About a month ago, I was out on Coney Island. Of course, I had my camera with me!
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| Parachute Jump, Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY - June 18, 2011 |
I took about a half dozen images of the Parachute Jump trying to translate what I saw in my head to my camera. I didn't want a wide shot that captured the whole structure nor did want just the top portion. I couldn't put into words then what I wanted, I just knew I'd know when I found the right angle. Now I realize that I wanted to give the feeling that I might be climbing up the structure. Originally, I envisioned the image as black and white. However, when I sat down to start editing, the image told me it didn't want to lose its color. I went about trying to figure out what the image wanted and ended up with a high contrast "retro" type image.
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| Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY - June 18, 2011 |
When I took the above image, I knew based on the skull, that I wanted the image to be rather dark and gloomy looking. I wanted it to look ominous. I wanted to give the feeling that if you got into one of those buckets, you would mysteriously vanish. I don't know how well I captured that but that's what I was after.
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| Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY - June 18, 2011 |
I've been fascinated by retro imagery for a while now. I gave it a try with a Holga and well, that experiment didn't turn out well at all! So, I've settled on using editing software to make my digital images look old. I of course need some practice. I envisioned this image as an old postcard. A part of me wants to flip it over and read about Aunt Birdie's Coney Island wish you were here vacation.
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| Coney Island, Brooklyn, NY - June 18, 2011 |
I love black and white photography. But, I often find it difficult to take the color away from scenic images. Flowers, landscapes, water, etc. always feel right in color. As I was preparing a number of images for a black and white series, I decided to give this beach shot a go. I've found that as much as I like it in color, I now like it more in black and white.
