Luminous Landscape Forum

The Art of Photography => Michael's Phlog => Topic started by: michael on August 25, 2014, 09:00:45 am

Title: Summer Memories
Post by: michael on August 25, 2014, 09:00:45 am
This topic is for discussion of the image and commentary found in Michael's Phlog (http://www.luminous-endowment.org/pages/phlog1.html) titled Summer Memories (http://www.luminous-endowment.org/pages/phlog5.html).
Title: Re: Summer Memories
Post by: bns on August 25, 2014, 11:35:52 am
What percentage of photographers would have catched this scene while passing by, even if they would have been walking? Great catch. Perfect example for showing that black & white can be more powerful, have more impact, then colour. Thanks for showing how you got this one.

Boudewijn Swanenburg
Title: Re: Summer Memories
Post by: David Eckels on August 25, 2014, 08:12:46 pm
An arresting, evocative image! Was the near-square crop selected deliberately? I also agree that the b&w treatment give it a timeless air. Thanks for sharing this.
Title: Re: Summer Memories
Post by: Eric Myrvaagnes on August 25, 2014, 11:38:36 pm
The processing is just right: simple, direct, understated. And monochrome really brings out the feeling of nostalgia.
Truly a classic.
Title: Re: Summer Memories
Post by: michael on August 26, 2014, 07:47:50 am
...Was the near-square crop selected deliberately?

Sometimes I do deliberately crop square. I find that the format lends a solidity to some images. In this case though it just ended up cropped the way the image wanted to be.

Michael
Title: Re: Summer Memories
Post by: stevebri on August 26, 2014, 02:36:20 pm
I feel Michael has another point of view going on here too.

As we get older we (hopefully) become wiser and with the latter we can find our sense of place as each day goes by with much more ease. As photographers we are drawn to and remember details, as we age we give our memories more reverence.

Through this image Michael has recreated a happy sense of place from his childhood and had the ability, maturity and common sense to have taken action when he first saw the swing and turn around...

A lot of us shoot outdoors and by standing there, absorbing the place and the moment before creating his image Michael could put it all into context. For up and coming photographers learning to do this is as vital as composition... And much more important than fancy technique and a shiny bling bit of kit.

Steve
Title: Re: Summer Memories
Post by: EAM9 on August 26, 2014, 04:03:29 pm
Hey Michael,

It is really for me a great picture you have done,it is art...+ I like B&W very much
If equipment doesn't create art, the camera you used (Pentax 645Z) seems to be a very good equipment.

Roger
Title: Re: Summer Memories
Post by: luxborealis on August 26, 2014, 04:30:40 pm
It's cropped, but did you clone?  :D

On a serious note... Wonderful image. There is both balance and movement in this image. You haven't tried to show us everything. It is nostalgic and, perhaps a bit sad: a swing, which is generally perceived to be something that generates happy memories, yet it is still and by itself.

Thank you for not adding the ghostly figures of children playing à la Trish Romance! They are there, but in our own minds.

Thanks for sharing!
Title: Re: Summer Memories
Post by: ripgriffith on August 27, 2014, 01:23:42 pm
I think the word I want to use is "bittersweet".  You made all the right choices with this image, Michael.  In color, it seemed to be just another rather nice picture, so the choice of b&w was a good one.  Had you gone darker, I think it would have become melodramatic, losing most of the summer sweetness that's there, too light and the inherent sadness would go away.  As it is, just the right amount of bitter, just the right amount of sweet.  This is going to be one of my favorite images of yours.
Title: Re: Summer Memories
Post by: telegraphic on August 28, 2014, 12:18:46 pm
When I look at the picture, I imagine a child sitting on the swing but there's not enough room for his/her feet.
Title: Re: Summer Memories
Post by: Ray on August 28, 2014, 06:07:27 pm
When I look at the picture, I imagine a child sitting on the swing but there's not enough room for his/her feet.

That was also one of my first thoughts when I saw this image. The cropping of the lower part of the image seemed too close to the seat of the swing.
Title: Re: Summer Memories
Post by: gfrensen on August 30, 2014, 06:39:13 am
This pictures just gave me the strange feeling of a "in Memoriam" card for a child. The swing is empty, the colors are gone...

Don't think I don't like this picture, it is beatifull and it makes me feel something, that is great!