My immediate reaction was very positive, but when I realized what I was looking at my feelings turned more to sadness. Photographically, I like it a lot. Excellent composition, as always for you, and the somewhat muted coloration is captivating, and the way the sky lightens up toward to top puts even more attention to the center blue section, which is very effective. The old barrel would be a positive element IF it wasn’t an old barrel. As it is, it’s an important comment on the wastefulness and arrogance of the human race.
Igor,
I’m way late here and really wish I had commented initially… and now I’ll comment and do my best to ignore all the comments , title changes, and discussion and try to recall my own initial reaction.
And that reaction was a trigger reminding me of the last scene in “Shawshank Redemption.” You know the scene where Red tracks down Andy at some remote beach in Mexico… Well, this takes me there. Next, the atmosphere, the faint squall in the distance, the wave and the mirrage-like beach make me think of hot, humid and remote tropical, amost desolate location. Then there’s the oil drum. You chose wisely in it’s placement and size (you mentioned zooming in and you lost that feel or impression… I agree.) But I don’t feel sadness or take any meaning other than proposing a positive reason for it’s existence. First of all, quite odd and unusual to have barrel cut in half as it is. Was it used as a floatation device? Was it used somehow for fishing or gathering food to sustain whomever was using it? Maybe, originally, the fuel oil was the ONLY source of heat to cook food, or some other reason… Is it still in use? Or discarded? probably the latter, but I imagine that it served a valid purpose to those who may have used and needed it.
Like any other and all images - they all speak to us differently. I hope my impression was a worth consideration that perhaps had not been thought of or reacted.
Lon
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The lake has dried out now and I was able to get a closer look at the drum. It was used as a vessel for a campfire in a manner similar to a campfire ring of rocks you see everywhere. There are no rocks on this lake bed so this was used in place of them. That’s the reality of the image for those interested in reality.
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Thank you so much for your comments. This image was not easy for me to comprehend. And I think that’s why I learned so much in examining it. There is more or less agreement that the image is sad. I have concluded that this sadness is magnified by the fact that the ‘junk’ is surrounded by incredible beauty and tranquility. It’s similar to a situation where a sad man feels even sadder when immersed in the company of gleeful people. When contradictory emotions are present in an image they can heighten one another’s intensity. That can be useful knowledge when creating an image. This is a different outlook for me because in the past I have criticised images here at NPN by saying that their emotional messages contradict one another and are therefore inconsistent. I still believe this … if it’s unintentional. But in this case it is intentional and it makes the point beautifully. Another words - a contradictory statement is a statement in itself and serves a purpose.
And all this from a discarded drum …
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in this piece she captured the experience of a headache. I find it amazing that you can express such things pictorially.
Thank you, Igor. I have not seen this image before, it is amazing! And is exactly what I hope to achieve someday with my images. . . a long way to go.