Thursday, September 27, 2007
steps to Jewish cemetery, Bratislava
Comments:
I thought this was very dramatic when I first looked and it reminded me of my hard B&W prints I used to do a l o n g time ago. (soot & whitewash)
Although that was my first impression there is actually a great range of tones. The impact is certainly there.
The apparently decaying flowers add a poignant touch.
Thanks Rex. In fact there is some "soot and whitewash" technique here but 'toned' down a bit! This could easily be incorporated into part of the town's tourist trail but there is still a certain ambivalence in Slovakia and so the cemetery remains off the beaten track: not so much neglected but certainly hidden away. We didn't see any one on the way, while there or on the way back.
I'm glad that there is a rail to hold on to. The arrangement of those shapes (near rectangles) is really disconcerting.
Can a plain concrete wall in harsh light ever be interesting?
John,
just a passing observation along the lines of your one about peeling paint. There are some things that look like they are going to photograph better than they do, and for me, that sort of textured wall surface in hard light is one of them.
Ah - except that the last thing on my mind when I took this was the texture of the wall! You have to take the wall as part and parcel of the entrance to the cemetery; maybe it contributes to the unsettling feeling.
I'm drawn to the sky, but I have a hard time making it fit with the sad looking plants and all those hard rectangles. It all looks like something surreal.
I'd agree with colin about the wall.
That wall brings back fond memories of my grandparents home in NW Pennsylvania. There are a lot of these type of walls in this town, which you don't see anymore. Interesting bi-section of the image in the middle, gray wall below and all of the other stuff above it, especially the contrasting whites. Nevertheless, I have difficult reading this image.
Maybe the point wasn't to provide something too settled and familiar; it certainly wasn't about the wall per se. This is a place that is not part of the town, is difficult to find and betrays the legacy of WWII and Communist times.
"Maybe the point wasn't to provide something too settled and familiar"
On that level, this photo does work. I'm uncomfortable with it, but perhaps given the nature of the scene, that's not unexpected.
Definitely not settled and familiar, it also struck me as dramatic -- perhaps due to the contrasts in tones, and textures, and the strong light.
I get a very harsh, nearly scary, feeling from the rough wall and large, hard shapes -- only a bit offset by that struggling plant -- seems appropriate in a way because of the subject.
It holds together quite well - I'm not overly comfortable about the bottom left. The sky segment keeps this interesting for me and the apparent tilt of the plant holder over the wall. I'm a big wall fan so that works well for me - with the railing breaking it up well. I think you read the script right to left so positioning the board in that segment was a good decision.
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Although that was my first impression there is actually a great range of tones. The impact is certainly there.
The apparently decaying flowers add a poignant touch.
Can a plain concrete wall in harsh light ever be interesting?
just a passing observation along the lines of your one about peeling paint. There are some things that look like they are going to photograph better than they do, and for me, that sort of textured wall surface in hard light is one of them.
I'd agree with colin about the wall.
On that level, this photo does work. I'm uncomfortable with it, but perhaps given the nature of the scene, that's not unexpected.
I get a very harsh, nearly scary, feeling from the rough wall and large, hard shapes -- only a bit offset by that struggling plant -- seems appropriate in a way because of the subject.