Bring Them Days Back!

ginger_55

I knew the world was going to heck in a handbasket,
but all this cursin', spittin' and stuff, It needs to stop NOW!
And no more shooting for god's sake!
(Judge Roy Bean Said so!)

by ginger
5/28/2006

PS, who was Roy Bean, darned if I know,
but he was born around 1823.......or 1825,
the only thing we know for sure is that he
didn't like spittin on his floor! Didn't allow
it neither! That boy knew his law, and it was
all his, too!

sayntbrigid

really nice Ginger.....gave me a good chuckle too

davev

Ginger, I'm not a fan of pictures of signs in the photo challenges.

It may just be me, but I think it's a poor effort by the photographer to
put something in. I'm not trying to single you out, I'm seeing more and
more of these kinds of entries. I know that this is a tough challenge to do
without using this kind of display, But I know you can do better.

Unless the challenge is "Signs" I won't vote for a picture of a sign.

Just my thoughts.

Bakat

Ginger,
LOVE this one! Funny how much variation there can be in human opinions, I just love pictures of signs, they are so uniquely human. Frogs and leopards don't create signs; although, the world might be a better place if they did. Signs give us a lasting reminder of the things we find important at the moment. There is a museum in Alabama (I think) that collects Jim Crowe era signs that are a painful reminder of how ugly we were as human beings not too long ago.

I like photography that captures a moment that otherwise would be gone forever and while taking a pic of this sign doesn't really do that; it does re-capture a moment that has passed.

Kat

Angelo

ginger_55 wrote:

PS, who was Roy Bean, darned if I know,
but he was born around 1823.......or 1825,
the only thing we know for sure is that he
didn't like spittin on his floor! Didn't allow
it neither! That boy knew his law, and it was
all his, too!

Have some fun reading about the thief and outlaw who eventually became a judge. YeeHa for Texas tradition!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roy_Bean

mr peas

davev wrote:

Ginger, I'm not a fan of pictures of signs in the photo challenges.

It may just be me, but I think it's a poor effort by the photographer to
put something in. I'm not trying to single you out, I'm seeing more and
more of these kinds of entries. I know that this is a tough challenge to do
without using this kind of display, But I know you can do better.

Unless the challenge is "Signs" I won't vote for a picture of a sign.

Just my thoughts.

I agree with that. In my own opinion, sometimes we just dont get the right shot so we sometimes have to settle for shots like these. However, I do vote for the person who went the extra mile to get the picture and idea and their ability to execute it really well.

To improve this photo , or to improve any photo including signs, you can add people in front of the sign, either going against the sign or conforming to it, to give the sign some context or story rather than taking a photo of a sign by itself. Theres always room for improvement, you just have to push yourself to get something spectacular, sometimes you get lucky, but most of the time you have to work and plan for it a lot.

angelo- thats kind of cool the way you found information about that! hah

wizard444

I strongly disagree with Mr. Peas, in his tone and opinion, that there is something inferior about a picture of a sign. A picture of a sign may be as wholly uninteresting to him as is a picture of a car to me. That is not to say that either is inferior to the other. So don't worry about "settling" on this shot Ginger, if you like it and it speaks to you - take it as a sign!

sayntbrigid

I have to totally agree with you Wizard....after all, it is always possible that the photographer went the extra miles and painted the sign themself......
.....and also in tone with what Wizard said....for some people, the challenge is about having fun expressing the idea in their own unique way......not about "winning the challenge"

davev

I agree that it's not about winning the challenge, but it is about becoming a
better photographer, and maybe a better artist.

Ginger, just say the word and I'll delete this message.

For example: My wife took a shot of an old post office that would fit into
this challenge.
It's an old post office, but mostly it a sign of an old post office. Very little
info about it can be taken away from this shot.



Now, as Mr Peas says, add something more to it. She widens the shot to
get the new post office boxes in frame, explaining why the government
shut down the post office, and the community lost a main source of gossip.



Now I know that Ginger is a wonderful photographer. I know that she can
convey a better story in her shot than she did.

Hopefully this explains my point a little bit better.

wizard444

Two sides of a coin . . . occasionally you just have to take a fun shot! I thought Ginger's shot was just that. I was familiar with Judge Parker, but not Judge Bean. In that respect, her shot was also quite educational with the lesson on the "hanging" judge that Angelo provided.

More to the point, I like the shots you posted Dave, but I definitely would not be offended by a tighter shot (leaving the new boxes out) and simply showing the weathered look of the building, which matter of factly does include the sign. It may be too documentarian in nature for some, but others do enjoy this aspect of photography. Both shots would work equally well for me, even though the one shown includes more of a chronological story in regard to historic perspective; both are quite sufficient to stand alone, in my opinion.



"Signs, Signs, everywhere a sign."

sayntbrigid

Oh sure I agree that we all aim to improve Davev, but "art" is often different things to different people methinks.......thats all I was trying to say.......sorta like "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" to coin a nostalgic phrase

ginger_55

UH, lol, I am sure enjoying this discussion about "signs" and challenges.
I have not entered it, though. I just put it up for discussion, just thought to check to see if anyone had noticed it. I guess you all did!

I enjoyed seeing the sign, took a photo of it! Then it was just so perfect in sentiment, I posted it. Actually I probably had the most fun "writing" the stuff I did.

I don't have much of a handle on this sentiment thing. I am not sure if it is supposed to be sentimental to me............or just old (and interesting). It is Sunday night before the Challenge closes. It is a pretty good bet that I won't be entering this one, but I just wanted to share the sign.

(I am not crazy about old cars either, except a certain one that I have not seen recently: pink. Maybe that was Barbie's. I am not a car person.)

I am sorry, maybe I shouldn't have posted tongue in cheek. I just thought it was funny. I mean bring the good old days back and we can get rid of all this spit on the sidewalks. Might as well fix something in this world today!

Have a good one, thanks for the honesty on all sides,

ginger

ginger_55

Oh, just have to add re the "art" involved in the sign shot. I think it is composed very well. And I even used Andy's famous tilt. It is either 10:00 or 2:00, forgot which, but I did it right!

Now that is something!

ginger

seek2lurn

I like the sign. It made me smile, and it's definately nostalgic.:):

wizard444

I enjoyed the shot and the subsequent discussion. The fact that you fired the camera tells me that in that instant you saw something you wanted to preserve and share with all of us. That matters to me much more in fact than any challenge entry. I thank you for the post.