American God

[tirediron]

Okay folks, regardless of our feelings on the OPs image, let's keep things objective and refrain from personal comments.

Thanks!

 

[bribrius]

Okay folks, regardless of our feelings on the OPs image, let's keep things objective and refrain from personal comments.

Thanks!

i must of missed something.
all good im not worried about it.
The photo you posted is too obvious for me. Like the anarchist photos everyone was raving about a couple years ago. Tear gas, rebellion, s.o.s.

Nice photos, but not my thing. im actually getting tired of that sort of thing. Not that i didn't like them, but everyone does them, they aren't particularly hard to do THEY ARE OBVIOUS. i want something more. or at least im looking for something more or more intrinsic. something subtle. That doesn't just hit you. i don't want it to hit. i want it to go unnoticed, or sneak up on you as you look at it. Confuse. Maybe offer a revelation to a few. i want something closer to chess than something closer to chutes and ladders or checkers. im just trying to figure out how to go about it. if i cant do it, then shooting along these lines is pointless for me i should try shooting and sticking to shooting something else. But im trying it. Figure out what works. i have a few other things going on too. But i don't want to make some simple, god awful cliché obvious for the dumbest of viewers political statement on oppression. Sure, it would go over well. But im not looking to appease anyone. yeah, i know. How dare i not love a Pulitzer prize winning photo. It isn't that i HATE IT. But it certainly isn't what i want.

 

[The_Traveler]

Money IS the root of all good, so it makes sense to me.

Love of money is the root of ll evil.

1 Timothy 6:10

 

[JacaRanda]

I totally get it but I am not sharing with anyone. Well, maybe for a price.

 

[Josh66]

I "get it" but I don't like it.

well, it isn't meant to like at all. Quite the contrary. It's a abrupt five minutes setup (haphazardly) equivalent of holding up a protest sign or making a statement.. it is a pretty slamming photo actually and critical photo. But I am curious as to what you "get"

I'm fairly certain that I know what you are saying with this, but what the hell is up with the toilet paper tube?

Here is one of mine that I think fits the theme of yours:
Consume (2013102604) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

 

[bribrius]

I "get it" but I don't like it.

well, it isn't meant to like at all. Quite the contrary. It's a abrupt five minutes setup (haphazardly) equivalent of holding up a protest sign or making a statement.. it is a pretty slamming photo actually and critical photo. But I am curious as to what you "get"

I'm fairly certain that I know what you are saying with this, but what the hell is up with the toilet paper tube?

Here is one of mine that I think fits the theme of yours:
Consume (2013102604) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

lol.

bingo. it isn't a toilet paper tube though. but yep, a tube. i was trying to find a way to make the "light at the end of the tunnel", hence, god. i want to directly put together money and religion. My first thought was using fake money, to give the indication of a falsehood, (its all fake anyway) but then i went with this and went for a mismatched pulled apart look with money.

Apparently im not pulling it off though. i was tempted to throw a bible in too. i need to rehash...
see....
tube
View attachment 68049

 

[Josh66]

It wasn't hard to tell what you meant with it, I just think it could use some 'refining'.

Why use the $2 bill though? Two $1 bills arranged so that it looks like they are coming apart in the middle (or just rip one in half) might work better. Unless there is some significance with the $2 bill that I'm missing.

As far as connecting religion and money, or worship of money, I can think of a few things...

Personally, I think "light at the end of the tunnel" is the wrong approach. IMO, the "light" should be the truth, not the lie. The "light" should expose the "lie". Maybe a tunnel made of money, and at the end "the truth", whatever that might be.


Anyway, I'm not trying to discourage you, just trying to give you some ideas...

 

[bribrius]

It wasn't hard to tell what you meant with it, I just think it could use some 'refining'.

Why use the $2 bill though? Two $1 bills arranged so that it looks like they are coming apart in the middle (or just rip one in half) might work better. Unless there is some significance with the $2 bill that I'm missing.

As far as connecting religion and money, or worship of money, I can think of a few things...

Personally, I think "light at the end of the tunnel" is the wrong approach. IMO, the "light" should be the truth, not the lie. The "light" should expose the "lie". Maybe a tunnel made of money, and at the end "the truth", whatever that might be.


Anyway, I'm not trying to discourage you, just trying to give you some ideas...

i liked the 2 for a couple reasons. one is when i looked across the photo the half of the two match the half of the one. so they looked somewhat uniform. But it has that 2. looking across uniform, but still mismatched. i wanted mismatched. Other is when i looked across the photo i saw a count, 1,2 which led me looking for 3. which there wasn't a 3. looked down on the photo for the 3 i saw the hole. i liked the idea a uniform but mismatched 1 and 2 and looking for 3 and it being a hole. This is when i started following it across though visually. when you just look at it, the first thing you see that attracts attention is probably is the hole. I came up with the two after staring at it for a few seconds looking, then i added the 2 and followed the photograph across seeing the difference it made. which, came back to no three but a hole. look in the hole for a three, you have broken looking money. 1,2, 3 strikes your out maybe? im not sure what i saw in that part.

Course now wondering why you are even looking in a hole, and this is where i think i might have dropped the ball on this. The hole doesn't look like a tunnel. i needed another reference to religion too so it would be more deliberate. If i put a religion reference in the upper left hand corner that might work. Then when you look at the photo (not this particular im redoing it now that i think about this) you are wondering why you are looking through a hole or tunnel, which is the first thing that would attract attention. so the eyes should move up and the next spot people would look i would guess would be that upper left hand corner as they follow it from the side across. then they would hit the 1,2 and end up back down the tunnel. Except now they would have a religion reference before they get back to it. That would probably be easier to follow. im still thinking about it , obviously. i cant argue the refining. it needs more eye candy and attraction, to be cleaner. How im going to redo this, is the question...
i sent my 5 minute rough up on here though, got the expected responses. And pretty much what i thought i would actually. The cats eye bothered me, i knew i blew it right then.

 

[Josh66]

2013102601 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

That's another one where I was exploring a similar theme. I've been meaning to reshoot it, but haven't gotten around to it yet. The reasons I want to reshoot it are: it's hard to tell that it is money inside the syringe, and I want to make the 'injection' look more realistic.

The message of that one should be pretty obvious... (Assuming that you can tell the syringe has money in it.)

 

[EIngerson]

lol. bingo. it isn't a toilet paper tube though. but yep, a tube. i was trying to find a way to make the "light at the end of the tunnel", hence, god. i want to directly put together money and religion. My first thought was using fake money, to give the indication of a falsehood, (its all fake anyway) but then i went with this and went for a mismatched pulled apart look with money. Apparently im not pulling it off though. i was tempted to throw a bible in too. i need to rehash... see.... tube <img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=68049"/>

Back lighting the money takes away from your intent. You could shoot through the tube and have a statue of Jesus unlit center frame and offset behind him shoot a speed light down on a bunch of money arranged however.


I did not pull your intent at all from the original image.

 

[Josh66]

The hole doesn't look like a tunnel. i needed another reference to religion too so it would be more deliberate. If i put a religion reference in the upper right hand corner that might work. Then when you look at the photo (not this particular im redoing it now that i think about this) you are wondering why you are looking through a hole or tunnel, which is the first thing that would attract attention. so the eyes should move up and the next spot people would look i would guess would be that upper left hand corner as they follow it from the side across. then they would hit the 1,2 and end up back down the tunnel. That would probably be easier to follow. im still thinking about it , obviously. i cant argue the refining. it needs more eye candy and attraction, to be cleaner. How im going to redo this, is the question...

Do you want the viewer to even see what is "outside" of the tunnel?

A conical tunnel (make a cone, stick the lens inside the big end) would probably get the "tunnel" effect across better. Of course, then you will ONLY see the tunnel, which may work better anyway.

Maybe instead of a bill split down the middle, have the light coming from a cross burned through the center of the bill. Just something that came to me looking at your photo after hearing more about your intentions. That would definitely get both the religion and the "lie" part in there. [edit - well, the money lie anyway. If "religion is a lie" is what you want to say, it wouldn't work so well for that. I think that could be a good photo, it just may not be what you want to say.]

You'll want a little bit of light spillage inside the tunnel too, to show that it is actually a tunnel. The light coming from the hole might be enough for this. If not, a small flashlight shining into it from behind the camera ought to do the trick.

 

[bribrius]

2013102601 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

That's another one where I was exploring a similar theme. I've been meaning to reshoot it, but haven't gotten around to it yet. There reasons I want to reshoot it are: it's hard to tell that it is money inside the syringe, and I want to make the 'injection' look more realistic.

The message of that one should be pretty obvious... (Assuming that you can tell the syringe has money in it.)

i actually like that concept. maybe, put more money back closer to the end of the syringe? have a second syringe on a stand next to it with money partially sticking out of it? A guy loading another syringe in the background with money while this one is being injected? just tossing out ideas. That would be a fun one to do im curious to know how you make out.

 

[charlie76]

I love abstract art/photos....but this one seems too....deliberate/forced/obnoxious/etc IMO

Compositionally lacking as well...sorry just my opinion

 

[bribrius]

I love abstract art/photos....but this one seems too....deliberate/forced/obnoxious/etc IMO

Compositionally lacking as well...sorry just my opinion

That's fine thankyou. taken into account. it is deliberate, being forced, and i don't know about obnoxious? where is the obnoxious trying for subtle, subdued, the opposite? That could be concerning.
comment is appreciated.

 

[bribrius]

lol. bingo. it isn't a toilet paper tube though. but yep, a tube. i was trying to find a way to make the "light at the end of the tunnel", hence, god. i want to directly put together money and religion. My first thought was using fake money, to give the indication of a falsehood, (its all fake anyway) but then i went with this and went for a mismatched pulled apart look with money. Apparently im not pulling it off though. i was tempted to throw a bible in too. i need to rehash... see.... tube <img src="http://www.thephotoforum.com/forum/attachments/general-gallery/68049-american-god-dsc_0016_242.jpg"/>

Back lighting the money takes away from your intent. You could shoot through the tube and have a statue of Jesus unlit center frame and offset behind him shoot a speed light down on a bunch of money arranged however.


I did not pull your intent at all from the original image.

naa. no jesus images they are everywhere and way to obvious. kind of like cross shadows. You have be thinking on the backlighting though. get rid of it or somehow fade it out more into a blur? something to think about. Thankyou.

The hole doesn't look like a tunnel. i needed another reference to religion too so it would be more deliberate. If i put a religion reference in the upper right hand corner that might work. Then when you look at the photo (not this particular im redoing it now that i think about this) you are wondering why you are looking through a hole or tunnel, which is the first thing that would attract attention. so the eyes should move up and the next spot people would look i would guess would be that upper left hand corner as they follow it from the side across. then they would hit the 1,2 and end up back down the tunnel. That would probably be easier to follow. im still thinking about it , obviously. i cant argue the refining. it needs more eye candy and attraction, to be cleaner. How im going to redo this, is the question...

Do you want the viewer to even see what is "outside" of the tunnel?

A conical tunnel (make a cone, stick the lens inside the big end) would probably get the "tunnel" effect across better. Of course, then you will ONLY see the tunnel, which may work better anyway.

Maybe instead of a bill split down the middle, have the light coming from a cross burned through the center of the bill. Just something that came to me looking at your photo after hearing more about your intentions. That would definitely get both the religion and the "lie" part in there. [edit - well, the money lie anyway. If "religion is a lie" is what you want to say, it wouldn't work so well for that. I think that could be a good photo, it just may not be what you want to say.]

You'll want a little bit of light spillage inside the tunnel too, to show that it is actually a tunnel. The light coming from the hole might be enough for this. If not, a small flashlight shining into it from behind the camera ought to do the trick.

this is more of money is the REAL religion people practice in this country. Nuances to religion being fake as well would be a added bonus.

Thank you for your time. Thank you to everyone else too, even those that disliked it or didn't understand it or what i am trying to figure out. im not really trying to put together a regular likable photograph here. But more of a criticizing puzzle.