Posted by Cliff Dodge on February 23, 2010 at 4:47 PM
Barn roof and hedge i thought looked kinna cool. Anybody else think so? I was down around Montesano looking for some daffodil shots around an old barn i like there, but they were picked and ready to get the bulbs out already. Your comments and critiques are appreciated.
I'm not sure what to think. It's interesting for a minute because when you first look at it, you aren't really sure what's going on, so I think there is some time spent putting things together, which is good.
I have to be honest though, after a bit it just doesn't seem to be saying enough to me. It looks like the peak of a building behind a wall. Something I'd see driving along the road and not think about twice.
The contrasting patterns are interesting, but I'm not sure there is enough to hold the image together for me.
It's just my opinion though, it certainly doesn't mean I think it's a poor image, it just doesn't do it for me, and you have a lot of photographs I really like.
I think this is really cool. There is something in the composition that is almost comical to me. You've taken a very mundane set of elements and turned it into something quirky and surprisingly interesting. Thats true art in my book.
I have one suggestion that I feel takes this shot one level higher: Crop this to 5x4 horizontally, removing the right side until the back diagonal roof line is gone. It simplifies the composition even further and centers the the window and front roof peak, breaking every compositional rule along the way.
This is good stuff, and one of the best hand-of-man images I've seen in a while.
Posted by David Bostock on February 25, 2010 at 8:29 AM
Cliff, I like it for the geometric abstract nature, and because it makes me stop and look, think, consider. Nicely seen.
Posted by Cliff Dodge on February 25, 2010 at 5:59 PM
thanks for the critiques and comments, aaron, i see what you are saying about the crop taking out that last diagonal line, nice eye for that. Tough shot for a nature forum for sure. Its funny, i stayed near this place all afternoon waiting for that evening light for another shot, i kept passing this up, the other shot didnt materialize and so came back and did this one. My thoughts were that we tend to have a tendency to control nature whether it is making nature more beautiful, in our eyes as human nature, the hedge, controlling our enviorment with a roof over our head which is human nature again, and to domesticate and have control over animals in conjunction with the barn roof, human nature again. And each has different elements of nature its self, the hedge design, pattern, seem not so complex to the eye, yet is the most of all, roof patterns of the house seem more complex and the roof and barn lines less complex. We try to control, yet want to make sure beauty remains on the outside, but what of the inside? I hate to explain an image, yet the deeper thoughts, such as my mood that day, maybe seem to need to come out. If my mood were different, who knows, like Ryan says, not think twice about it. And then, even for more human control of the scene, two damn crows were on the peak taking away from the roof line and leading your eye right to them, so i took control........and killed them.
Its interesting to hear your thoughts behind the image, Cliff. I'll admit that what you say you were contemplating when making the photo is not even remotely close to what i felt when viewing it. But thats one of the hidden beauties in art, i guess. There is no right nor wrong, and it's all fair game for individual interpretation.
Personally, i got the vibe of, "so simple, its complicated", if that makes sense? Kind of like when some highbrow painter takes a 10 foot wide canvas and just puts one tiny dab of paint in the middle and leaves the rest blank. I'm sure you've seen something similar to what i'm talking about. The damn painter could have just used a 12 inch canvas with one dot, but then you likely wouldn't stand back and stare at it wondering WTF he was trying to prove. As it turns out, many times the simplest forms and subjects are the most provoking. For me, at least, that is certainly the case with this photo.
Discussion
5 repliesI have to be honest though, after a bit it just doesn't seem to be saying enough to me. It looks like the peak of a building behind a wall. Something I'd see driving along the road and not think about twice.
The contrasting patterns are interesting, but I'm not sure there is enough to hold the image together for me.
It's just my opinion though, it certainly doesn't mean I think it's a poor image, it just doesn't do it for me, and you have a lot of photographs I really like.
I have one suggestion that I feel takes this shot one level higher: Crop this to 5x4 horizontally, removing the right side until the back diagonal roof line is gone. It simplifies the composition even further and centers the the window and front roof peak, breaking every compositional rule along the way.
This is good stuff, and one of the best hand-of-man images I've seen in a while.
Personally, i got the vibe of, "so simple, its complicated", if that makes sense? Kind of like when some highbrow painter takes a 10 foot wide canvas and just puts one tiny dab of paint in the middle and leaves the rest blank. I'm sure you've seen something similar to what i'm talking about. The damn painter could have just used a 12 inch canvas with one dot, but then you likely wouldn't stand back and stare at it wondering WTF he was trying to prove. As it turns out, many times the simplest forms and subjects are the most provoking. For me, at least, that is certainly the case with this photo.