Asher Kelman
OPF Owner/Editor-in-Chief
Well Pat,
I do find this both unusual and interesting. It's like you have a can of nostalgia you spray over abanded things of our past!
Asher
I know this is on a larger scale and might not be what you are looking for but, just look at East Cleveland in Ohio, for instance! This is a city that is slowly but surely disintegrating and becoming overgrown, (in fact, it almost has), with deer and other woodland creatures roaming about.
Paul,
I think one can agree that Troy Paiva has better framing and a tighter mature approach. Also there are simpler ways of using the camera to highlight the end of the life cycle of human endeavors.
Still, Pat's attempts and toil here to follow another photographer's body of work, itself represents part of the spectrum of modern camera use, illustrating one extreme. It demonstrates how hard it can be to produce a tight, focuses oevre that rises above others tone effective and iconic of that particular photographer's view and vision.
To me, Pat's enthusiasm and dogged work is admirable for it's own inherent worth as an example of one level of human struggle. We so often look at the journey of those who rise to the very top. Pat's worth comes from the inherent value for himself in trying to accomplish something that would be fabulous if he succeeds.
We hardly ever look at this end of the work spectrum.
Naivty is also revealing.
In the total orchestra of expression with a lens, Pat's efforts tell us something about a personal struggle and how hard it can be to climb!
Asher
Hi, Paul,
I wasn't at all aware of this transmogrification of East Cleveland. I grew up in the Cleveland area (on the West side) but haven't lived there since 1961 and have only rarely visited since.
My late first wife, when she first arrived in the Cleveland area, lived for a few months with relatives in East Cleveland.
How did you become familiar with this situation?
Thanks for this peek into this strange phenomenon.
Best regards,
Doug
Pat,
I am a careful follower of your work and am impressed by your steadfast efforts. Still, I need to make a case for you not relying any more on what the cameras internal "photoshop" does for your pictures. The files, no doubt are very good. But without your fingerprints on the preparation of an actual image, to me at least I cannot see how your kind of work can be completed by the auto settings some Japanese technicians set as defaults in your camera!
This current picture is a clear example of where relying on the decisions of the little men in your camera could be holding back the full potential drama of your photograph. If, however, this is ideal, then, I just think you are an oddly lucky guy, as no one I know of has ideas that always match the automatic decisions and calculations of the cameras artificial image creation from electrical charges on the sensor.
My general recommendation is that without a competency in post processing, the photograph is at risk of being half baked. Your own experience may be different of course, but I would wager that your work could be improved by realizing the full potential of the digital image, which can only be done by an appreciation of white and black points, gradients of contrast and ability to rank elements in your composition. Not that you always need each of these adjustments, but frankly, your images, to me at least, are rather flat and, as yet, do not have a breathing force of "life" and air in their nostrils.
There is nothing real about any photograph. So do not worry about cheating or being unreal, as that's what digital photography is any way!
Asher
I am unsure if I understand your writings or analogies....... I really just light up relics to bring long lost america back to life for a final review............Do either of you want to buy my book, I have several for sale........go to ebay and and type, Abandoned America by Pat Dwyer......or i can sell you one via regular mail. 41 pictures in the book plus instruction on how to do the process..................
Tom, I bet you would have liked a photo of an old brothel. LolPerhaps it's possible you take photographs in a different style. Family shots, a bit of travel or trivia, some soft porn, a newer building lit differently.
Xxx