* Wednesday C&C "No Theme" Thread #823 / Revived #043 on 2024 01 24 *

all roads and vanishing lines make me think the same thing: An Article about Frost

Your images make it seem like you are familiar and comfortable in this environment. I like the Strand image the most, it reminds me of a scene from the movie Public Enemies, where we go to escape and dream.

Wonderful images! I like the connection of the text "Strands" to what's shown in the image - excellent composition. All of your shots go together really well and have a consistent look to them - fantastic documentary photography!

From both. That is well spotted of you.

"Drink My Coffee Standing Up"
Still not there yet in making a photo look like a painting in camera...

......

I'd like to address or kibitz these two thoughts....

The photographs of David are very well done and the meaning from them for me can lead nowhere except to history books and religion as I have experienced and internalized them .. I might read new texts as a result but again it leads to books.. The statue itself would be more meaningful if we could see it standing in its original courtyard where we could stand and view it.. But then most of us will never have the privilege of standing there and the statue, of course, is gone ... In a museum, even in pictures of it standing in the museum, we are led more to art history than the memories, contemporary concerns and thoughts of the artist ... and what we bring to these pictures with our histories is quite different and our concerns may be different ... Currently looking back to the Renaissance doesn't seem productive for me, which currently is more an interest in the history of Europe in the 1930's . ...

What we see in a picture, in my thinking, is what memories and concerns we have today -- our individual histories ... That couple sitting across the room from me must have stirred some of those memories or something I have yet to bring forward but it is there .... You must be looking for something different than I am .. For me those figures on the left and right are compositional stops to hold your attention in the center and the couple sitting there, ... so keeping details was not important and, in fact, their lack contributes to my use of those figures ... If you find meaning or a story here, or are trying to fit it to such, I would certainly be interested and it is why I post pictures here .. I am always interested in the stories viewers who find the pictures interesting enough to spend the time actually bring to these pictures ...

WhyNot

The light here is gorgeous, especially on the second, where it brings out the detail and draws attention to it at the same time.
I also enjoy the composition. The fact that we see the arches, but never the whole arch is well chosen, and again, the second one nicely places the pillars to avoid intersecting the large stone work around the windows, giving a neatly spaced flow between the pillars and the arches.

Pete

Others have already commented on how appropriate your processing is, by avoiding harsh contrast.
I also find the two compositions interesting. The first shows the statue in its entirety, and we see the victorious, boyish David, with his unsure, slightly camp posture emphasising his youth and immaturity. The second shot excludes the awkwardness of the positions of his legs, and the result is a more confident David, and does indeed have a swagger.

Pete

The road leads off into the distance, but it is a road seeming to lead nowhere. There are no humans to be seen, no animals and even the plants are in their death-like winter form. It gives off a feeling of loneliness and depression, which is also supported by the weather. It seems to be part of a formal garden, but the winter bushes seem to be a bit straggly for that, giving a slightly unkept and lost feel.
Probably this will be transformed on a sunny Spring day and give off cheery vibes, but currently the scene is a good antidote for anyone feeling too happy!

Pete

At first I could only see a drinking mule, piled high with a load, but thanks to your reference to his pants, I could then see the troll with his club!
The golden colour and blues are lovely, and so too are the contrast between the mirror surface of the water and the rough texture of the stubble of reeds and the rocky surface.
The curves of the water‘s edge leading to the rocky troll are good too.

Pete

Once again, your masterful use of bokeh and narrow depth of field have transformed an everyday object into something sublime and difficult, but rewarding, to decipher. The palette of blue shades you have chosen is very attractive too and elevates the photo even more. Excellent image.

Pete

I like the way your processing has turned some of the faces into caricature masks, which resemble the cartoon portraits on the wall. In a strange way, the similarity makes it look like a family in front of a wall of their ancestors‘ portraits in a grand old house!

Pete

I agree with your title. This seems to be the final image on my retina before being devoured by The Alien.
The reds and greens, both heading towards blue, also play a strong role in associating this with an unnatural and threatening scene.

Neat.

Pete

I agree on all points.
How we respond to any art experience in any medium will vary depending on the triggering of prior experiences and knowledge. When we discuss art experiences we may, or may not, choose to share the subjective responses. If the experience interests us sufficiently, we might follow up by looking for more information about the artist and their times. In the case of the Donatello, I originally meant to do two studies and put them side by side, one of the marble version and another of the considerably later bronze. I became more interested in just the bronze. Here's a couple of facts about it that I didn't know until I became interested enough to research it further. It's a very significant piece that marks a revolution in European thought. It's the first full length nude sculpture in Europe since classical antiquity. It can be seen as marking the changes in thinking that are the beginning of the Renaissance. The hat. I thought it was a deliberately effeminate gesture. It isn't, although there are other sexually ambivalent aspects of the sculpture. The hat is a deliberate anachronism. It is a style that was current in Florence at the time the first sculpture was made. Florentines are being invited to identify with the young seemingly powerless who stand up to the powerful.
The Renaissance and the changes in human thinking it brought have always fascinated me. I had already taken the photos but now I was seeing the sculptures quite differently.
My issue with the Looking at Me image is different. I get that the PP has resulted in the faces taking on some of the style of the paintings behind. For three of the faces, the styling is consistent with the paintings on the wall. OK. I could find and enjoy meaning in that. For another three, the faces have become something more like blank masks. I couldn't find a way to interpret this but certainly others might.

You have to smile at the bike. All the "biker" ethos and symbols taken to the logical conclusions. Who could build and ride such a bike? He remains an enigma with his "The Unknown" cap. Further, by clearly making it evident that this is shot with film, we get a nudge to the Woodstock era.
We may not see a face but I'd argue that this is a genuine and incisive portrait.

Yes. Check out the notes I added in my reply to Why Not as to the significance of the statue. I think "juvenile contempt" would have been approved by the sculptor.