The self-imposed challenge for yesterday was this: try to make a typical eyesore more attractive and if not attractive, then slightly more interesting.
I began by simply spending time looking at what elements could be used to frame that which is normally not looked at for any aesthetic value but simply a pragmatic one: a parking lot in an industrial park.
I chose the orange cone because it was almost the same color and shape as a background tree. The sky was overhead. Why not use it? I did. The wide angle lens was the only choice to take in all the elements and the only choice to communicate the feeling of being alone and deserted. The subtlety of different lenses to me is an emotional one as much as visual.
So, there you have it. A modest goal and a modest result. But, some days you simply do warm-ups–and I’ve begun to realize that these warm-up days are just as important as those when you split the atom and capture an image you’d consider enlarging.
Each of us are like the violinist who wants to get to Carnegie Hall. We practice, practice, practice.
©Pat Coakley 2008
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Interesting! Two disparate things, the same colour, with completely different affects on our psyches. Well done.
This isn’t a warm-up. It’s the product itself.
If it was a painting, which can be seen with the same elements as one, you’d have to check off:
Composition- check.
Use of canvas- check.
Application of color- check.
Tells a story- check.
Moves the eye around- check.
Contrast of lights and darks- check.
So, you’re not warmed up- you’re a serious contender.
I see some split atoms here.
As always, your photos and your narratives so express the emotions behind them.
This is what artistry is about- taking an image of an industrial parking lot and making something poignant and beautiful from it.
recently i’ve been thinking about how it seems sometimes the artist gets separated from the work in the eyes of the ‘viewer’, that is, the feeling/asking of ‘who actually is that person who created this lone object sitting by itself’ maybe a in gallery, on a www page’, i dont know why (i should ask dr. jung or phil maybe) but the voice gets muffled in the maelstrom, even sometimes with the best split atom, perhaps its a reflection of ‘cultural’ perception squinting to match the common stressed out or wiped out denominator, here people come to relax, vacation and yet if you live here its a lot of traffic and noise, you know, practice is also partly that, to let go of the need to perfect sometimes and just let whatever happens happen. its not as if the rules and foundations we build the art on disappear. its more like making counterpoint allowance for the unexpected. if you work/play every day diligently, by jove things happen, if you have only a few days a week or something or maybe just a few hours a day, it becomes a different thing (oy oy my worst nightmare-a country where there are no fulltime artists anymore)- the truth about the true true way an artists vision develops and refines is here, this is not just about a photograph. this is a multidisciplinary event. and a welcome reminder of process and how it has to go through processing. and besides that, if i just take the picture alone, without the idea behind it, it still speaks clearly in a kind of calligraphic sense it has a flow, a stasis, details, air and a recognizable set of notes on a staff so to speak. its a lovely melody pat thankyou.
Love this ones composition, great colour and depth – those colours drew me in and made me smile
S.Le, yes, that’s what I like about it, too, the two disparate things somehow connected.
BL: now, see, if I knew I had to put all that in it, I’d have walked past it! Good thing I never went to art school. I probably would have been paralyzed with thoughts and no action.
Tipota, oh, you are truly something! It is letting go of being perfect and the more I do it on a daily basis, the less perfect I’m feeling and yet, I feel the results have been steadily getting better if that makes any sense at all. Flow, Stasis, details, air and notes on a staff…I want to go to your art school!
Sanity, it is the peak of color around here, maybe just past, so good light illuminates every corner.
we could split the atom if we would have a right knife.
I like colours. :)
Without trying to sound like a churl (although I probably will by default), I’d like to offer some thoughts about your image and what you are trying to communicate.
I like what you are trying to say and I think that the image could be strengthened by getting much, much closer and lower down to the traffic cone and taking the shot with an ultra-wide angle lens.
A huge monumental orange triangle taking up most of the frame with a little bit of sky and trees in the top corners would be a very strong image with a lot of impact.
Graphic and bold.
Hello, again, palinao! Your knives must be sharper than mine!
Razz: I agree with your churl man. No kidding, I do. Modest is how I looked at it. What I didn’t have was an idea on how to lift it up from modest to something with a little something extra. I’m going to try your framing suggestion this morning!