need help on pre-visualisin'

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Hi!!

I am doing a final exhibition on graveyard architecture at college, but I am having a hard time finding images that affect people in some way, for instance, I have one, yes only one, photograph with a 4 foot grave box thing with a lone bench in front just off to the left and it looks lonely etc. But the rest of the photos I have done are just plain straighforward photographs of interesting graves etc. and The lecturer doesn't like them.

HELP!!!!!

Becka

-- Becka (shangri_la_gypsy@hotmail.com), April 24, 2002

Answers

Becka, that's a tough one. My critical response would be, 'well, perhaps you don't know what you are looking for.' In other words, why did you pick the subject? Are you passionate about it? Does it have some special meaning for you? Does it excite you? Does it depress you? If it does none of these things, perhaps you should not be photographing this subject.

Now, if you can't do anything about the above, you MIGHT get by 'simply' using different techniques, such as: Infrared film, a Holga camera, pinhole cameras, etc, etc......

Now, I don't like that solution. It would be much better if you buckled down and brought some emotional quality to you work.

But hey, give it a try.

chris

-- Christian Harkness (chris.harkness@eudoramail.com), April 24, 2002.


So Becka, what did you do?

chris

-- Christian Harkness (chris.harkness@eudoramail.com), May 02, 2002.


Hi Becka,

I agree with Chris' comment about emotion. Photographs have the ability to stir so much emotion if you plan to capture it, but planning is the key. Think about the aspects of graveyards that make people sad, comforted or frightened and then look for images that exploit those emotions. Don't restrict yourself to straight-on images, look for metaphors like decaying or crumbling grave markers and tombs, look for the unplanned growth of flowers, look for telling statements in the epitaphs, look for anything different than the images you've seen before. The only other comment I have is that you should take a view of your subjects that people will never see on their own. If your people see graveyards from an average person's height of five foot six, say, shoot it from three inches off the ground. If they would see your chosen scene while seated on a bench, find a way to shoot from eight feet above the bench. Just find a unique point of view, one that regular people won't take themselves.

Dave

-- Dave Down (dave_down@c4.com), May 16, 2002.


Becka, take a trip to Paris and visit the "Pere Lachaise" cimetery. Your lecturer will love the pictures.

-- George Papantoniou (papanton@hol.gr), May 22, 2002.

This is one situation where an appropriately placed dog or cat can add emotion to the scene. A small pet can be unobtrusive, yet give a feeling of lonliness, loss and grief, yet if properly placed, will not detract from the architectural theme

-- Glenn Thoreson (glennfromwy@webtv.net), May 30, 2002.


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