Stills

Very bleak, enigmatic but softened a bit by the cobweb which would probably show better in a print.

Not inviting, not intended to be inviting.
 

Certainly contrasts a lot with Christina's view! In every way. the simplicity makes it work. Can't say I'd love it on a wall in my house, though. Too many depressive thoughts linked to barb wires.
 

'Too many depressive thoughts linked to barb wires.'

Barbed wire says spring time to me. Jumping fences, hiking, ticks etc. Taken together with Christina last, the image is complete. Now where did I stick my hiking boots?
 

My recommendation is...............
avoid ticks!
 

Growing up in Missouri, avoiding ticks was not an option. I can remember looking down at my pants after walking through fields of tall grass, and thinking that my pants were moving because there were so many ticks on them.
 

Barbed wire means sheep. We are slowly getting rid of barbed wire on the holding as one doesn't need it for sheep although every farmer has it, probably for cows. My favourite shot of barbed wire (mine of course) is of large tufts of wool caught on it lit by winter sun. Which hasn't got me any nearer your shot. It certainly makes one think about the subject matter and the shape is nicely drawn. Rex says: enigmatic. I see what he means and without any context it could be in use anywhere from a concentration camp to a farm. But despite all that, I think that there is too much of the picture doing nothing, not even any significant tonal variation. Just a glimpse of a field or tree or wall or even sheep would have helped. Or a guard with a rifle.
 

Is it me or is there a cobweb in the middle of that coil of wire? On first viewing I couldn't get on with the choice of focus plane. Each subsequent viewing leaves me thinking its just about right. It softens those sharp edges a little in the zone. I think the lack of context here adds rather than detracts. Not sure barbed wire as being enigmatic but certainly this shot provokes a number of thoughts given the soft treatment of a rather harsh subject matter.
 

John - it was the emptiness that caused this neg to hang around for an age waiting to be "printed". Even now I'm not sure that it shouldn't have just got filed. As Stephane said - not one for the wall.

I thought the real reason for barbed wire was to keep the walkers out :-)

akikana - yup, a cobweb. I nearly removed it at the time of shooting and then again when in Photoshop. It is just the mearest remnant of a web, not the whole thing.

With so little context for guidance, we've all supplied our own meaning.
 

'I thought the real reason for barbed wire was to keep the walkers out :-)'

Huh, I thought it was for restricting the cows to the bit of land the farmer had actually leased from the park service as opposed to wandering the whole park.

I'm glad you kept the cobweb. It softens this a bit.
 

Barbed wire is a country thing here in Florida, too -- usually to keep cattle in and unauthorized people out. It also works well as a place for a shrike to stick its food (literally) as you have seen.

I'm more used to seeing it stretched tight in a straight line. The form this wire takes as it comes into and then out of focus makes it a more interesting subject. I'm also glad the web is there.
 

I am not a big fan of barb wire either, as it has cause more problems than not while hiking.

Interesting spiral pattern and the plane of focus keeps me involved.

But not enough to want to hang this on the wall;- )