*In A Sentimental Mood*, a photo from Maryland, South

Photographer's Note

Grey air dances over the cracks,
Weaving around bones slowly
tapping.
Tender noise drifting through the
mask scales make.

Hidden behind a curtain
of faces black and white,
Scared to come out until
the dead finally ask.

Feel eye's heavy,
sinking
and the soft sound of colapse
thinking,
does not happen.

Wetprint onto Ilford warmtone RC.

Chris.

berek, Dpbours, pgorod, Mondaychild, robertosalguero, syd1946, kemelodes has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

partha (14023) 2007-08-30 20:54

Hi Christopher,
Nice placement of the subject. Excellent composition and perfect timing.The expression of the front girl is so nice.
Regards.
Partha

Furachan (0) 2007-08-30 21:19

Hi Christopher - I just read your contribution to my thread in forums and really appreciate what you had to say. It drew me directly to your pics and I fell on this wonderfully atmospheric shot here which absolutely deserves comment. The analog qualities of the Tri-X are superbly in evidence here and I apreciate your carefully dosed DOF from the main girl to the woman beyond.
First class work, my friend.
Do NOT, I repeat do NOT give up on TE - help is on its way...
Francis

berek (50508) 2007-08-30 22:08

Hi Christopher,
B&W is very good idea for this picture. nice point of view and framing. I like your lights control. well done. have a nice weekend.
B.Erek

ninaL (21348) 2007-08-30 22:30

Hi, Christopher.
Beautiful mood, here.
I like this scene and dark atmosphere.
Very good PP.
Best regards. Grazyna .

sidstakes (772) 2007-08-30 23:24

Beautiful black and white photograph Christopher..! I can only imagine how good the print will be...

Dpbours (222) 2007-08-31 0:28

Hi Christopher,

Great little poem accompanying this wonderful black and white! Which does get me to a point of Francis, who seems to continue an earlier discussion... Hope you're not giving up. I'm not sure what you're giving up for which reason, but keep on posting here!
Love to see film here as well and the quality + little grain is just wonderful. A feel you only get with film and the right person holding the equipment. In your case, it worked out splendidly.

Greetings, Dennis

hay_kes (31439) 2007-08-31 0:50

Hi Chris,
Very beautiful B/W composition.Good POV and light.TFS.
Regards.

hAyAti

faubry (35447) 2007-08-31 1:34

bonjour Christopher, excellent image with a good managment, i like how you have placed personnages, well done
francine

Iva_R (1352) 2007-08-31 1:55

Bonjour,
Voilà une photo que je trouve tout simplement superbe de part sa composition et son sujet. Le n&b lui donne un côté atemporel que j'aime beaucoup.
Iva

pgorod (1019) 2007-08-31 3:49

Hi Chris,

Following on the forum discussion, and on Francis' critique here, let me add...

This kind of picture belongs in TE because here we're supposed to learn about the world, and the world includes, besides beautiful landscapes, the most wondrous of all things: people, souls, children's eyes...

The world includes dreams and your picture has dreamlike qualities. It includes poetry, and poetry is not easy to register on film. But here we have it.

The world includes interiors, moods, minds, feelings, and the rare few that can capture that in a photo have all reason to be here and keep posting happily...

Please do not deprive us of your world... we enjoy it too much :-)

chc (1468) 2007-08-31 4:50

Very good compo and DOF Chris. I like the simplicity of the situation depicted. Well done
christophe

Angshu (56760) 2007-08-31 6:51

Hello Chris
Really long time. It's a pleasure to see your images & indeed your notes, which this time is a wonderful poetry. Veering a bit, I went thru Francis' thread & what you had written. I agree to you quite, but I do not agree that you are moving away from the objectives of this site. WRONG! Knowing about the world is not only about landscapes or portaits, but it's about emotions as well. How well are we able to capture emotions? Many of us like me do not have the capability, but looking at pictures like this, makes me try...because I feel photography is art, it's poetry, it's a mirror of the mind & that's precisely why I enjoy seeing your photographs...don't give up on us in this site my friend.
Best Regards
Angshuman

Mondaychild (378) 2007-08-31 8:24

Hi Chris,

this one looks great ... somehow like out of a movie, or like a cover of a CD. Somehow unreal. The girls remind me a bit of the movie "Now and Then" (although the movie isn´t in b/w), one of my favorites. The girl in the foreground looks very curious and naughty, whilst her friend seems to be afraid of the photographer ...

The placement of the persons is really successful. How did you get the slight blur? If I got your note right, this photo is from a scanned print?

It´s far more difficult to take photos of people than photos of landscapes, buildings etc. ... but you are a real master!

bwiti (402) 2007-08-31 8:41

Really I find in your shot a strange and beautiful mood... I love the texture with some noise of your composition and the fact that you choose to cut the child... Thousand congratulations and sorry for this poor comment but my english don't give me the possibility to say what I feel....

Clairedelune (4923) 2007-08-31 9:06

I can almost feel the sweet taste of the warm air on my skin, the pleasure of the summer's touch on my shoulders, the quiet wind going through the leaves of the trees and the playing shadows on the ground...
I can almost hear the crystal notes of a laugh of a young girl and the playful bark of a good faithful dog. And the scolding voice of the older one... Come, don't talk to strangers...
I feel lazy... I would like to lay down and smell the grass and wish the summer won't go away...
Sigh! You don't understand French... It would be easier for me! :)))
Chris, this is a "feel good" photo. Thanks for this.
Maybe a little dark, but I am not in front of a calibrated screen right now, so I am far from certain of that.
I want to participate in TE, but I feel more and more like the type of photography I'm doing doesn't fit into TE...
Why?
I feel this way too. I know my reasons, but yours...?
Claire

AnimeshRay (9089) 2007-08-31 9:34

Chris,
Fantastic image, accompanying a fantastic poem...yours?
What can I write about the image? Nostalgic, yes, sentimental, as you say. Brilliant use of dof and perspective. Terrific print. Bravo! A favorite.

robertosalguero (288) 2007-08-31 18:44

Hello Chris. I like the look in her face. She looks great! Good shot in B&W. I see you added grainy texture to make it more interesting and almost a dream. Interesting framing and excellent overall composition. Cheers :-)

Roberto

ahmetgedikli (25609) 2007-08-31 20:30

Hi Christopher,
Wonderful shot! I like your composition, the emotional and POV...
Have a nice weekend.
Ahmet

oochappan (4880) 2007-09-01 6:09

Is it because that at the age of 12 I couldn't do anything but B&W or that after I had a study for one year on the impact of colors on human beings, the symbolique meaning and the relation to music that I miss always the colors in a B&W as an extra dimension calling up for a mood, seeing nothing else then B&W ?
Maybe reason it is so difficult for me to live in an evocated mood without colors in your attemp to bring dialy life scenes revealing the unnoticed to a renewing enpathic attention like here, a not that easy target or concept wich personally I try to place such scenes within other series describing the environment as a whole.
Wishing you inventive creativity in your new explorations that by broadening a bit could enhance and make your target maybe more clear of this micro-life by letting you flow with the stream of life itself with wondering eyes.
Henk

kensimage (8563) 2007-09-01 9:45

A superb nostalgic shot, Chris, even for us men. A warm summer day, spent in the shade where possible, in simple pleasures like walking the dog. The youth we remember so well, even if it wasn't actually like that. This photo is, to quote you from the note on another image, "1's and 0's with a soul." Regards, Ken.

syd1946 (18663) 2007-09-01 10:52

Hi Christopher,
Nice to see a new post from you!And what a post and such a nice poem fitting so well!The photo it is a poem itself and I cant stop looking to fell the mood and the dreamy atmosphere...

wishes for the weekend,
Thomas

Polonaise (5802) 2007-09-03 11:52

dear Christoper...
This is an age of innocence and I'm taling about your photo (not the girls !!!)

Absolutely, down to earth, innocent, honest photo !
No weird fireworks, no pseudo-artistry, no big social remarks...
Just the suntanned skin and the flickering sunrays of the years passed by...

Oh, God...
I'm getting soft...

g.

kemelodes (323) 2007-09-03 14:37

Strong one my friend. Perfect composition. Love the expresion of the first girl and how the other makes the scene move. And of course the grain, that reminds me one of Salgado´s shot.
Congratulations
Javier

Flavia (10352) 2008-04-25 22:13

Hi Christophe,

Here they are again! The same girls, similar compo, the pleasure of summer. Love the texture (grain on the backgroung). The composition is strong and the siling girl has a puzzling expresion. It feels good to see such an extraordinary quality picture here in TE!

Regards,

Flavia