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A50: Observatory

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Ed Leys20479

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Observatory



No, it's not brand new. An old one from the digital shoebox. (Okay, it's not a very big shoebox...)

Still, it's never appeared in this forum before. In truth, it's never appeared anywhere before. Oh, there might have been a buried link or two that was intended to trace out a certain point. And I know a few friends have followed that link and have seen something before that might be mistaken for this. But that other one was originally taken in my camera's highest quality jpeg mode. This one was not, and my camera renders colors differently each way.

Kinda cool, it's almost like I can run two different kinds of film through it.

Oh, that link? I'd put it here so you could see how your thoughts maybe compared with those ancient other thoughts, but they're renovating that part of the site and stuff is not available. Well, maybe stuff will never be available again.

I remember a couple though... "The ratings on this picture look like they were generated by a random number generator" and "This is a complete waste of film, I'd give it zero stars if I could." Well, maybe the second person said "minus one stars if I could". It's old, memory fades. One thing I know though, I clearly said it was taken with a digital camera. No film was harmed in the making of this photograph...

Canon PowerShot A50; raw mode
 
Ed,

I'm enjoying this one quite a bit. The simplicity appeals to me, for one thing. And it causes all sorts of thoughts to bubble up in my brain. The signs seem to be warning me to beware of the great nothingness beyond them. Then there's a bench where I can sit and look at... nothing. Well, there are many other thoughts, too... and that is what I like about this picture.

My best wishes,

adrienne

--www.naturalsights.com
 
Ed Leys said:
Observatory

Click to expand...
Dear Ed,

First I thought that this was a picture of miniature things (like from modeltrains). This is a picture that I like very much for different reasons. One is the light in this picture and the colors and the jumpout of the red and whites. The second is the very empty and lonely mood that it produces. And the third that I can imagine lots of stories around this picture.

One could be that there was a person just making an end on his life, who jumped to the earth and before doing that he put one of those three things (I don't know their name in English) a bit more to the left to be shure that he would'nt be obstructed and could fall so that it was an accident and not a suicide, something that he absolutely would'nt happen. Knowing that the person is leaving this scene as it is, it has a strong impact on me, it looks desolate, but also so serene, I think that it must be a nice piece to make and end at live.

In another version there could be a woman crying and lying on the bench for the man that just announced her that he will leave her for good, and what a pitty we can't see her. It would be nice to see in a second picture a very little piece of her head coming out of the bench. So I stop this Ed, because I have lots of work to do and I could continue for hours to invent what happened in this superb picture. One thing more, it's a bit minimalistic and that's what I like also very much.

With kind regards,
--Dirk Vermeirre
 
Hi Ed,

Ah yes, who can forget the protestations of the Photo Alleycats when confronted with this. Personally, I find this image exciting and refreshing...the amount it leaves to the imagination is mind-boggling. The inability to see anything in the distance beyond the bench and the blockades is eerie, to say the least. This is almost like a black humor twist on jacque's numerous empty bench images. Making you two brothers yet again in an unexpected way....not bad for a digital image. :-)

Four stars from me on this one...creative, dynamic, unsettling, yet oddly tranquil all at once. Thanks for sharing this piece of art, Ed...

Robert
Ed Leys said:
Observatory



No, it's not brand new. An old one from the digital shoebox.
(Okay, it's not a very big shoebox...)

Still, it's never appeared in this forum before. In truth, it's
never appeared anywhere before. Oh, there might have been a buried
link or two that was intended to trace out a certain point. And I
know a few friends have followed that link and have seen something
before that might be mistaken for this. But that other one was
originally taken in my camera's highest quality jpeg mode. This
one was not, and my camera renders colors differently each way.

Kinda cool, it's almost like I can run two different kinds of film
through it.

Oh, that link? I'd put it here so you could see how your thoughts
maybe compared with those ancient other thoughts, but they're
renovating that part of the site and stuff is not available. Well,
maybe stuff will never be available again.

I remember a couple though... "The ratings on this picture look
like they were generated by a random number generator" and "This is
a complete waste of film, I'd give it zero stars if I could."
Well, maybe the second person said "minus one stars if I could".
It's old, memory fades. One thing I know though, I clearly said it
was taken with a digital camera. No film was harmed in the making
of this photograph...

Canon PowerShot A50; raw mode
Click to expand...
 
Hi Ed,

You remember my thoughts on this one or the very like one.

So I will repeat: just to many distracting subjects in the frame.

Those small fences, the bench, well just too much,

Your brother, who knows you read beteen the lines,

jacques
Ed Leys said:
Observatory



No, it's not brand new. An old one from the digital shoebox.
(Okay, it's not a very big shoebox...)

Still, it's never appeared in this forum before. In truth, it's
never appeared anywhere before. Oh, there might have been a buried
link or two that was intended to trace out a certain point. And I
know a few friends have followed that link and have seen something
before that might be mistaken for this. But that other one was
originally taken in my camera's highest quality jpeg mode. This
one was not, and my camera renders colors differently each way.

Kinda cool, it's almost like I can run two different kinds of film
through it.

Oh, that link? I'd put it here so you could see how your thoughts
maybe compared with those ancient other thoughts, but they're
renovating that part of the site and stuff is not available. Well,
maybe stuff will never be available again.

I remember a couple though... "The ratings on this picture look
like they were generated by a random number generator" and "This is
a complete waste of film, I'd give it zero stars if I could."
Well, maybe the second person said "minus one stars if I could".
It's old, memory fades. One thing I know though, I clearly said it
was taken with a digital camera. No film was harmed in the making
of this photograph...

Canon PowerShot A50; raw mode
Click to expand...
--jacques
 
Hi adrienne,

I'm glad that you enjoy this. And, of course I truly appreciate your comments. The image strikes me as a bit surreal and pretty much of a visual non sequitur. Well, fog (perhaps a cloud bank in this location) just seems to come in handy sometimes.

Oh, there's a hidden play on words here concerning the title. This was taken perhaps three yards from a dome containing a very large telescope at Lick Observatory...

My very best regards,

Ed
 
Hi Dirk, thank you for your comments. I truly appreciate them.

Well, these are truly real sized items, but yes, they allow a mind to run like a model train. :^)

It just struck me as a very simple yet unusual combination of things, perhaps in several dimensions. The boldly striped barriers (perhaps they have an official name, but I don't know it) warning people to be careful, with a bench inviting people to the location. And should they sit down to enjoy the view... Well, what is there to see? Perhaps the only thing to see is their own mind running on strange tracks.

I read somewhere in this forum that you do not like fog too much. Fortunately for you, the fog season is mostly behind me now. But you will see more of it from me in time. Be very afraid. As you can see, I'm not afraid to use it...

With my kindest regards,

Ed
 
Hi Robert, thank you once more for one of your characteristically expressive replies.

Yeah, to my eye, this image is so basic, and yet so full contradictions that the mind almost has nothing to grasp. Might even have to make up its own rules. Well, it was certainly a lucky find, but then I have been up at Lick Observatory, :^) , enough that is was likely inevitable I would find the right circumstances for this in time--though they were not looked for.

It seems even here people have not quite known what to make of this photograph. That's all right. You appreciate it, which I'm truly grateful for, along with a few others whose views I deeply respect. And I kinda like it myself.

My very best,

Ed
 
My straightforward brother, jacques, leaves gaps between his lines? And then uses the gaps to write in?? That explains the trembling I feel, it must certainly be the universe trying to come to terms with this unexpected event.

Well, your warmly smiling brother can certainly handle it, however.

Neverthless, I think you have something. It would certainly not be difficult to reduce the deep complexity of this photograph so that only the fog remained. Though I suppose some might think even that would be too much to put in this photograph...

Your brother who can read between lines, and between characters,

Ed
 
Ed Leys said:
Hi Dirk, thank you for your comments. I truly appreciate them.

Well, these are truly real sized items, but yes, they allow a mind
to run like a model train. :^)

It just struck me as a very simple yet unusual combination of
things, perhaps in several dimensions. The boldly striped barriers
(perhaps they have an official name, but I don't know it) warning
people to be careful, with a bench inviting people to the
location. And should they sit down to enjoy the view... Well,
what is there to see? Perhaps the only thing to see is their own
mind running on strange tracks.

I read somewhere in this forum that you do not like fog too much.
Fortunately for you, the fog season is mostly behind me now. But
you will see more of it from me in time. Be very afraid. As you
can see, I'm not afraid to use it...

With my kindest regards,

Ed
Click to expand...
Hi Ed,

It's true I mentioned that I do not like fog to much, but that's personal and the reasons are that is not good for health and that it's very dangerous on roads (always plenty of accidents here) but I like the effect of fog as a visual effect very much and certainly for making pictures or on paintings. So Ed I'm looking forward to your fogpictures, I made some myself years ago and like them very much. Another case when I don't like fog is when I drived one day to Cap Blanc Nez in the Nord of France to make landscape pictures and on a bright day you even can see England from there but that day unfortunately in that area it was hard to see something that was further then 1 meter away. I think I forgot to give a bit more explanation on my fogvision but I shall correct it by posting later this year a few fogpictures.

With very kind regards,
--Dirk Vermeirre
 
I'll disregard whatever review history this image has had and say that I find it humorous and refreshing. The trademark Ed fog with added fun. "Enjoy the view, but don't be tempted to get any closer to see it!" Nice one all around if you ask me.
 
Hi Ed,

This is very different, with a very strange feel to it. It almost looks like a lost world, or that the world has been left uninhabited. Even though it's just a small area that you've captured it creates a strong feeling about what is around it.

I like the way the tree tops just peek over the "platform" area, so one really gets the feel of being high up.

This photo is very simple and yet very esoteric, which could be why your reviews were as they were. I think that people mostly want to see that which they understand or can interpret easily and sometimes that which is different is thought to be "bad".

This is very different, and at the same time very good, for a bit of imagination and interest. After all, "one man's ........" well you probably know how that goes.

Thanks for sharing. --Suzn http://www.outof-focus.com
 
Thanks Greg. I appreciate that. I wish I could show you the history, if anything it's even funnier than the photograph.

A few really liked it, but some... Well, let's see, various amounts of fog were to be cropped out, a thing or two in the photo was to be removed. And one person wanted to put an old veteran and dog on the bench (and I assume turn it around, otherwise I'm not totally sure how the dog would be seen). The person who felt that the ratings were the product of a random number generator decided to award the maximum number of stars, for the "controversy".

Me? I was just loving it. Maybe I should see what the photo.netters think of it...

My best,

Ed
 
Hi Suzn,

I'm glad that you had the chance to see this. And I bet you already know I appreciate your insightful comments. But in case you don't, well gee I guess I have to tell you... I just deeply appreciate them.

Yeah, this is a tad different from other things you've seen from me. And really fairly different from a lot of the groove that I've settled into (though it's got some of my favorite fog). But I keep my eyes open. And if I don't really go looking for specifics, I do try to go places where and when I feel that photography is most likely to happen.

A lot of my recent photography has been on Mt. Hamilton, and the way up it starts perhaps ten to fifteen minutes from me. Mostly on a Saturday morning. This particular photograph was taken at the top, on the grounds of Lick Observatory. (yeah, I know, a slight play on words...) It's often just a way point, but when I get up there early enough there is truly no one else around. And that was the case for this photograph. Under those circumstances it is very much a lost and uninhabited world...

My very finest regards,

Ed

Oh, p.s. Suzn, do you mind if I show you one I'm really pleased with that was posted prior to your arrival? It was taken closer to the start of the way up Mt. Hamilton. On the winter solstice...

http://www.dpreview.com/forums/read.asp?forum=1005&message=1994330

You really don't have to place any further comments in this thread, and certainly not the linked thread. I just thought perhaps you'd like to see it.

E.
 
Dirk Vermeirre said:
Hi Ed,

It's true I mentioned that I do not like fog to much, but that's
personal and the reasons are that is not good for health and that
it's very dangerous on roads (always plenty of accidents here) but
I like the effect of fog as a visual effect very much and certainly
for making pictures or on paintings. So Ed I'm looking forward to
your fogpictures, I made some myself years ago and like them very
much. Another case when I don't like fog is when I drived one day
to Cap Blanc Nez in the Nord of France to make landscape pictures
and on a bright day you even can see England from there but that
day unfortunately in that area it was hard to see something that
was further then 1 meter away. I think I forgot to give a bit more
explanation on my fogvision but I shall correct it by posting later
this year a few fogpictures.

With very kind regards,

--
Dirk Vermeirre
Click to expand...
No need to further reply to this, Dirk. I think I took your meaning about fog correctly and it very much agrees with your explanation. (I was just teasing you a little bit.) Yeah, there's certainly danger in fog, though it's very much because people don't know how to handle it. And that makes it dangerous for everyone else as well.

I'm certainly looking forward to your fog photographs.

Oh, when my gallery eventually comes to pass, you'll likely see a photograph taken when it was difficult to see anything further than one meter away.

Always with the kindest regards,

Ed
 
It reminds me of a Jeffery Smart painting. Smart (no relation by the way) is a great Australian painter who, of course, lives in southern Italy. I suggest you have a look at his paintings. He possibly has a website somewhere in cyberspace.

I like it.
Cheers
Sheila

--Sheila Smartwww.pbase.com/sheila/galleriesOne crowded hour of glorious life is worth an age without a name - Thomas Osbert Mordaunt
 
Hi Ed,

Thank you so much for sharing this Wintersol photograph. The Winter Solstice is the time of the year I look most forward to and am always aware of. For me it signals a beginning. The beginning of the days getting longer and the newness that accompanies that.

What a beautiful and very magical photograph. The photos of scenery that I have seen from you all have that magical quality to them; like something not of this earth. Not only is it just wonderful to look at but I must appreciate the labor gone into capturing this. Or perhaps it's not too laborous for you as you are so good at it, but for me, this would be extremely difficult.

This is one of those photographs that goes beyond what my poor words could translate. It is of an entire feeling and mood and it is really awesome.

Thank you for sharing, it is my pleasure to view.--Suzn http://www.outof-focus.com
 
Hi Ed,

My first reaction to this image was confusion about what I was seeing. After reading some of the responses I now know what this scene is about and feel very entertained by the image and the process of finding out what the heck it is. This image hopefully will linger under my conscious mind and influence the way in which I recognize images within my field of vision as it certainly expands my definition of what is and what the camera can record. This may be too convoluted so let me just say that I think you have expnaded the way in which I see the world and for that I thank you.

Stan Abraham
 
Even though you didn't have to comment again, Suzn, I truly appreciate that you did. Thank you very, very much.

Thank you for your thoughts on the solstice also. As you may gather, the winter solstice is the most symbolic time of year for me. (and I do tend to like symbolism) I'm not sure I can express this well, but both solstices contain their own meaning, and it's direct opposite. The one for the winter is not only the expression of maximum darkness, but it is also the expression of the most hope. But there are also other things that go on, because I truly do feel that darkness is necessary for light to have definition. And appreciation. Which helps make dark worth appreciating. Well, no doubt I could go on. :^) But I guess I won't...

Suzn, this is the second time in a row I have gotten a secondary reply from you. I should probably be careful about trying to draw you into them. We all have fixed time to spend on his forum, and there are others who need to benefit from your eye and see your words as well.

Still, there's always the possibility that I'm selfish, and I truly like your thoughts and expression. I hope to see many, many more comments from you. Be careful, I might try to draw you into more of them. As you have time, some more of your photography would be appreciated as well...

Ed
 
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