Re: [Leica] week 48 is up - nudity and violence

[Guy Bennett <guybnt@idt.net>]

kyle,

i found the two vertical format pictures to be the most compelling images.
from a compositional point of view, they feature an imaginative
organization of the visual space of the photo that draws my eye more than
the straight-on, "lookin' right at you" perspectives of the horizontal
pictures. the vertical shots don't merely show me the scene, they invite me
to explore that space and thus make me an active viewer, at the same time
conveying something of the atmosphere of the place in question.

the use of the mirror is also compelling, as it suggests the dualistic
voyeur/acteur dynamic that characterizes places like 'the torture garden.'
also, like many pictures with mirrors, these photos say something
(unconscious?) about the photographer and make evident the implicit paradox
of photography: supposedly objective images that 'mirror' reality created
by the inevitably subjective sensibilities of the man behind the camera.

guy