This photo inaugurates a new and much simplified design for walljm.com. The old website will remain as it was, but photos will be displayed larger with less around to distract you.
This photo begins a new series of Night Scenes, photos taken in the dark. The series will explore some of themes and motifs associated with night life in a modern city.
This particular photo was taken in the parking lot of Missouri Baptist Hospital, at the junction of I-270 and I-64. Shot with an aperture of f/22 for 30 seconds at ISO 100. The image has been adjusted for a WB of 2000K, and cropped. The person in the photo is me. No other photo shopping has been done to the image.
This specific image is the best of a set of three. The translucence of the figure adds an ethereal quality to an already spiritual scene. The empty parking lot seems to add to a feeling of loneliness.
What do you think?
4 Comments
Nicely done. I particularly like the double shadow.
Two things confuse me though. First, in your description you describe this as ‘an already spiritual scene’ – in what way? And second, the yellow arrow is a prominent compositional element yet it points past you, rather than at you. And I suppose, for me, that this adds some visual tension to the scene that I’m not sure how to interpret.
One final thing, the coloured lights at the rear of the image are a bit distracting – did you try a bw/colourised version?
I meant to also say that I think the new design looks great.
If you view the scen without the trancelucence of the figure, you still have someone praying in the middle of an empty parking lot. That is the spiritual quality I was refering too.
I was mostly just experimenting when I took these shots. I was at the hospital because it offered a decent view of the interstate. While playing around with the trancelucent effect, I tried several poses. The praying pose seemed poingant and appropriate because of the proximity of the hospital. The idea that someone might pause to pray out of great concern for a friend or relative was the motivating factor.
The yellow arrow I hadn’t noticed before you said something. I frequently find it more difficult to look objectively at my own shots. I have to wait weeks, sometimes longer before the photo looks sufficiently foreign to me to focus on everything in the image. It would have looked better if I was inline with it. Perhaps I’ll reshoot the scene.
I hadn’t tried a B&W version. I’ll have to look at it, although my preference is likely to be for the color. The colored lights are a side effect of the WB adjustment, and they do distract from the overall image. I might be able to adjust them specifically in the overall image.
Thanks for the input!
Very Sweet! Love ’em man.