scheinbar on DeviantArthttps://www.deviantart.com/scheinbar/art/on-his-road-105111411scheinbar

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on his road

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Description

featured by

:iconlimegintonic: [link] :icondavespertine: [link]

Thanks so much :nod:


cold morning, the breath like smoke, he's just walking on his road, as we should
Image size
1940x1904px 1.16 MB
Make
Canon
Model
Canon PowerShot A610
Shutter Speed
1/60 second
Aperture
F/4.0
Focal Length
17 mm
Date Taken
Nov 27, 2008, 10:01:37 AM
© 2008 - 2024 scheinbar
Comments42
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kingwen's avatar
I looked through your wonderful gallery, which has many unusual and eye-stopping shots, but I kept coming back to this one. I'm not sure what quality makes it so interesting (I read the other comments to see other people's associations, also). Here are some thoughts:

First (my imagination), this reminds me of a Wim Wenders film -- it has that tone to it, especially "Wings of Desire" (probably because it was written by Peter Handke, whose prose also evokes this quality). It also reminds me of the Argentinian film, "Man Facing Southeast," probably because the man is facing away from me.
The square composition amplifies the doubling and tripling of elements in the picture, and that makes the man seem especially "alone." Two puffs of breath, two lighted "box" windows, two things that look like ashtrays standing. In the midsts of all this, the composition drives a beam through his head, right through the center of his body and out between his legs as a shadow. I can actually feel that beam all the way down to the middle of my left thigh.
The suggestion is that he has bought a ticket -- or perhaps he is waiting to buy one -- but figuratively, he is pinned like an insect where he stands. In fact, there is something very strange about the back of his head where his hair seems to be split by a shadow that emerges from the back of his neck. It's finally, at this point, that the energy of the picture works for me -- the man is simultaneously pinned and erupting out of his body. The setting then reminds me of a crematorium and the top of the doubled puff of steam suddenly looks very much like a ghost (with a face). It feels like this man is in the process of being figuratively "beamed up." It's a narrative about a suspended moment between life and death (which is, really, each moment for us).

In any case, this is my imagination at work. It all happens in a flash, and I tried to record it.
Many of your pictures have this quality -- momentary suspension, then a burst of cognitive energy.