Id like a critique of the subject of this photograph, and any comments on the idea of using two dimensional subjects in general. This is probably the only photograph Ive made that when I looked at the 35mm print I thought "Wow this would have a great picture to try in LF." The transparency and texture of the paintbrush strokes and corrosion on the side of this railroad boxcar were really beautiful.

As much as I personally like the image, I really wonder whether I should consider it a photograph or really only a copy. If it were a picture of a painting, I say it was just a copy. But this is a photograph of a rusty boxcar panel that has a lot of the aspect of a painting. Im not sure what to call it.

-- Mark Rovetta (1234hods@gte.net), January 13, 2000

Answers

Photograph. A good effort too. I like the subject but not the composition. It looks a little busy and a bit overexposed. I would go back and spend a roll on it if I was you.

I think that subjects like this work best not in the abstract but when they have a human connection. I keep trying to see the brush strokes you speak of but I just can't. I want to feel an emotional response to this, but nothing really comes through for me.

-- Joe Perrigoue (joe@supply.com), January 14, 2000.

Thanks for your response. I would agree that the picture is emotionally understated, or even cold. The subject really is "seven" rather than the railroad car itself. Although I dont think I was consciously thinking of it when I took the photograph, in many cultures, the sign for "seven" gets attributed with significance extending beyond the number. My bank in Japan was named "Bank 77" and someone told me that the seven connoted "wealth" and so seventy-seven just emphasized this more (wealth to the second power - I suppose.) So yeah, if I had to describe what emotion the picture evokes for me it would be whatever you want to call the ambivalent feelings one has about money. (Like sighting a "$$" written in the dregs of your coffee cup?) Nope, people wouldnt be in the picture.

In this case, my intended subject was more calligraphy than railroads.

Its interesting that you thought that the composition was "busy" because I was more afraid that it might be too minimal (flat, no people, monochrome). Do others think it is too complex a composition? I rejected the idea of framing so as to isolate a single numeral as being too obviously in imitation pop painting. I tried to compose to show large numerals emerging from the patterns and texture of the surface. Too bad my scan doesnt really show any surface texture. I see this in the 4x5 print, so maybe this is just an effect one cant expect to pull off on a monitor.

Thanks again for taking time to comment.

-- Mark Rovetta (1234hods@gte.net), January 15, 2000.