Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2002/09/09
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]When I first read the subject line in the e-mail, "I See Dead People" I wondered what this photo was about. Then, when I clicked on the link and I saw the picture beginning to appear on my monitor (I have a slow connection and it loads from the top down, slowly) and saw what looked like a thrift shop developing, I thought, "Geez - what a great title." There's usually a lot of old clothing in those shops which belonged to people who have died. But when I saw the message on the front of the shirt the whole thing fell apart for me. The concept I had no longer existed, and it all went flat. Ted in Olalla - ----- Original Message ----- From: "B. D. Colen" <bdcolen@earthlink.net> To: <leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us> Sent: Monday, September 09, 2002 9:56 AM Subject: RE: [Leica] I See Dead People & PAW Ketchup > Hi, Phong...As I see it the problem is that in order to appreciate this > particular photo of Tom's, you probably have to equate shopping with death. > If you don't, it misses. > > Carl's photo comes allot closer to making effective use of a sign or > message. As you note, the city is devoid of people. I see it more in terms > of the obviously dying city - looking at the sign missing letters, > etc....But to each his own....I think Carl's shot might have worked better > had it been directly across the street from the sign, so that we could see > more of the rundown store fronts. But, again, that's a matter of > taste....which is, of course what all of this is about.:-) > > B. D. > > -----Original Message----- > From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us > [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of Phong > Sent: Monday, September 09, 2002 12:24 PM > To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us > Subject: RE: [Leica] I See Dead People & PAW Ketchup > > > > classic example ... where the > > photographer brings certain opinions and judgments about the subject- > > specifically about the people in the photo and the relationship of their > > mind-sets to the T-shirt - and therefore thinks that everyone who sees > this > > still image will know what the photographer was thinking. > > B.D., > > If Tom's message is "shopping = dead", (whatever dead and alive > mean to Tom), there is enough of elements in the photo to conjure the > message. > > In the same way, I cannot help but make the connection between > the billboard message "The Future is Now in Session" in Carl Pultz's > http://home.earthlink.net/~cpultz/PAW/PAW12.htm and the emptiness > of the cityscape devoid of people depicted in the photo. > > Not that I think Tom's photo "works" for me. > > - Phong > > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us > > [mailto:owner-leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us]On Behalf Of B. D. Colen > > Sent: Monday, September 09, 2002 9:42 AM > > To: leica-users@mejac.palo-alto.ca.us > > Subject: RE: [Leica] I See Dead People & PAW Ketchup > > > > > > > > Having read your explanation, Tom, here's what I see as the problem: > > > > I think that what you have here is a classic example of a photo where the > > photographer brings certain opinions and judgments about the subject- > > specifically about the people in the photo and the relationship of their > > mind-sets to the T-shirt - and therefore thinks that everyone who sees > this > > still image will know what the photographer was thinking. > > > > I look at this and I see a group of people shopping - somewhere, I have no > > idea where - with a T-shirt saying > > "I see dead people" hanging over them. As the people in the photo are > > clearly not dead, and don't have a dead look about them, I don't think > this > > works. > > > > However - if this were a photo of a group of people in a subway car, lined > > up on a bench, in which one person was wearing this t-shirt and everyone > in > > the photo had blank, dead expressions on their faces, it definitely would > > work - at least for me. > > > > Obviously, this is all a matter of opinion.:-) > > B. D. > > > > -- > > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html > > -- > To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html > - -- To unsubscribe, see http://mejac.palo-alto.ca.us/leica-users/unsub.html