Class Assignment - 3
Images from this week are all taken at Highgate Cemetery. While I wish I had other images to show you, I have spent quite a bit of time on the canal this week with my Mamiya 67, and I have not taken my digital one anywhere but the cemetery. I hope you do enjoy the images I have to share with you, and, as always, please feel free to let me know what you think.
Images from this week are all taken at Highgate Cemetery. While I wish I had other images to show you, I have spent quite a bit of time on the canal this week with my Mamiya 67, and I have not taken my digital one anywhere but the cemetery. I hope you do enjoy the images I have to share with you, and, as always, please feel free to let me know what you think.
Austin,
ReplyDeleteI love that you decided to convert a few of these to black and white! I am particularly impressed by the death mask photos. Both have filled the frame very well and make them seem quite grand. The attention to light on both of those photos establishes a jarring quality.
As for the photo of the make-shift trash bin and the rows of headstones image, they don't say as much. I don't think light quality is fantastic in either image. For the image with the make-shift trash can, I see what you were going for. There is definitely an image to be made there! However, I don't think this was the right composition or angle. This photo seems more like a "photo note" rather than the final product. (If that doesn't make sense, I can explain more.) Then, for the photo with the rows and rows of headstones, I just think this one is cliche. That was the easy photo to go for.
However, the light on the cross mosaic is wonderful! The even cast you captured is very fitting for the muted tones in this image. The skew you have going on really works and the slight overgrowth is also part of what makes this image interesting.
Your photos are really cool Austin. Your always really good at picking interesting subjects for your photos, and the where everything in the photo is always looks good. The trash can photo just doesn't feel as strong as the other ones though. The rest are all really great and I love looking at them!
ReplyDeleteAustin,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jasmine that your strongest images are the death masks. I’m also digging the tiled cross being overtaken by the plants!
The image with the trash and the grave I like conceptually but I do think it could have been framed better. The base of the tomb is cut off ( it’s only a little bit but still) and I think it could have been included since the information it’s being sacrificed for is not as relevant to the composition.
Austin,
ReplyDeleteI agree with the others about the death masks being great and rather dramatic! Your photos are strong and interesting, with a common theme. I do agree that the trash can photo is the weakest photo in this set; the composition of this one could be arranged more artfully/interestingly.
On a side note, death masks are rather creepy, but they look amazing in your photos!
In addition to all the positive comments from your classmates regarding the death masks, I also like the angle of view in the first one, as well as your use of the surrounding grass/plants as a framing element, blown out of focus since they're so close to the camera. Similarly the cob webs are an important addition to the Malcolm McLaren headstone. Tight cropping gives them both more visual impact.
ReplyDeleteI think I "get" the trash a bit more, knowing your interest in the banal, discarded, and out-of-place. Many photographers with similar aesthetic concerns really push the formal beauty of their work, so that the banality of the subject is ironic - Stephen Shore, Lewis Baltz, Robert Adams ...
Love the color and texture in the tile cross. Would love to see a bit more context here, only in that I'm not sure I would understand that it's a grave (not an abandoned fountain or pool) without some background.
I also enjoy the density of the graves in the final image. It is very slightly back focused, and you could tweak the values a bit if you wanted to emphasize the formal elements. I would play with removing some of the green cast, but you may decide that you like it.
Great work.