Concrete Texture

I show you here a composition that I don't know if I like or not. I've tried analyzing it this way and that, and I still don't know. Let me talk it out and see what you think.

Chris and I were wandering around a little town in Washington called Concrete. There were some buildings that seemed semi-abandoned, lots of weathering on them, lots of interesting architectural elements. I spotted this door, the downspouts, the remnants of downspouts, and was immediately drawn to it.

What I liked were the colors. There's something about that clear, Santa Fe-ish blue that just sucks me in, as well as the faded, weathered salmon color of the door. I also liked all the abstract lines and angles I was seeing. And then there was the overall texture. So, I knew what I was drawn to, now, how to fill my frame with just that?

Here's where I wish I had an overview of the entire scene to show you, but no, I have just this one composition.

I knew I wanted the downspout on the right. And I knew I wanted to incorporate some of the door. Looking at my resulting photo, I see how I balanced the dark element of the downspout with the dark element on the door. Those two dark "things" echo one another and create eye movement as your attention flickers back and forth between them.

I also liked the repeating forms of the horizontal lines running across the frame, from the horizontal blue element to the blue/salmon lines on the door. Good repetition there. Same with the vertical elements.

In fact, the entire photo is fraught with vertical and horizontal lines, which are broken up by the strong diagonal line of the downspout and the less-strong diagonal line of the door mechanism. Good repetition there.

So, bottom line, what have I created? It's an abstract image of strong, repeating, straight lines. Adding a bit of interest are the two areas of diagonality. I love the lines, I love the colors, I love the movement. I just don't think there's enough content, however, for this love affair to last. Like a few old boyfriends I've had, the attraction is immediate and exciting, but long-term? It's just not a solid, lasting relationship.

©Carol Leigh, wishing you a few fun-but-fleeting connections with your pictures, but even more longer-term, solid relationships