Black and Gold, a photo from Illinois, Midwest

Photographer's Note

"From the first step, that of classification (we must surely classify, verify by samples, if we want to constitute a corpus), Photography evades us. The various distributions we impose upon it are in fact either empirical (Professionals/Amateurs), or rhetorical (Landscapes/Objects/Portraits/Nudes), or else aesthetic (Realism/Pictorialism), in any case external to the object, without relation to its essence, which can only be (if it exists at all) the New of which it has been the advent; for these classficiations might very well be applied to other, older forms of representation. We might say that Photography is unclassifiable."

--Roland Barthes, Camera Lucida

TE classifications are so often a failure. "Castles." What kind of a random category is that?

What category does this one fall into?

Relentlessly black. Imperiously gold. It's America pure and simple. Bought and sold.

And, oh, yes, There Will Be Cold

Floydian, mpdre has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

jsogdi (49) 2008-02-02 15:36

what a poetic shot

picardo (2459) 2008-02-02 15:49

Hi Hugh,
I think it is a wonderful picture! You've capture so many little lights... I there was a record of "captured light on a single picture" here on TE.. you surely have it with this one. The smoking chimney looks great among the "sparks"... Great job
TFS
Picardo

Floydian (30970) 2008-02-03 6:19

Hello Hugh,
4 points...can you believe this..!!!
Man this is so good, something very different than your previous work and how i like this shot. The lights are spreaded all over but never end up in a complete mess. There are nice patterns in them, lines, beautiful diagonal lines. And then there was smoke, the main attraction of this picture, what a clever idea to put that in and it works great. You did very well done this one, i like it a lot and it really deserves much more attention.
Take care, Henk

Polonaise (5802) 2008-02-03 6:47

"What kind of a random category is that? "

I'll tell you what kind of category...
It's the
A splendid view upon city of Chicago from the Sears Tower, facing west, at night, on the crispy, cold weather...

That's the category..
It is quite silly that you, Bombilla himself... You - One and only - Hugh S....
You didn't know that !!!

And you call yourself an American ?

.....................

Love that smoke down there...
Love the photo...
Love Chicago...

George

Merline (0) 2008-02-03 8:39

Hi Hugh,
the category should be "splendid shot" : D.
Love your sense of humour, a pity truly that you have no castles in Chicago:-).

This gives the feeling of a bird flying with a camera...great work. Beautiful pattern of lines, with that one curve in the fg, the smoke from the chimney is gorgeous, you chose the perfect hour for this, not too dark yet. I love the overall tonality and mood.

TFS
Best regards
Michèle

bantonbuju (51815) 2008-02-04 6:22

man, this is cool...particularly when accompanied with the text and the range of question you rise in the note...
dont ask me for the category - i think there is one - "breathlessly"....
best, j.

mpdre (1611) 2008-02-09 11:33

Hugh,
Wonderful shot. A city that seems to be embedded in charcoal... the spotty lights forming linear patterns, dense smoke emerging from chimney factories, undulated roads... this is an amazing image... Category? "Cold charcoal world"
Love it!
Andre