Sunday, March 02, 2008
Steel Wheel
The numerous wheels in that place could make the subject of a rather long series.
Permalink / posted by and copyright of StephaneB : 2:57 PM
Comments:
I have a thin line running right across the middle of my monitor, which really impacts on how one sees a photo. As it is not going to get sorted any time soon, I'll have to interpret this as best I can. I think that the main attraction of this lies in the chiaroscuro treatment with details of brickwork emerging from beneath layers of soot. I'm not so sure about the composition: the balance between spindle and wheel, and between the two and the frame, doesn't feel quite right, although I can't put my finger on it well enough to expand on that.
Shouldn't there be some spiders webs?
There is something odd here about the composition. My best guess is that it is caused by the upright not being upright.
That aside, I agree with John's chiaroscuro comment. Not that I'd have used such a long word...
Texture and light give this a very real, solid feeling. It also seems very static to me -- perhaps too static for a wheel with those curvy spokes. I'm wondering if that is because of how centered it is. I might like to see it off to the right side a bit.
I think we would have described this as soot and whitewash in the days of high contrast papers. The tonal range adds to the feeling of gritiness and industrial decay.
There is a white line at the left base that I guess comes from your scan?
Yes, this is a scan from the silver print. Reminds me that dynamic range is not such a recent concern :-)
This photograph creates a bit of ambugity for me, as I am attacted to the excellent textures, especially in the highlights on the wheel.
The composition does this no favours - much to central and direct. Which is a shame as there is so much texture, contrast and potential. I think I may be a little more friendly with this if whatever was coming off the bottom of the wheel and 'connecting' it to the base of the frame was not there.
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There is something odd here about the composition. My best guess is that it is caused by the upright not being upright.
That aside, I agree with John's chiaroscuro comment. Not that I'd have used such a long word...
There is a white line at the left base that I guess comes from your scan?