Rob MacKillop
Edinburgh Correspondent
Another from the archive…
Basement Shapes
- Thread starter Rob MacKillop
- Start date
Gary R. Smith
Well-Known Member
I thought we were going to get a play on: The Basement Tapes (Dylan, the Band, big pinks, etc...)
Rob MacKillop
Edinburgh Correspondent
Good album. Wrong gig.
Gary R. Smith
Well-Known Member
I thought the tapes were recorded in the basement at big pink?
Rob MacKillop
Edinburgh Correspondent
They were. I was referring to my photo.
Gianluca Drago
Well-Known Member
@Rob MacKillop It took me a long time to give you my impression of this photo because I had to overcome some not easy challenges. First of all the frame. I want to make things clear: if one likes to put a frame on his photo, absolutely free, he obviously likes it that way, tastes are personal, not universal. But for me the frame is a distraction and I get lost in studying the font used, the layout of the text, the colours used for the frame, how large it is, whether it is single or multiple, whether there is a signature and so on. Eventually I forget about the picture. I'm not talking about you, Rob, I know you dig through your phone and find things that are old stuff even.
Corners of life like the one depicted I love because they have human depth even without the existence of a human being in the shot. They evoke personal stories lived day after day that eventually become poetry. In your photo I like the calm tones, without exaggerated contrasts, and the geometries created by the cut wood, the leaning beams, the waiting staircase, and arches, stones, apertures. It is a picture that pretends to be simple, but is complex.
Then the whole discussion about basements and Bob Dylan I don't understand due to my ignorance, but I don't care.
Corners of life like the one depicted I love because they have human depth even without the existence of a human being in the shot. They evoke personal stories lived day after day that eventually become poetry. In your photo I like the calm tones, without exaggerated contrasts, and the geometries created by the cut wood, the leaning beams, the waiting staircase, and arches, stones, apertures. It is a picture that pretends to be simple, but is complex.
Then the whole discussion about basements and Bob Dylan I don't understand due to my ignorance, but I don't care.
Rob MacKillop
Edinburgh Correspondent
Yes, forget the frame, title font, etc. That was a mistake, but I was experimenting at the time. I’m glad you like the image. I agree, it is both simple and complex, and although the human element is very important, it is also quite geometrically abstract, which I like.
And, yes, I am still digging through my phone for images of interest. One day I’ll get back to making photos with my ‘real’ cameras. Looking forward to that.
The good news re my health is that I am able to swallow soft foods now - something I was beginning to fear would never happen. How long that will last is guesswork. It was achieved by plasma exchange - taking the self-made harmful antibodies out of my blood, then putting the cleaned blood back in my body. The docs are figuring out how to extend that in time beyond two weeks. Hopefully it will become permanent, with monthly top-ups.
And, yes, I am still digging through my phone for images of interest. One day I’ll get back to making photos with my ‘real’ cameras. Looking forward to that.
The good news re my health is that I am able to swallow soft foods now - something I was beginning to fear would never happen. How long that will last is guesswork. It was achieved by plasma exchange - taking the self-made harmful antibodies out of my blood, then putting the cleaned blood back in my body. The docs are figuring out how to extend that in time beyond two weeks. Hopefully it will become permanent, with monthly top-ups.
Gianluca Drago
Well-Known Member
I read the good news on your Facebook page with.... how can I say? Relief!
I don't see the image as abstract as you do, but we agree that it is a complex image and takes time to digest.
Gary R. Smith
Well-Known Member
That's OK Gianluca, you're probably not the only one.
That's great Rob!
Since you insist...
...there are indeed quite a few shapes depicted in that shot: diamonds, rectangles, triangles, lines, arcs, circle-like log ends...
Pete Askew
Admin
I can see you’d want to frame this image as it a very fine one indeed.
I agree that there is a abstract quality to it and I guess that is the first impression. The next one is the way the soft tones frame (progressively) the higher contrast ones and that layering is very effective. It somehow slows the way you scan (or maybe look into) the image. The linear elements all work very well too as do the highlights and again these contrast with the soft curve of the arch and its lighting.
A gorgeous image all round, Rob.
I agree that there is a abstract quality to it and I guess that is the first impression. The next one is the way the soft tones frame (progressively) the higher contrast ones and that layering is very effective. It somehow slows the way you scan (or maybe look into) the image. The linear elements all work very well too as do the highlights and again these contrast with the soft curve of the arch and its lighting.
A gorgeous image all round, Rob.
