America, America, God's shed his grace on thee

[The_Traveler]

 

[Derrel]

NOt bad. Has that kind of "shot from a moving camera gab-shot aesthetic". I like the expression of the two people, and the blurry, slightly jerky feeling REALLY adds a lot of realism, a sort of "you were there" feeling to it. Not that it's a great or fantastic shot or anything, but it really feels like an accurate and very real, unvarnished look at Americans in this decade of the 21st century.

 

[pgriz]

It’s a very interesting shot. There are so many little details that scream “America”, as distinct from Europe, or Canada, or South America, or Australia…

The McDonald super-sized soft drink, the Germ-X sanitizer, the T-shirt on the gentleman, his look, the table-cloth pattern, the jacked-up pickup truck in the background, the hot-dog that she’s munching on while ignoring the bag of peeled carrots on the table, the “big bread” in the plastic bag… Individually, any one of these items will be more or less at home in almost any place, but taken together they record an “America”.

 

[Geaux]

Nothing more than a snapshot imo. If this were posted by anyone other than someone who's been here a while, it would get no attention or torn to shreds.

I'm confused by the above posts saying its anything more than a snap.

 

[480sparky43 42]

God. Not God's.

I doubt the song is about God's shed.

 

[TheFantasticG]

God. Not God's. I doubt the song is about God's shed.

Ha. Glad I wasn't the only one with that thought.

 

[BobSaget]

The Germ X is clutch. Nice exposure.

 

[snowbear119 50]

Funny - I don't remember seeing you at the reunion. I guess the beer can pyramid got in the way.

 

[The_Traveler]

thanks for comments - and noticing the silly title mistake.
that has probably done irreparable damage to my Pulitzer Prize hopes.
@ Derrel yes, it was a total walk-by, shot from the hip at a cold stare. Dundalk is famous for its high tattoo to body ratio.

@Geaux, perhaps it is just a matter of different tastes?

 

[Braineack]

@ Derrel yes, it was a total walk-by, shot from the hip at a cold stare. Dundalk is famous for its high tattoo to body ratio.

Yeah I was going to ask if shot from a moving car or something...nice capture considering. Too bad you're exploiting them. :hugs:

 

[LShooter]

A snapshot of a lady stuffing her face and I guy who doesn't want his photo taken. If you are making a statement that this is all of America you might want to get out more. For someone who has been banned and spend a lot of time tearing up other people's photographs; I'm not sure what your point is.

 

[The_Traveler]

A snapshot of a lady stuffing her face and I guy who doesn't want his photo taken. If you are making a statement that this is all of America you might want to get out more. For someone who has been banned and spend a lot of time tearing up other people's photographs; I'm not sure what your point is.

Nice to see the Travler banned. Not trying to be mean, but many of his posts were nothing more than bashing without any for of constructivness to them.

 

[The_Traveler]

A snapshot of a lady stuffing her face and I guy who doesn't want his photo taken. If you are making a statement that this is all of America you might want to get out more. For someone who has been banned and spend a lot of time tearing up other people's photographs; I'm not sure what your point is.

See #29 of AFI's best Film Quotes of the last 100 years
Different service, same rank

 

[Derrel]

Nothing more than a snapshot imo. If this were posted by anyone other than someone who's been here a while, it would get no attention or torn to shreds.

I'm confused by the above posts saying its anything more than a snap.

Well, maybe re-read exactly what I wrote, and what the other person wrote, and make an effort to see the photo for what it shows, rather than for its lack of adherence to some pre-determined technical or artistic ideal. It is a snap. A snap of the shutter. What I saw was that the shot was made with the camera moving, maybe even hanging off Lew's body on a strap, but no matter what, with the camera in motion...and as he walked by, he snapped the shutter, and there is all the "America" stuff...lots of small details that reflect current American society.

Like the mass of plastic storage totes on the left. the pickup truck, the woman stuffing her face, the Germ-X hand sanitizer bottle, the empty jar of snack food, the whole, unopened bag of carrots, the guy with a huge new "any size drink, $1" McDonalds 32-ounce soda cup. Yes, it is a "snap", one made on-the-go, in-motion, kind of haphazard in its framing. This shot COULD NOT HAVE BEEN made 15 years ago. Hand sanitizer is a new product. The $1 any size drink is a late-stage, recent McDOnald's response to the economic crash, designed to lure customers in these tough times.

I never said it's a great shot, because it's not "great", but it DOES have a lot of "Americana, 2013" in it. It is what it is. The shot is filled with symbolism, and cultural "icons"...the Germ-X, the huge McDonald's cup, people parking on a lawn, the huge sack of cheap white bread, and the weird looks of the people. It's a shot about a sliver in time. As I wrote above, this photo has "shot from a moving camera grab-shot aesthetic". It's a specific KIND of photo. It is not a posed, formal shot of a woman, or a studied, tripod-mounted, 5-shot focus stack landscape shot: it is a moving camera grab-shot. Not an especially fantastic one, but if you look, it has information in it that reflects our society, TODAY. Junk food, germ-killer, huge cups of soda. No wonder diabetes and obesity are an epidemic.

I'm not trying to disparage your opinion, only hoping to encourage those who might have read this far (anybody still here? TLDR?) to LOOK and to SEE what the photo is, and not ***** about what it is so obviously "not".

 

[tirediron]

A snapshot of a lady stuffing her face and I guy who doesn't want his photo taken. If you are making a statement that this is all of America you might want to get out more. For someone who has been banned and spend a lot of time tearing up other people's photographs; I'm not sure what your point is.

I think you're missing the point. Neither Lew (Nor anyone else) said that this represents all of the US (nb. there's actually no such place as "America"), but it certainly does represent a view that much of the rest of the world has of the US population in general.