Living off the Grid

swifteye · February 15, 2011

I am in the process of scanning a project I did in Kodachrome on a family that lives off the grid. Here is one of the images:

1.

Richard · February 16, 2011

Terrific image Jamie. Wow!

black mamba · February 16, 2011

Powerful image. The PP work is very well done. The bird wing is an element that just pounds at you.

Tom

lizzard_nyc · February 16, 2011

Wow man!

sara505 · February 16, 2011

swifteye wrote: »

I am in the process of scanning a project I did in Kodachrome on a family that lives off the grid. Here is one of the images:

1.

Excellent image, on many levels. The bird wing, the texture and grain of the wood, the blurry faces all join forces, creating a very compelling, mysterious, and artistic photo.

bdcolen · February 16, 2011

swifteye wrote: »

Fascinating image. I can't wait to see more.

Flyinggina · February 16, 2011

Very intriguing. I'm looking forward very much to seeing more of your photos this project.

Virginia

thoth · February 16, 2011

Can't help but to agree with the posters above. This shot is fantastic.

swifteye · February 17, 2011

Thanks all! When I get more time I'll post up more.

indiegirl · February 17, 2011

Fanfreakingtastic.

chrisjohnson · February 18, 2011

Very wierd. Very sad. Pity the poor children.

swifteye · February 18, 2011

goldenballs wrote: »

Very wierd. Very sad. Pity the poor children.

I am curious: how do you arrive at your interpretation of this image as very weird, very sad, and the children are poor?

sara505 · February 18, 2011

swifteye wrote: »

I am curious: how do you arrive at your interpretation of this image as very weird, very sad, and the children are poor?

I was wondering the same thing - sounds like a ton of projections and assumptions.

But then again, the way art strikes a person is the way it strikes a person and is all valid.

swifteye · February 18, 2011

sara505 wrote: »

I was wondering the same thing - sounds like a ton of projections and assumptions.

But then again, the way art strikes a person is the way it strikes a person and is all valid.

Do you know the story The Point by musician Harry Nilsson about a boy named Oblio, the only round-headed person in the Pointed Village, where by law everyone and everything had to have a point. He and his dog were banished to The Pointless Forrest. Here is a Wikipedia link to give you an overview of the story: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Point!.

Now, my favorite quote from this story is when Obloi and Arrow (Oblio's dog) run into the Rock Man and he asks them a series of questions about seeing and hearing things, of which the wayward travelers respond "no" to the questions.
The Rockman then responds, "dig man, you see what you want to see and you hear what you want to hear!"

Here is a link to that part of the story:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2a-_dvxtN0

Enjoy!

sara505 · February 18, 2011

So, what's your point?

swifteye · February 18, 2011

sara505 wrote: »

So, what's your point?

I'll tell you once I crawl out of the bottomless pit!

Juano · February 18, 2011

Great image, it really conveys the "off the grid" feeling. The children have a look in their faces that may be seen as sadness or perhaps isolation (or both?). It's true that it is in the eye of the beholder, but that's the feeling I get from the image.

swifteye · February 18, 2011

Juano wrote: »

Great image, it really conveys the "off the grid" feeling. The children have a look in their faces that may be seen as sadness or perhaps isolation (or both?). It's true that it is in the eye of the beholder, but that's the feeling I get from the image.

Fair enough. I will try to put together a series here (in the original color: BD) to better convey the story within the next few days.

r3t1awr3yd · February 18, 2011

I get a completely different feel... the "being off the grid" doesn't even phase what I see.

I see two ghosts. I'm assuming it's the reflection of the background shadowing the window that's causing me to see it this way but an ominous piece of a bird hanging outside the door doesn't help.

This picture is SUPER CREEPY to me. (oh, i hate horror movies and ghost related things).

jdryan3 · February 18, 2011

Interesting shot and I hope to see the series soon. Hopefully the one poster's comment was from a misperception about living off the grid rather than the shot itself.

"Put the lime in the coconut..."

chrisjohnson · February 18, 2011

swifteye wrote: »

I am curious: how do you arrive at your interpretation of this image as very weird, very sad, and the children are poor?

Now you are making me think

The "poor children" is a colloquialism meaning worthy of pity, having a too low quality of life. I did not think immediately about poor meaning having too little money.

Why do I pity them? I guess because they are are dwarved by the surrounding objects, they look more like little adults than little children, old before their time like the weathered wood, tucked away at the bottom of the frame. The bird parts nailed to the wall evoke a casual brutality and dominate the shot; how do you imagine the children feel?

I don't know what story you are intending to tell about living off the grid. I suppose the monochrome is used for a purpose; a bleak message.

Anyway, I explained a bit what I feel about your photo which I find moving and not simply "because I see whatever I want to see" but because I see what you put there.

swifteye · February 18, 2011

goldenballs wrote: »

Now you are making me think

The "poor children" is a colloquialism meaning worthy of pity, having a too low quality of life. I did not think immediately about poor meaning having too little money.

Why do I pity them? I guess because they are are dwarved by the surrounding objects, they look more like little adults than little children, old before their time like the weathered wood, tucked away at the bottom of the frame. The bird parts nailed to the wall evoke a casual brutality and dominate the shot; how do you imagine the children feel?

I don't know what story you are intending to tell about living off the grid. I suppose the monochrome is used for a purpose; a bleak message.

Anyway, I explained a bit what I feel about your photo which I find moving and not simply "because I see whatever I want to see" but because I see what you put there.

A very excellent and intelligent response. Excuse me for my humor (it was fun!).

This dialog brings up an important topic: that of the photographers "experience" of being a witness of the environment he/she is making images of versus the viewers own interpretation of the image (with out the "experience"). I am fascinated by the viewer response and that is why I only show the images at first and sit back and listen. I am more interested in what the emotional/psychological impact a image has versus just a technical discussion of its rendering (although that is also appropriate and useful). When I now look at my image with your interpretation in mind it expands the visual conversation. The conversation becomes more than just my experience. It becomes your experience. ....And that is the wonderful reward of being a photographer.

I total "get" your interpretation now goldenballs. It is from asking the question that we forward the dialog. I will not reveal my experience just yet (I have a lot of scanning to do, along with the pp).

Bdcolen: Here is the color version of this image you requested. I wonder how the color changes peoples perception and interpretation?

Sorry in advance if you do not see more images from this series right away- busy week!!

sara505 · February 18, 2011

swifteye wrote: »

A very excellent and intelligent response. Excuse me for my humor (it was fun!).

This dialog brings up an important topic: that of the photographers "experience" of being a witness of the environment he/she is making images of versus the viewers own interpretation of the image (with out the "experience"). I am fascinated by the viewer response and that is why I only show the images at first and sit back and listen. I am more interested in what the emotional/psychological impact a image has versus just a technical discussion of its rendering (although that is also appropriate and useful). When I now look at my image with your interpretation in mind it expands the visual conversation. The conversation becomes more than just my experience. It becomes your experience. ....And that is the wonderful reward of being a photographer.

I total "get" your interpretation now goldenballs. It is from asking the question that we forward the dialog. I will not reveal my experience just yet (I have a lot of scanning to do, along with the pp).

Bdcolen: Here is the color version of this image you requested. I wonder how the color changes peoples perception and interpretation?

Sorry in advance if you do not see more images from this series right away- busy week!!

Just as good in color!

chrisjohnson · February 19, 2011

sara505 wrote: »

Just as good in color!

The color changes the way I feel about the picture, as I thought it would. "Endangered Species" is now a fitting title.

I prefer the b&w - the color links the feathers and the wood frame in a way that suggests an important connection that I don't see right now.

The fallacy with all art is believing that the creator's intention is of determining importance to understanding how it speaks. The great images reveal connections that the artist was not necessarily aware of at the time. Still, I would like to hear your description of what you are doing or do you prefer to let the image do the talking?

swifteye · February 19, 2011

black mamba · February 20, 2011

Terrific shot, Jamie. I spend a lot of time traveling the back roads deep in the Appalachian mountains and scenes like this ( usually minus the human element ) are very common to me. But then, of course, it's the human element here that gives this shot the grit it possesses. Well done.

Tom

bdcolen · February 20, 2011

[QUOTE=swifteye;[/QUOTE]

Thanks for posting in color. I have to say I am really torn with both these images, in terms of color or black and white.

Nyarthlopic · February 20, 2011

These are really cool shots. I like the B&W over the color, but that's not taking anything away from the color one. Both versions are brilliant. Though the way I see it is closer to r3t1awr3yd. Unlike him, though, I love the whole creepy ghost vibe.

The second image is very cool, too. It doesn't have the same ghost thing going on, but I still get the creepy vibe. I do find myself wondering what the person is looking at. Watching her children play? Watching the world go by without her? Plotting humanity's demise? Lots going on.

Put simply: these. are. awesome.

Flyinggina · February 20, 2011

I am coming down on the side of color. The second shot is just wonderful in color. It's probably great in b&w too, but I do love the feel of the color.

That said, I think the color gives a more dreamy effect to both photos (enhanced by the reflections and the cool color palette) and is perhaps less gritty than the black and white.

Whether this will make a difference to the series remains to be seen.

At this point, I think either works wonderfully. Artist's choice.

Virginia

sara505 · February 20, 2011

There's only one way to capture that orange cat, and that's in color.

Great shots - both.

bdcolen · February 20, 2011

sara505 wrote: »

There's only one way to capture that orange cat, and that's in color.

Great shots - both.

Definitely both great shots - but countless orange cats were photographed in black and white before there was color. And, just for argument's sake I have to ask if the orange cat is the subject - because that orange DO stick out.

Living off the Grid

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