Laid Back Photo | TrekEarth

Photographer’s Note

So, Fairfax, the laid back town in the center of Marin County, famous for hot tubs and peacock feathers; the self-indulgence capital of the United States according to a series of articles published in the mid-seventies called "The Serial."

I found these two characters taking a siesta in the middle of the afternoon, the woman at the top lying on a retaining wall between a sidewalk and a parking lot. The fellow with his flowing beard found the more comfortable grass in the park next to city hall. The only folks rushing in Fairfax, are in their cars driving through town on their way to busy schedule. These downtown characters are in no rush to get anywhere. In fact, I see this fellow in town quite regularly, often with book in hand as he heads for the park.

So kick back and take it easy folks. This is California.

Rinie_Hoff, Galeota, carper, jrj, Proxilva, jhm, avigur_11, Liora has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Rinie_Hoff (9334) 2004-08-24 2:38

Hi Curtis, my personal opinion is that they are not laid back enough, what a terrible place to ly down this woman chose, near a parking lot, and the man is not resting with his head like this, it seems he is too much interested in the world around.
Very nice double picture, Curtis, I like the way how you present the Fairfax region to us, very relaxed, and Flower Power like. It's a nice catch, I do like the woman, how she can find peace here on that spot, not caring what peolpe might think, (Well, I don't know for sure, of course), and the man, just trainning his belly muscles, I think, this way he can spare himself the time going to the gym.

Galeota (10334) 2004-08-24 4:14

Hello Curtis,
It is rather interesting to make a parallel between this photograph and Darren’s last one. Although it’s a rather common situation in Asia, and therefore a typical characteristic of many countries in the eastern part of the globe, in North America it looks really odd.Perhaps in the sixties, and until the mid seventies, it was quite representative of several American cities of the western coast. But nowadays, at least seen form Switzerland, it really looks like a city in prow to the difficulties of unemployment and poverty.Although your note allows us to situate perfectly this atmosphere in time and space, I’m afraid I’m incapable of seeing any “Power flower” attitude in these two people.Taking a nap near a parking lot is almost revealing of a disturbed attitude (alcohol abuse or mental health troubles), rather than a relaxing way of spending part of the day. The guy doesn’t seem very relaxed either. The fact that he’s lifting his head gives a feeling of tension, which is contradictory with the position of his crossed feet.I’m not really sure about the quality of both compositions. The grain doesn’t seem very useful in the general atmosphere (at least in my opinion , of course, which is rather personal and subjective), and it creates a bizarre effect on the overexposed areas of the grass. The wheels on top allows us to situate the action (or the absence of action), but are they really necessary?Cheers to you

rabani (9429) 2004-08-24 4:23

Almost in contradiction Curtis. The woman is probably more laid back. So laid back, she is definitely sleeping under the sun on the wall. In comparison, the man is holding back under the shade as if observing something up front.

carper (65696) 2004-08-24 4:45

Very good one Curtis,
I like the shots, I know the problems of those people,
good job to put them together on one photo, good job

jrj (34779) 2004-08-24 5:40

Original montage of the two photos. Well done and well adjusted to your comment. Interesting.

Proxilva (2157) 2004-08-24 6:02

you made it look like the bearded man is trying to look under the skirt of the resting lady... (typical for man with beards i think ;))

i like the two diiferent colortones of these two shots, it makes them match very well together...

the man looks a bit like Allen Ginsberg, perhaps he writes good poetry in the park :)

jhm (83352) 2004-08-24 10:00

Very nice double picture, Curtis, I like the way how you present the woman and the man. I see the two different colortones of these two shots, good work here Curtis!

wilkinsonsg (8646) 2004-08-24 10:52

Seems like a nice place to be :)
I like the double image treatment and your notes set the tone.

avigur_11 (21307) 2004-08-24 18:27

Califirnia? it could be easily "India", too. I like both images, but maybe the upper one is even stronger, thanks to the grains and the plae colors. A very good composition, Curtis.

Liora (1857) 2004-08-25 3:31

A fascinating scene Curtis - on a first look I thought - nice capture of two people resting. On a second look (and I admit, after reading some of the critiques here) - the scene looks completely different. The guy in the lower photo lies in what appears to be a highly uncomfortable position. He also looks very neat and then there's the rolled T-shirt, showing some belly there..
The lady is lying on a hard cement with a thin short dress, with the noise and smell of the parking lot to boot... Then again, both of them look relaxed...
Comfortable or not, those two work well together - the stitch looks very "natural" - more like a complete view than two different situations.

sn00zie (2384) 2004-08-25 12:34

i like the contrast in the two pictures Curtis.. not only when it comes to colors, but the way the man's on the lawn and the woman on a hard cement floor. a great idea

Photo Information

Copyright: Curtis Grindahl (cgrindahl) (6109)
Genre: Places
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2004-08-17
Camera: Canon EOS Digital Rebel, Canon 28-135 f/3.5-5.6 IS, Hoya Super HMC 72mm UV
Photo Version: Original Version
Date Submitted: 2004-08-24 1:50