonderful shot The Dream. His mastery of light and shadow was my goal, and the idea of this shot was to ask why someone might be leaning against the wall.
I know this type of shot doesn't do particularly well, but that's okay. I'm just hoping to connect with some people.
I put myself and the picture on opposite ends of the photo to enhance the feeling of separation. This was an experiment with not only getting out of the middle, but also putting subjects on the edges.
I'm also hoping this is a case where noise adds to the mood, because it's all from processing; the original is quite noise free.
Statistics
Place: 60 out of 128 Avg (all users): 5.5442 Avg (commenters): 7.6000 Avg (participants): 5.6122 Avg (non-participants): 5.5102 Views since voting: 1051 Views during voting: 218 Votes: 147 Comments: 18 Favorites: 1 (view)
Jeffrey, I drew this photo for the critique club, but it looks as if you have gotten some excellent comments already, so I'll just leave you with a sentence or two. :)
When I look at this shot, the first emotion that comes to mind is loneliness. The darkness, the shadows, the noise, etc set this up to be a very lonely feeling shot. The next emotion would have to be one of regret. It almost looks like he has done something he regrets and can't undo it, now.
Here is another use of blur: to complicate and/or obscure symbols.
For symbols to work, they have to be known by the viewer. But if the viewer already knows what a symbol means, then the symbol is a cliche. This is the Catch-22 of someone who wants to create a meaningful work. The artist must come up with strategies to circumvent it.
In this photo, we have the symbol of the framed photograph. It is clearly a family photo of a child. To show that photo and not the child is a symbol of the child being absent. Next we have the symbol of the man in darkness. The darkness tends to represent the man's own misery. The man is clearly looking at the photo. This symbolizes the importance of the girl to the man.
If this were all there was to the picture, it would be a cliche. But obscurity complicates these symbols, and that obscurity is a combination of darkness and noise (blur). The obscurity does not help the symbols as symbols. Quite the opposite. For example, it is difficult to tell what is holding the picture up. Close examination reveals that it is sitting on top of a bookshelf, but the bookshelf is so dark and obscured as to be ghostly. The viewer ends up spending a lot of time wondering, what is the position of this child in the family, bringing up metaphorical notions like what is her role? and what is her status? Also, the high position of the photo causes the man to look straight ahead, with his chin up, in a position more proud than defeated. His whole posture echoes that. All of which makes the viewer want to look at his facial expression for additional clues.
Ah, but no such luck! The dark face, which in a slouched position would be a cliche, an expected piece of the puzzle, now becomes a mystery, a missing piece of the puzzle.
I think that the shadow not being the most predominant element of this image got it the lower score, and also, voters seem to tend to give better scores to images that they find pleasant to view. This strikes a chord with me. Powerful image, with good thought going into the setup. I like the way you brought the photo in the image into strong focus with the available light. The "fuzz" works too, and adds to the "depressed" effect.
I'm surprised this didn't score considerably higher. I think there may be too much negative space between you and Amelia, but then again, it also gives a spacial sense of distance, so I'm torn on that. I do like the grain a lot. The only thing that bothers me here is that the shadow seems more like an aside than the reason for the photo. Nonetheless, I find this an artistic and quite poignant piece. Excellent work.
This would have gotten at least a 7 from me. It's got texture and emotion in that texture. I didn't find the ambiguity in the title that you did. For me, the title seems to be trying to force this image into a story about a girl gone missing. But the picture DOES have the ambiguity you describe. Yes, something is "missing" here, but we have no idea what it is.
Glad the lil ol side challenged inspired you Jeffrey. I think it is very moody and thought provoking. And that's what we strive for in our shots now, isn't it?
Jeffrey, this is a great photo, very emotive and well executed. I like how you've set the shadow up and completely obscured your face to add an even deeper sense of anonymity or mystery, and of course, the grain and b/w treatment are perfect complements to your subject. I can't tell you much I appreciate your emulating my picture! Mine was also inspired by another DPC user, silverfoxx.
Hi Jeffrey...I remember this image from the challenge; it struck me a a sad one: the title along with the composition & mood of this image, had me thinking the little girl was missing or dead, and the man, a father, perhaps, was missing her. Since I had made that presumption, I then wondered why he was standing so far from her picture; the image & my story didn't fit.
Well, now I know why.
you had a good number of higher scores, so you this did well overall!
PS: glad Amelia is having fun here in the sticks :)
A very fine and emotional image. Really superb, in all respects. I think this is great photography. Those who vote too quickly won't even see the nuances here. Maybe this has personal appeal to me, but I think it should appeal to a larger audience. This is my favorite of this challenge, so far. Great job! Really excellent! (10)
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