You find
yourself in a familiar place to photograph.
The challenge is to see this place in a different way so the images you
create are not identical to those you shot before.How do you
accomplish that task? Based on the
following quote, from author Toba Beta "No perspective, no perception. / New perspective, new perception."
I gave
myself an assignment.
This was my
3rd visit to the abandoned diamond mining town of Kolmanskop in Namibia. As I was photographing this amazing place
this time, I resisted photographing the same scenes I have shot in the past and
kept 3 words in my head as I framed each shot:
'Perspective,' 'Detail,' and 'Different.'
Simply
defined, 'perspective' means 'point of view.'
Because of my short stature, I have always had a different point of view
than those of average height, but I wanted to stretch my literal point of view even further as I roamed in and around
the sand-filled buildings of Kolmanskop.
By focusing on the details and lighting in
each room and building, I positioned myself at different visual angles to capture images which would hopefully offer viewers a new perspective and perception of this amazing place.
When I began
editing this batch of photos, I prepared them as a color collection to post on the web-site to share. Then I decided to continue the creative process by stretching my interpretive point of view.
After I created the gallery of color images, (which can be seen
here: 2014 Kolmanskop- Color )- I selected the shots which I felt met my criteria of
"perspective, detail, and different" and rendered them in black and
white to further represent the essence and the haunting mystery of this abandoned
place.
My gallery
of my interpretive perspective can be seen here: 2014 Kolmanskop- Black and White
As I look at
each gallery, I am torn as to which collection I prefer. While I like many of
the images in my black and white rendition of Kolmanskop, I think I favor the
gallery of color images as a collection.
This surprised me because it seems
strange to me that an old spot, reeking of nostalgia, looks better in color! Maybe it's because of the combination of the
colors and textures.
If you like
these galleries of Kolmanskop, be sure to check out my gallery of classic images of Kolmanskop from previous visits.
"I never saw an ugly thing in my life: for let the form of an object be what it may - light, shade, and perspective will always make it beautiful." - John Constable- painter
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