Wednesday, January 23, 2008

I'm a printin' photos

I printed a small selection of my photos. These ones ended up looking, to my crazed eye, absolutely smashing. I'm thinking they'd make nice prizes. If only I had a contest. Do I have an outstanding contest going?

You've seen these photos before. But you like them.


The Kindness of Oxycontin

night time leaves


Pint of Keiths

glass of beer 01


End of Days


end times 03


Fingah Meats


through a glass beerly 02


Snarf

laughter


Victory in Feldkirch

victory


You're Too Close To My Apple

cursed apple 2


High Heels

girl kneeling 2

UPDATE: Nate of Okay City is the first winner! That didn't take long at all. He has named the contest "Dibs". For his sins he receives a print of "End of Days".

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

I love the photos but I have to admit I love the titles as much as the photos. I also love what the titles do to the photos. Visually, the first one is my favorite but the Victory at Feldkirch (sp?) is a close second and this is mostly because of the title + photo combo.

I had never thought of that--how you need a title sometimes to see something. Do you think they have classes on that in art school? Titling 101?

Nate said...

You know what I think the contest should be? It should be called "Dibs."

And I'm calling dibs on "End of Days." They're all awesome photos, but I really love that one. I'd hang it in my house.

palinode said...

Ozma, you leave the best comments. I mean, everyone leaves the best comments, but you really do. Anyway.

The titles were last-moment additions because I was including short write-ups for each image, but it turned out that some of the photos have great stories and some have no story at all. And then I thought, why potentially contaminate the experience? And I threw down some titles.

The first one is called "The Kindness of Oxycontin" because that's what I was on at the time. "Victory at Feldkirch" was taken in Feldkirch, a small city in western Austria. The photo works really well when you blow it up, because there's a lot going in that image - the mother on the ruins, the two children clapping, a bemused onlooker and a clump of folk in the background, and behind them all a row of people eating in a McDonald's. Victory all round! I also like the fact that the photo has three distinct areas of depth (tower, street, McDonald's) but it's all flattened out and divided horizontally between the tower ruins and the fast food chain.

In On Photography,, Susan Sontag dwells at length on the relationship between the caption and the image. Often the title or the caption directs the entire interpretation of the image.

palinode said...

nate - Dibs! Okay, now it is you who leaves the best comments.

By naming the contest, you also win the contest! End of Days is my desktop image and it's freaky. Send me your mailing address and I'll mail you a print. And give me specs - 4x6? 8x10? Borders? That kind of thing?

Bruce Johnson said...

Overall, I would rate them as outstanding.

palinode said...

lotus07 - Why, thank you sir. Compliments make you a contest winner as well. Please pick the one you want.

Hildy said...

If it weren't for the title of the first one, I would suggest a "guess which drug Palinode was on" contest...Morphiates? Dilaudid? Oxycontin? Tylenol 3's? Beer? Oh well...maybe next time.

mathew said...

i have a photo very much in a similar style as your The Kindness of Oxycontin - here's a link.

there's a lot to love about Victory in Feldkirch

palinode said...

hildy - In answer to your question, I was (to the best of my recollection) high on a mixture of oxycontin, dilaudid, ibuprofen and beer for most of these. The sole exception is Victory at Feldkirch, where I was high on life only. And possibly fumes.

mathew - I liked your Epyphyllum photo.

Victory at Feldkirch is my favourite of this bunch, but it fares the worst when blown up to a larger print. I used 200 film on an overcast day, and the result was a bit grainy. My attempts to sharpen the image didn't help much.

palinode said...

mathew again - I mean 'epiphyllum', not epyphyllum.

I also forgot to mention that if you like Victory in Feldkirch, send me your mailing address.

Anonymous said...

I'm rather fond of 'The Kindness of Oxycontin' - the starkness of those leaves dangling in black space is lovely.

Would it be possible to dibs?

S

palinode said...

Dibs to Susan! Send me your mailing address at palinode @ gmail . com and I'll mail it out to you. 8x10, matte, with borders.