I wondered that too, then I saw the keyword 'Wonderful Life'. Is your photo a tribute to the section in the film where the hero gets a tour round his town at Christmas and sees what it would have been like had he not been born and been an influence for good...?
Yes. I shot this last year. I wanted to show the darker side of Christmas that people face when then they are alone during the Season.Everything is a little bit "off". The stark contrast to this Holiday that people overlook. It is a celebration of that scene in Frank Capra's movie, "it's a wonderful life".
The Darkness compared to the normal festive color. The out of focus lens on the tree and the fog, make it appear as if it's a granted wish. The street signs are reversed. When I scanned it last night nite,my scanner scanned in mirror mode, but then I didn't catch it until I posted it. My scanner malfunctioned on only that image, which is strange, because I always scan emulsion side down. As I looked at the image I got to thinking about that scene and it's not until we are at the brink of having lost literally everything in our lives through personal tragedy, do we see the gift we have been given and result of others loving us and realizing life is still a gift. Just reach out to those that are alone.
Fantastic. I remember in HS Lit/art history classes talking about the symbology and the old "maybe the banana is just a banana" frustration; thinking that the teacher was spending way too much time thinking into what was in my head just a picture, just a story. It wasn't until later that I got involved in my own creative processes and realized that if I was really engaged in a project every damn thing in it was there because I wanted (or didn't) want it to be. The Eureka moment of transfering that to other artists (i use the term very loosely in my case) really changed how I viewed creative work. Its the crucial piece that I think gets missed in a lot of classes and is so clearly exampled in your back story to the pic. Thanks for sharing.
PS. I hope I would have connected the two had I seen the keywords before hand. lol. I generally just drop to the cam/exp/developer info and not notice the rest.
thanks for your comments. I too get so used to just looking at what people shoot, and move on.. It's sometimes just overload. There are so many photos. Take for instance on flickr, where digital is ridiculous. There is no thinking involved in the majority of shots. It's just click, click, click...600 photos, and pick the ones you like, instead of just feeling and taking a shot. No reflection of what you feel or experience. I get so absorbed in what I'm doing that I don't notice other people's work. I have changed that this past week. I have made it a point of just visiting the gallery now once a day and just reflecting on other's works. Trying to see what they see. Appreciating what exactly went into the photos. The setup, the wardrobe, the model...etc. I have to force myself to slow down. It's like life these days makes you live in overdrive. It's easy to get caught up in overdrive. I was at the Art Museum here in Milwaukee a couple of weeks ago, and they have an Impressionist exhibit on display. And I walked past some Charcoal drawings. There were hundreds of oil and watercolor art, along with pencil drawings and other stuff. At first I walked by, and I was like that's "nice," a 1903 charcoal color drawing. It was of an unclothed woman sitting in front of a mirror looking at herself. It was not until I sat on the bench and just stared at the drawing did I start to notice the nuances in the color. Not only was there color to her figure which was the pinkish color of mild skin, but the color of her skin formed shadows in just the right areas to highlight her beautiful form in the dimly lit room.. her hair was perfectly highlighted in the light. It was beautiful. 15 minutes before, I had just walked by this art and thought, naked lady in a room with a mirror....Next.... But it really showed me that slowing down and just enjoying every nuance of the art, I began to see it in a different way. Sitting there was like savoring a fine wine. I have started a project on flickr doing 100 stranger portraits. I am doing it in film. Between work, I am off to a slow start, but because of that it has forced me to slow down and feel. To me it's the story of the people in the photos. It is obviously helping me be a better portrait photographer. To be a better at framing. Lots to think about when you are standing in the middle of the city and taking a photo of someone on the 'fly' and trying to capture their life story in one shot... It's really easy and also really tough at the same time. But all in all I appreciate all the comments...it is making me think and feel what I shoot. Thanks.. Greg