Is it art? Or is it history?
Susan says, “What is it that you see here? Do you see hulking, rusted machinery with a mysterious purpose. Or do you see a fantastic, machine-like sculpture. If what you see is broken down machinery do you wonder if this man is working restore it so it will function again? Is he trying to fix it, to simply understand how it once worked, to take functioning pieces away to be put to use elsewhere? The purpose of the giant split wheel is puzzling. The gauge is frozen to a measurement taken long ago, but of what. The rods, bolts and smaller wheels are rusted into positions that are useless now. Why was it left here, by whom and when. Did it outlive its usefulness, was it replaced by a machine more efficient, or did it just breakdown and become unfixable junk? But what changes if you you see a giant sculpture with a graceful double wheel on the right, and a sharply aggressive body all points and rods on the left. I guess that might make the old guy the artist rather than the repairman. What a wonderful palette he’s chosen of soft browns and blue grays. You’d ask very different questions of an artist, wouldn’t you? Regardless of which story you choose to tell each is valid and could be used successfully in a presentation.”
Lucia says, “I’m going with the artistic scenario. At least that’s what I saw when I made this photo. I love the man in blue against the soft, muted colors of the machine. The simplicity of the color palate is soothing. Composition-wise, the man is off-center in the circle and a little off-center in the whole frame. Having subjects off-center creates a more compelling composition. And here we have it doubled.I think it’s important to choose photos with subtle composition elements to aid your story. They will make your audience take notice even though they may not be sure what caught their attention. But you’ll have them sitting up and listening – absorbed in your story.”
