Deserted places: landscapes after man

The above image exhibits a the attributes of what makes a great image, a strong central subject, asymmetry unless purposeful, technically correct and invokes a strong emotional response. In the image, the tower draws your eye towards the tombstones, complimenting each other. It tells stories of the end of life, complimented by the foreboding nature of the skies above. The tombstones lost to the weeds, suggestive of stories of lives forgotten. The beauty of the lives of the people long forgotten told in a simple image. Beautiful.

The above image was highly awarded, since beyond the technical aspects, perfect clarity throughout the image, strong balance of exposure but a wise us of contrast to highlight the work of the smiths from a time long ago. The darkness of the tools and benches are accented by the lights from the skylight and the window. While the industrial isn't often thought of as beautiful, the images of the labors of the workers is telling of the lives that passed through the walls within. The image is exactly about places abandoned, not beautiful, but the stories of the lives are.

The image is beautiful on many levels, photographic technically nearly perfect, it has a strong central subject of the decaying boat lost to the action of the waves and sand on the beach, no longer apparent of the origin, encrusted with barnacles. This is accented by the factory in the background, whose smoke is beautiful in the golden hour of the transition of night and day. The reflections of the water left behind from a receded tide, the golden light from the barnacle encrusted wood, all suggest that what stories were have long been forgotten. Beauty within that which is abandoned.

The image is a great juxtaposition of images, the decaying in black and white, and the renewal of life within accented in vivid colors, all beneath a foreboding sky. A boat that will never be carried to the sea on the rails it sits next to, would be a worthy black and white image beneath the dark skies, but the vivid green and white flowers growing from the decay ties the image together. The artist had a beautiful and thoughtful image.

The decaying windmill, mostly lost to nature, accented by the beauty of a frost morning are perfectly complientary. Even in decay their can be beauty and this is a perfect example of this. The quiet, serene morning is only highlighted by the decay of the windmill, reflected in the water. Often unintended foreground bushes are distracting, in this case, they frame the river, pulling the image together. Technically more difficult than it appears, the long exposure ripples within the water is not translated to the light grasses, which are often susceptible. Beautifully done

The image is beautiful, not because of what is shown, but what is implied. The remains of a boat under the ever changing skies. The stories must be imagined, for what was the demise of this vessel, tragedy or use. As one stumbles upon it, along the shores the stories are probably forgotten. Again the image is technically clear, with a wise choice of black and white, accenting the state of decay, with most of the wood lost to the action of the waves, slowly being lost to the sands of the beach.

I am glad the photographer was able to avoid the broken glass and rotted floorboards. The image, appearing to be an HDR, but beautifully composed. It takes a simple subject, and by highlighting it in the light through the window makes it larger than life. This is to me what takes an image and creates art, by making something mundane, and creating a life upon itself, yet you have to wonder, against the turquoise walls lies a shovel and iron bar used to break rock; and how did these come to end up within these walls.

In my opinion what makes a classic image, along with being technically correct, it has to invoke a strong emotional response or tell a story. In images of abandoned places the emotional response and stories are a central theme. In the above scene, boats that have been abused as much as their handlers . It invokes images of a life as difficult as the seas can be. The storm clouds that are breaking are metaphorical for the lives of the fisherman and their boats, at times dark.