The Blue Room

[invisible]

This image needs to be viewed on black – try here.

 

[cgipson1]

That mattress is nasty! Like the walls.. and the windows.. but that mattress.... yech! You lost me on this one!

 

[manaheim]

Oh yes. VERY nice. Very unpleasant, lonely and skeechy. Really really good.

 

[mishele]

I soooooo don't want to know what happened on that mattress!!!

 

[manaheim]

I soooooo don't want to know what happened on that mattress!!!

I can't even make the joke I was just considering because it's too disturbing.

 

[kundalini]

The mattress is the purveyor of truth, why cast doubts on its amazing story?

Well done Federico.

 

[Kazzy]

I love this photo, while at the same time finding it incredibly gross.

 

[timethief]

Very inspiring...as always.

 

[pgriz]

Photography - sometimes a tool to make us see what we avert our eyes from.

As an image, very well done.

As a depiction of reality, very disturbing. I can only hope that the mess on the mattress was due to feral animals and not humans. The power in the image comes from what we image the story to be, as Kundalini noted.

 

[Frequency]

WOW... the story could not have a better interpretation...distortion is the backbone for this image.... and of course, this need be watched in black-ground.... so thank you for the image, its distortion and of course its B/G

 

[KenC]

Yes, good, more depressing than some of your recent posts - glad to see you back on track. I like the overall effect, but I can't help thinking it needs a little more "distance" and less distraction. I'd consider shooting it with closer to a normal lens from a little lower vantage point and excluding the piece of window on the right and the reflection on the left wall, both of which I think detract from the image.

 

[invisible]

The mattress is the purveyor of truth

LOL!

I can only hope that the mess on the mattress was due to feral animals and not humans.

Definitely feral animals. The houses I photograph are in the countryside and isolated. They are almost always surrounded by animal tracks (easily visible when there's snow), and those tracks usually lead to the house. Winters here are very harsh, and abandoned houses serve as shelters for wild animals.

The power in the image comes from what we image the story to be, as Kundalini noted.

Ain't that the truth? The photographer can try and convey all the ideas, moods or stories that s/he wants, but the real story happens in the mind of the viewer, who is conditioned by their own personal story and feelings. Not much the photographer can do about it. My intention was never to communicate "gross" or "disturbing" – in fact, the scene I found felt sad, silent and serene.

Yes, good, more depressing than some of your recent posts - glad to see you back on track. I like the overall effect, but I can't help thinking it needs a little more "distance" and less distraction. I'd consider shooting it with closer to a normal lens from a little lower vantage point and excluding the piece of window on the right and the reflection on the left wall, both of which I think detract from the image.

I think that would also work, definitely. In reality, my goal was to shoot as wide as possible to show the room/mattress in the empty room. This image is now my desktop background and it looks AMAZING when it fills the whole screen, to the point that it makes me feel I'm still there, immersing myself in the scene. That will never happen at 800 pixels wide.

Thank you all for your nice and candid feedback!

 

[pgriz]

But you see, Invisible, if that same room was found in the inner city, what would your interpretation be? I suspect that is why the majority of viewers came to some of the same conclusions if it were an urban setting. Same place, different implied context, and very different meaning. You've made a powerful image. But as you note, the real story happens in the mind of the viewer, and it overlays YOUR reality, with one that we image or guess at. Which is why the scariest movies rarely show you blood and gore and "the monster" - they find the monster within our minds and give it room. Your room becomes the incubator of our worse fears. And in seeing the dark splotches on the mattress, we imagine the worst. Very, very good. Very evocatvie.

 

[Trever1t]

I definitely find viewing in "black" really accents it perfectly. Amazing how an abandoned bedroom can convery such emotional weight

 

[invisible]

But you see, Invisible, if that same room was found in the inner city, what would your interpretation be? I suspect that is why the majority of viewers came to some of the same conclusions if it were an urban setting. Same place, different implied context, and very different meaning. You've made a powerful image. But as you note, the real story happens in the mind of the viewer, and it overlays YOUR reality, with one that we image or guess at. Which is why the scariest movies rarely show you blood and gore and "the monster" - they find the monster within our minds and give it room. Your room becomes the incubator of our worse fears. And in seeing the dark splotches on the mattress, we imagine the worst. Very, very good. Very evocatvie.

That was a good read, food for thought. I never shoot abandonments in the city, but if I had found this very same in an urban setting I think my natural reaction would've been to leave quickly.

Thank you guys for your comments, I appreciate them.