Bracketing Mao: An Ode to Kodachrome

Interesting idea- I can't help but feel it would work better as a series of prints on a wall, rather than having to scroll through internet pages.
 
Clearly the exposure "errors" are intentional, and used to convey Jeremy's message.

I think it's a great idea, and agree that prints on a wall would probably work better, but am disappointed with some of the comments here. I thought film-shooters would have the patience to wait a few seconds for an image to load!
 
Ok - I've looked again, carefully reading the intro. Now I get it - but I still don't like it. Too artsy for me, I guess.

Jarle
 
Thanks so much, everyone for all the feedback. I agree that the slides would look better mounted on a wall. The project does indeed consist of "24 almost identical, boring, badly exposed ... photos" and they are only meaningful when viewed as a sequence. So experiencing them together somehow would indeed be more appropriate.

In the meantime, I've reduced the file size even further (they are now just 400 x 258 pixels). Maybe it would be better to space them out on a single page so viewers can scroll rather than click through the whole roll.
 
The Art is in the Words -- the pictures a necessary backdrop. Consider presenting as 2 or 3 pages with 12 or 8 photos per page. Experiment with some noise reduction, and tweak the differences between the first 6 or so photos.
 
Very interesting idea but the last four frames look quite identical on my monitor. Also, I would have preferred a straight horizontal alignment.
 
Even with the smaller images the files still take 10+ seconds to load what amounts to a 76kb JPG. You should speak to whoever is hosting your site.
 
I liked it. The images loaded instantly and I enjoyed seeing how the kodachrome reacted to the different light. Really liked the super grainy dark ones at the end.
 
Interesting project!

no clue why everybody was shouting: the site loaded super quick, the image could be larger for my taste.

It would be definately worth seeing on a wall, framed and mounted. no need for large enlargments, 8x10, mated and framed. would look great as a succession on a wall.
The dawn of Mao...
nice, thanks for sharing.
 

Great idea and splendid execution.🙂
The series tells a story. Which story? It is up to the viewer to decide.
This is what photography is all about, IMO.

This is photographic art !!!!!

I am allowed to put the link in my site?


I would agree with Roger Vadim however, the images could be larger.
 
I really like it. I think the images themselves are not so compelling or interesting, but as a series I think it works. If I were to try it myself I might try to do two things (A) make Mao a bit more prominent, closer, with a lower perspective to get the sense that he's looking down on us and (B) try to juxtapose the "common man" in the foreground in way that is hard to look past. I think you were trying to do this in a couple of the photos, but I think they were often too far away... or somehow not quite engaging us. On the whole though... I like it.
 
Thanks again, all for the positive reactions and constructive critique. The site is hosted in Brussels with a mirror server in Amsterdam. I suspect that might explain why members across the Atlantic are experiencing problems. I might try something on Flickr.

flessas, thanks for your comments. You're more than welcome to link to the mini-site!

Bnack, I agree that the "passers by" could be integrated in a more engaging way. But I would avoid making it too allegorical. I also wanted to capture a sense of indifference or more accidental relationship between the figure of Mao and the "common man" in China. The relationship between part and whole (individual photo and the series; individual person and society, etc.) is also a theme I wanted to exploit with the project.

It is part of the meaning, in other words, that the individual photos are "bad" or at least "imperfect" in the usual respect (they are all either poorly exposed or out of focus or both). The significance (and our gaze) is shifted outside the photo and beyond the moment...
 
I recommend you not to use words as part of any photograph or series.

That way you'll see clearly what you got visually, instead of feeling you are expressing visually what you are not.

Without your words (and with them either) the shots don't express a thing at all, and they have no relation with your perception of Mao or China. They are not a creative or even normal use of Kodachrome, and they're no ode.

I hope in some time you'll remember this as coming from another learning photographer, full of respect for you and your work. I wouldn't have given you my opinion if I felt there's nothing inside you.

Let your images grow in the absence of words.

Regards,

Juan
 
Sorry, but I must disagree with much of what was said above.

I get it, I like it. It conveys emotion, nostalgia, a window into the universal bittersweet conflict between those looking to build on their legacy. Yet all the while, as they debate the meaning of their history, their compatriots are simply passing them by and moving on into the future. (IMHO anyway)
 
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