Critique Sad? Hopeful?

Namaste

Namaste

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Gary
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My girlfriend finds this photograph I took this morning inherently sad. I love the thought of hope in it.

Any comments on it from a technical aspect (or otherwise?) greatly appreciated...


window by gaz_jamieson, on Flickr
 
There is something interesting about this image, I like the mix of textures between the curtains, wall and plant, as well as the randomness of the leaves against the straight lines of the window and the drainpipe. What about a conversion to B&W?
 
Haha better not let her see that, gramps! :p

I may have a play with it in Silver Efex later feek and see what happens. I just quite liked the vibrant, almost plastic green look of that ivy. Or whatever it is growing...
 
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I quite like this, i can see why your gf thinks it looks sad but i am drawn to it, i'm not so sure on the b&w, which is unusual for me, it may surprise me, but it's the greenes of the ivy that i think makes the shot, i tend to agree it gives an air of hope(y)
 
randomwindows said:
i agree with Gramps. your Girlfriend is right.
Click to expand...

Ah yer all too pessimistic on here! :p

Yeah Cg_Girl, I messed about with a B&W version but I think the green of the ivy is one of the more interesting elements of the image. Thanks all for commenting
 
Namaste said:
Ah yer all too pessimistic on here! :p
Click to expand...

You see the image has no inherent shade of hope, it is a semi-derelict property showing signs of having been lived in a long time ago ... there is no inherent hope in that for either the building or the occupants (probably long since dead or permanently hospitalised).
Now if there was a builders skip in there or even a screwdriver it might imply hope, as it is just accept that your girlfriend is right ... if nothing else it will prepare you for life together - if that happens :D
 
Haha fair points gramps, I do see the sadness but the growing ivy taking over (implying the tendancy of mother nature to reclaim the past and make it hers, now) is where I saw the hope
 
We're some right miseries in here aren't we? :p
FWIW my glass is half full and I see hope there too.
To me, the ivy almost looks like its reaching out to part the curtains - and I like the idea that among all that decay and desolation something green, vibrant and alive is still thriving and taking up residence.

From a technical aspect, I don't really like the B&W idea either. Personally, I find that it's the green of the ivy against the grey drabness that makes it work.
It gives an interesting contrast between the grey, washed out flowers in the man-made curtains and the living, natural ivy.
I'm in two minds about the blue and red of the kitchen taps though. Part of me would like to see that taken out to maintain the grey of the interior while another part of me thinks it gives a hint of realism :thinking:

In terms of framing, the roof and the drainpipe are not really doing much for me TBH. In fact they're drawing my eye away from the window and the ivy, which IMO is where the interest lies.
I think that given the 'theme' of the image a crop from the top and RHS to lose those distractions would give a more dramatic and dynamic image. In fact if you were to shoot this again, I'd be tempted to say get in closer and use a narrower DoF to really focus in on the strands of ivy reaching into the net curtain - and I think with that arrangement you could even go the contrasty B&W route and still have it work.
 
It has abandonment, depression, damage and decay attached to it, all of which are inherently negative emotions, however look at it another way and you've got nature in the plant starting to take back over (recycling) something that apparently we have no use for anymore based on the fact it's abandoned, now I don't know about other but I like that, I love the fact that nature will always start to reclaim its foothold

Its why I love photos from places like chernobyl and other such abandoned places
 
MWHCVT said:
It has abandonment, depression, damage and decay attached to it, all of which are inherently negative emotions, however look at it another way and you've got nature in the plant starting to take back over (recycling) something that apparently we have no use for anymore based on the fact it's abandoned, now I don't know about other but I like that, I love the fact that nature will always start to reclaim its foothold

Its why I love photos from places like chernobyl and other such abandoned places
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Seen this and thought of you lol:

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/what-happens-when-wildlife-reclaims-chernobyl
 
gramps said:
You see the image has no inherent shade of hope, it is a semi-derelict property showing signs of having been lived in a long time ago ... there is no inherent hope in that for either the building or the occupants (probably long since dead or permanently hospitalised).
Now if there was a builders skip in there or even a screwdriver it might imply hope, as it is just accept that your girlfriend is right ... if nothing else it will prepare you for life together - if that happens :D
Click to expand...

Maybe....

The hope is perhaps in the ivy. The hope is perhaps that no matter what we do, or how bad things get, life goes on. New life always arrives, and the cycle continues. From death comes life.
 
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