In the Light of Crises by Lassal
Behind the church lies the city of Frankfurt. It is after 6pm and all offices in the bank towers are still brightly lit. On these days of financial crisis, people are working overtime – especially in the banking sector.
It is freezing cold – a minus temperature record night lays ahead of us. Snow is coming later – but for now the cloudy skies merely reflect the light of the crisis throughout the night.
Website: Lassal
funny – on first looking at the photo the last place i would have said it was would be in europe.. i initially thought:
´sundown, colonial church building.. could be goan.. south america..´
very good.
light pollution is a real issue, as well as banking problems.
living without stars is no way to live.
I very like this kind of images but I always prefer see it as a part of essay.
Lassal, why not whole essay?
lassal
the photograph is an unopened book for me. what you have to say about the image is obviously important, but it’s the kind of image that brings me ‘beyond’ i want to look at it for along time; i’m intrigued by the pent-up energy, the perspective and the color. i like david b’s comment about living without stars being no way to live.
anne
“more fully,
since snow fell even on this
sun-drifted, sun-drenched sea,
blossoms the ice in those baskets
you carry into town.
sand
you demand in return,
for the last
rose back at home
this evening also wants to be fed
out of the trickling hour”
-Paul Celan
sorry, i am not at home, so I can’t pull out my Celen book to add the German, but when i first saw this photograph, i immediately thought of my favorite Poet Paul Celan, you used language the way the wind uses landscape…also, as soon as I saw the photograph, i thought of my beloved 19th century painter, Albert Pınkham Ryder
http://z.about.com/d/cleveland/1/0/k/i/-/-/cma3.jpg
http://www.bestpriceart.com/vault/ryder3.jpg
in the end, a photograph (for me at least) must speak to the heart of our experiences, the heart and poetry of what it meant to experience a person or moment or place…for in truth, all that swirls around us does nothing without the way we enter it…we carve out landscapes and light and time because of who we are and inflect it with ourselves, just as the world around infects us….the diminishing golden light, the earth giving up itself from the cold of dark winter, from the land comes all that came before us, sheltering and shifting as ghosts and creeks in the aged limbs of trees….the camera may harness light and land, but it is indeed us the speak upon them…
a gorgeous and prescient dream, of our return to all things coming and going…loss and lift….where death does have dominion but only because of it, so are we….
a beautiful and forlorn night, a night to hold yourself tightly, indeed
beautiful photograph….
once more, celan
“Go blind now, today;
eternity also is full of eyes-
in them
drowns what helped images down
the way they came,
in them
fades what took you out of language,
lifted you out with a gesture
which you allowed to happen like
the dance of words made of
autumn and silk and nothingness.”-celan
running
bob
I like this photo very much. It certainly conveys a mood, a feeling that I can relate to. A perfect image for the web, an image I don’t think would have the same impact as a reflective print, but lit from behind, as it were, by the monitor light, it glows with the light of the city behind it.
If this is part of a series, I would love to see more.
I think this image should come alone, without caption or story behind. This is an image that speaks directly to the heart. And nobody will receive the same feelings or thoughts. That is something I feel often when I’m in a museum in front of a painting that “speaks”. It is a private conversation between the image and me.
For me, there is no need to talk about it. And that’s Art for me: to get moved by an image and feel. Definitely this photograph speaks, Lassal, and each one will get a different mood or story from it, as it goes directly where the feelings come from.
Besos
Ana
“For me, there is no need to talk about it. And that’s Art for me: to get moved by an image and feel” -Ana
For this image i agree with you entirely Ana. And with the exception that i enjoyed the caption; you’ve said all i feel needs to be said about this image for me.
Thanks.
beautiful and poetic photograph…
Lassal: my comment is “awaiting moderation”…but soon, it will be public when it’s not seen as spam :)) (since i added links in what i wrote)..
so happy :)))
waiting to u see what i wrote
running
bob
Wonderfully moody & atmospheric. As others have said, a work of art that needs no explanation.
Patricia
… This photo is not “closed”…
It is “open” ….
You can look at it for hours..
You can see the trees moving…
Every time I look at it…
Rverytime looks like a differnt
photo to me..
Flows like a poem…
yeah like this.
Lassal
Is the sky per the capture or have you done a lot of burning in with photoshop?
I really like this mood. I would to se any others if this is a series or an essay. Very beguiling light. DR
Forgot to say! LOVELY image. Timeless.
my original comment still hasn’t shown up….wondering about this….
b
ok, here is what i wrote (minus the links):
==============================================
“more fully,
since snow fell even on this
sun-drifted, sun-drenched sea,
blossoms the ice in those baskets
you carry into town.
sand
you demand in return,
for the last
rose back at home
this evening also wants to be fed
out of the trickling hour”
-Paul Celan
sorry, i am not at home, so I can’t pull out my Celen book to add the German, but when i first saw this photograph, i immediately thought of my favorite Poet Paul Celan, you used language the way the wind uses landscape…also, as soon as I saw the photograph, i thought of my beloved 19th century painter, Albert Pınkham Ryder
in the end, a photograph (for me at least) must speak to the heart of our experiences, the heart and poetry of what it meant to experience a person or moment or place…for in truth, all that swirls around us does nothing without the way we enter it…we carve out landscapes and light and time because of who we are and inflect it with ourselves, just as the world around infects us….the diminishing golden light, the earth giving up itself from the cold of dark winter, from the land comes all that came before us, sheltering and shifting as ghosts and creeks in the aged limbs of trees….the camera may harness light and land, but it is indeed us the speak upon them…
a gorgeous and prescient dream, of our return to all things coming and going…loss and lift….where death does have dominion but only because of it, so are we….
a beautiful and forlorn night, a night to hold yourself tightly, indeed
beautiful photograph….
once more, celan
“Go blind now, today;
eternity also is full of eyes-
in them
drowns what helped images down
the way they came,
in them
fades what took you out of language,
lifted you out with a gesture
which you allowed to happen like
the dance of words made of
autumn and silk and nothingness.”-celan
running
bob
and here are the links to Albert Pinkham Ryder
http://z.about.com/d/cleveland/1/0/k/i/-/-/cma3.jpg
http://www.bestpriceart.com/vault/ryder3.jpg
still trying to get around the spam protection….here is the link to ryder:
http://z.about.com/d/cleveland/1/0/k/i/-/-/cma3.jpg
and the other link to Ryder
http://www.bestpriceart.com/vault/ryder3.jpg
sorry for the multiple posts, but this spam moderation drives me crazy ;))
bob
Dark, uncertain, sad…
Like crisis definitely.
Saludos
Hi Folks,
Well Lassal, all I can say is: beautiful. I love the mood in this photo – I’d like to see many more.
Jason.
The wife turns to me with a puzzled look “Camera Shake?”….God, I love that woman….right up there with my two dead grandmothers. Nice saturation/desaturation/toning/color. Thanks for the background story. Peace and Love.
“on first looking at the photo the last place i would have said it was would be in europe.. i initially thought:´sundown, colonial church building.. could be goan.. south america..´
that was my first impression too: a tropical storm, probably due to the warm tones of the image.
i like this shot but, without caption, in no way I could relate it to the current financial crisis… maybe i would have liked to recognize some of the bank towers’ lights in the background? This image sounds more gothic or a snap taken from an horror movie (probably due to the cross amid the shaken trees) to me.
CLIFF
now you got me puzzled … I was just posting the background story of this picture when burn went on 403
Reading your comment I came up … but I do not see it. So I think you are referring to the caption… Yeah. Well. Right after this post will come further information. Because I am using this place now as I had expected it to be used: for “the making of” and additional thoughts … the intend. What worked and what did not work. Just to give you a little more insight. And you will soon see that even though everybody seems to like the “moody” image I think I did not manage to do what I had intended. Be it for the image, for the caption or … for both.
Maybe some of you could give me your thoughts on this. It would be appreciated.
“Camera Shake” indeed :))
Thanks everybody for your nice comments …
The image is called “In The Light of Crisis”. It was a little too long for here, I suppose, or is is absolutely bad English and David wanted to save me from myself.
He has done this before and I am ever thankful.
I was not sure what I was getting myself into, and I was not expecting my submission to come up today – I just stumbled upon it a moment ago.
Thank you David, for putting it up, it really made my day!
After witnessing the last submissions I was expecting more controversial reactions also here, but … guess the mood of the image really comes over quite intensively (even if the original version looks a little darker still – images always kinda look lighter online ( or maybe it is my monitor).
The mood was pretty intense, and no, I did not dodge or burn anything on this image. I usually do work on the photographs for my art-projects but this I image I wanted to leave as it was to submitt it. Acually – and maybe I really failed here – it is supposed to be documentary. The only thing I did, and not very intensely, was to let a software filter run over it to get rid of the worst colorful noise I have ever seen. But I would have lost the detail if I had done it more, so you still “feel” the noise – especially on the snow on the ground.
If it were an art-picture – to put it this way – I would have worked more on it to get the noise out. But I would not have done more than to correct the noise, either.
BTW the noise was always a reason for me to reduce the saturation of my colors in my art projects. My old camera is very fond of these colorful dots – especially when light is not optimal. And I love to shoot when light is not optimal … :(
So for me the reason for comments under this submissions is also to get a extra information. Like a “the-making-of”. I am well aware that it could go against the image to add information that does not have to be shared. Maybe I will disappoint you. But … so be it.
It was a thought that came up after seeing Patricia’s essay. Patricia lives in Detroit and just on that particular day I had read a reportage online about how the economical crisis was changing the face of the town. There were some quite intriguing images going along with it, and so I was thinking how the crisis could be portrayed in Frankfurt. The problem is, you really do not see so many differences here. It is (still) more a mind thing that is going on. People are afraid of the future, of loosing their jobs, of having their companies fail … And sure things are starting already, but … it is not so obvious yet. The streets are full, people seem to be buying quite a lot, cafés and restaurants are full, young people on the street having fun on their scate boards … It still looks fine from the outside. The crisis hits you hard as soon as you open the papers – with huge letters … and in the faces of some people, there you see it too. The rest, propably, is still to come. But there too, when you talk to people, even if they are pessimistic, you feel that they still hope it might pass quite quickly or without much of a damage (for them). So hope is a huge factor.
How to portrait this?
I have an artist friend who lives somewhere here in Frankfurt as if he was in a jungle. He does not own a watch, he does not read the papers, but nevertheless he is always remarcably well informed. Not the way you and I would be informed … differently. In a jungle you notice when birds stop singing, or certain kind of plants do not grow, or monkeys start to scream, or when there is some sort of silent hectic going on, or fearful silence altogether … etc. In Frankfurt, he says, this is quite similar. When he looks at the towers he can tell that there is something going on in different parts of economy relating to where and when they are lit beyond normal. He can tell by which type of people walk on the street, by which store they run to, or not run to, by traffic … He is amazing in reading these simple (thus complex) signs.
So yes … I looked a the tall bank towers and there they were … lit as christmas trees! Having grown up in a banker’s family and having worked in a bank every school holiday to pep up my allowance, I know how most people tick in there. Sure some higher positions like to come in later, but the general people try to come in really early and leave early. So the lit up buildings were for me actually the very first image of crisis. But shall I make a photo of them? That would not be it. It had to be something more indirect, but I had no idea what.
It clicked when I took my dog out the other night and I saw the cloudy sky completely lit up by the reflection of the towers. I was at this piece of green next to the church where the dogs thankfully are allowed to run free. It was bitter cold and I remember looking up wondering why – when there are so many clouds usually it is less cold … It was at this moment that I saw “it”. I still walked a little back and forth to find a hole in the trees to get the church in the picture. And at this specific moment right above me the clouds changed so I got this light right in front of me. I do not know if it was because of the moon or because of reflection, but it came in nicely. My hands were absolutely freezing off but I pressed this shutter until the battery gave up. I did get several variations, most of them too blurry because I was shaking and I had this long exposure going on. But I got two that were ok and of these two I liked this one better because I got more of the trees.
I was actually standing there, taking this photographs and thinking of Bob. We had talked about Giacomelli a lot. Now this is not a Giacomelli image but … nonetheless I thought that Bob would understand the photograph and so – as I told him already – this one is for him. He has given me so much to think about in the last months since I stumbled over Road Trips, not only thoughts but also beautiful words that resonated in my rooms for days … Even if I never had the courage, with my English, to answer to him, I want to show my appreciation through an image I think he would like. :) Gosh I hope he really does and is not merely being superpolite! :)))
So yeah, this actually is not supposed to only be a moody picture of a church, some trees and light pollution, but it was my go at symbolically portraying the crisis as it is showing itself here right now. Guess I did not do a oh so well job with this. I knew I needed the caption but nonetheless …
Next week I will be starting to walk my dog around my new home. I will be much more “in” it. Right downtown. Right there where nobody up to a couple of years ago wanted to live. Among the red district and little bazaars and vagabonds and lost souls, among bankers, schoolkids having dancing sessions, the main railwaystation and our beautiful promenade at the river Main, with all it’s museums. You can see I am looking forward to it. It will be completely different. And maybe I will find new images around this subject. As for now it is not part of an essay. It is a single.
Thank you.
You’re a good man Lassal. We all shake from time to time. I have a folder full of blurry shaky images….can’t seem to delete them. Don’t know why…it will come to me. Peace and love.
Never seen Frankfurt like this. Never thought a financial crisis looks like this. But it does.
A very moody image indeed!
Nice words and explanation from you Lassal. Danke!
When I read the text below the image, I found it almost impossible to connect the two. This is 100 % not the image I would expect to see when I think of the financial crisis – anywhere in the world.
An interesting combination of an image and words.
Truly a piece of art.
I love willow trees.
Reimar
This is pretty.
Some times things are prettier when left alone (to the imagination), this is one one those times. IMO.
I like this moody picture. It’s been commented already and I don’t have anything to add to the superlatives.
But, I find that the accompanying text somewhat disturbs the experience of the photograph.
Anything could have been symbolized by the grainy burning night sky and the church silhouette (civil war, witch burnings, climate crisis, racism, terrorism etc etc). Different people will “pop” different associations. But now, un-necessary, the impression is “forced” by the text and the initial experience is somewhat gimped.
I love the mood of this photo–it feels very transient, as if maybe glimpsed from a passing car. As far as what it has to do with financial crisis, I do get the connection, but I wonder if it limits the potential of what this photo can evoke in the imagination by tying it to the current times. There is a timelessness to the photo, even though the effect was caused by “light pollution”, related to the current times. There is also a “place-less-ness” to it; I too figured it to be in Latin America–the steeple the blowing trees–could be a tropical storm…to me it is more of a dream-image, which I really love. It has a symbolic feeling which could mean any number of things…
Words can limit.
I like the how-its-made story. It doesn’t change my feelings about the photograph, but clarifies the caption. It is funny that most of us thought that it is an “artistic” image, an expression, but Lassal regards it as a documentary. And in deed, it could be ether. I can clearly imagine this picture as opening image of a reportage. It has been said that it needs company of other photos, because it alone doesn’t communicate author’s idea that well.
And Lassal, if you want to remove only the color noise, duplicate layer, apply noise removal filter, and change the blending mode of that layer to Color (mode). Then if you want to remove some illumination noise, duplicate filtered layer, change it’s blending mode back to Normal, and decrease Opacity as you wish. If you want noise to look more like film grain, then simply add some Gaussian blur, with radius set to about 1-2 pixels. Hope that helps.
Lassal :))
thank you so much for the dedication….im running home to see marina and dima, so no time to write, but i feel the intensity of Giacomelli indeed :))…and appreciate that you thought i’d like the picture…and i do, very much…I am very polite, but not too polite to say i liked something if i didnt…ask my wife ;))…happy for you…
running
bob
yeah good stuff. +++
interesting picture but IMO not enough to stand out alone. I agree it’d probably make more sense if presented as part of an essay.
Good morning everyone,
first of all thank you for your (second) imput. I was well aware of the fact that I was putting the reception of the image at risk by stressing the idea behind it. But it was important for me.
Cliff put it right in the shortest sentence: “words can limit”.
At least MY words can … That is why I usually do not say all to much.
So if I see it correctly, most of you would say it is an aesthetical image but cannot transport the message alone. The message being – in this case – a mood. I guess the mood comes across quite well but not connected to this specific crisis, but it could be “anything” like Soren and others pointed out. Agreed. So indeed … it could be the beginning of an essay …
Have to think about this. As I mentioned, I am not a PJ. But I was in Perpignan last year (meeting DAH and some other people of the blog) and it really had a huge impact on me. Not huge enough to make me a PJ, but maybe huge enough to go for an essay.
Marcin,
I was myself waiting for another cloudy night to get out again and take some more shots of the city (different locations), but “unfortunately” we have had great weather since then. In fact the sun is just rising right now. Looks like we will have another beautiful day ….
BTW what you see up the hill is no colonial style church but a HUGE church belonging to a quite amazing housing settlement which was built in the late 1920s (completed 1934) by Ernst May. It has a cool kind of Bauhaus style … and this huge church that belongs to it. In the photograph you just see the very top part. Most of the trees in the front are nut-trees and you see people collecting these in autumn. So … what I want to say: it is very German … but … thinks change when light changes … So it took on a completely different (moody) character that night.
ZELJKO …
valuable input as to the noise removal – thanks so much!!! I just got this noise removal filter software and have not had time to experiment with it. I was just so glad there is such a thing as this software – I will do the image over the way you suggested. Thanks again.
As to the rest of your thoughtful comment (thanks also here), I gave an answer below. Guess you are right as to the necessity to add more images to it. Otherwise I should stick to my “artistic” approach :)
Reimar,
Danke für Deinen netten Kommentar!
And yes … there in fact is a willow tree …
Terrific links Bob, thanks.
I spent some of last night looking at it and doing a little research on my own.
:)
ANA, JOE
tough decision now.
Essay or no essay. Art or no art.
Guess I will let fate decide :)
The opening title in the online Newspaper this morning:
“50 billion (EURO) against the fear”
They changed the title half an hour later. It is not AGAINST the fear now anymore, but FOR the economy.
I really like the image Lassal…
I read the comments and your replies… I just see crises… I don’t know exactly what kind of nature, it’s not clear and I don’t mind at all.
I see black shadow tress, a weak faith in the cross, maybe lost, and a dark blurred light… everyone can see his own crises in this photo.
I don’t understand soon most of my shots: it takes days, months, years and deep talk with sensitive friends: I guess it’s the same for most of us, isn’t it? I try to take photos with mind and heart, but often the unconscious plays tricks on me and there are not good or bad answers, “only” feelings and emotions.
So I definitively agree with Ann and I’m happy that light changes time after time.
Nico
Lassal, I really rate this photograph!
Some here like the comments, some prefer the photograph to stand alone. I’m all for information, visual and written.
I think you are right to see the photograph as part of an essay on the financial crisis and I believe that it will be stronger as part of a group (not that it can’t stand alone). From seeing your work I believe the subject of financial crisis would suit your photographic style in that photographs that depict the mood that the crisis is causing will tell more than photographs of people sitting at desks! You can certainly impart mood (atmosphere) into your photographs!
Thank you also for the technical details. I am gaining so much here from seeing different styles and interpretations. I agree with others that a photograph should be able to stand on its own merits without having to depend on text. All the photographs show here on Burn thus far are able to do this – further information is, to me, a bonus. Likewise it could be argued that work shown here should be enjoyed without comment – the photographer has made his or her statement and that should be enough.
I would counter that this is a place for photographers. We are not posting work here, primarily, for a general audience and comment from viewers, and the sharing of knowledge, is one of the primary motives of Burn (along with enjoying ourselves). Another motive, one that will hopefully bear fruit in the future, is to help photographers gain exposure and make contacts that will result in paid work. I see a lot of talent here.
Good luck with the move Lassal!
Mike.
too much words also can destroy a picture….
very good Lassal.
LASSAL…
my mistake…your photograph has been re-titled as per your original title “In the Light of Crises”
cheers, david
CLIFF…
Lassal is very much a woman…
cheers, david
Lassal…on the artistic side, check out Duane Michals. He combines strong images with text; however his text is narrative. (Oh my God, I’ve referenced another photographer’s work…I feel an indictment from my dead grandmothers coming on). PJ and text are a natural marriage. Otherwise, I don’t like a lot of chatter to sell me on a weak image. You can do anything you want. It’s just how much of a purist stance you take…..nothing’s rock solid dude. Peace and Love.
DAVID
it is “In The Light of Crisis”
:))))))))))))))))))))))
CLIFF
I am checking Duane Michals right now, thanks for referencing him (now, what is the problem with that?!).
As for texts… Maybe I will have to find me someone else for the writing part IF I continue with this.
Because I would not want to do straightforward images – which would demand an extra effort from whoever writes the text too. I could do it in German and maybe Portuguese. I doubt I could do it in English, though. Would be like to press a whole cow into a sausage – if you get the picture :)
I feel that the trees are weeping…
the color of sky … church … empty lot …
very moody .. I feel the scent of air …
Thank you for such a nice photo!
I feel that the trees are weeping…
the color of sky … church … empty lot …
very moody .. I feel the scent of air …
Thank you for such a nice photo!
“Photographers tend not to photograph what they can’t see, which is the very reason one should try to attempt it. Otherwise we’re going to go on forever just photographing more faces and more rooms and more places. Photography has to transcend description. It has to go beyond description to bring insight into the subject, or reveal the subject, not as it looks, but how does it feel?”
– Duane Michals
ii’ve used some of Michal’s words for part of my Bones text ;)))…and i try to use text in the same way: as narrative…not description of the photos, but as an adjunct, a songline that runs parallel….soon ;))
b
Frank Zappa once said that “Talking about music is like dancing about architecture” and I think it holds true for photography of this type. Just look at it and let IT TELL YOU what you want to hear.
Unevolved …
It was Zappa? I have used this quote a lot but never knew where it came from.
“Just look at it and let IT TELL YOU what you want to hear.” Yeah. And sometimes it does tell you what you do not want to hear, too …
Like music, I hear this. :)
Unevolved …
thanks, I appreciated your comment. You are absolutely right.
Kyunghee Lee …
I feel honored … And I am still waiting anxiously for your book to arrive.
Yes … the idea of Duane Michals & Bones of Time … sounds promising :)
Stop writing here Bob! Finish your essay!!!!!!!! I am dying to see it!
Has there already been any consideration in regards to publishing it?
Wow! what a great picture! i love the texture, the painterly qualities of it. there is a sense of anxiousness im not sure i feel the financial crisis ;) for that, i would probably need to see this photograph in a series.
it reminded me of ‘amaurosis’ by monia montali- a work of another talented photographer from the ‘smoke’ collective. http://arlesthissummer.ibelgique.com/fichiers/monia_diapo.html
although your picture stands out as a beautiful image alone.
very good work, Lassal!
I also looked at your website and now im absolutely enamored with your ‘kursk’ project and all these crazy collections that you make! this’s awesome!
CLIFF
thanks again for the reference – it is absolutely WONDERful!
Pleas come up with references any time you like :))
I like the light… and the moodd… love the cross which transpire in distance..
Marina, thank you … !
In this picture … it is really about the light. There would be no picture without this reflecting light from the sky because normally it is pitchblack there in the night. Not a good place to go. Not even with a dog.
But I is true and I see it clearly: I would need more images to really portrait the crisis. Even though it is mostly just in the minds of the people yet.
(Not quite correct, but MOSTLY … As I said, you do not really see anything yet)
Thinking about making an essay … really considering it right now … :) … But it would be a very moody and symbolical type of story what I have in mind. Going along the path this picture has initiated.
Never heard of the smoke collective, but yesss… I can definitively connect to the essay you linked to. Will check some more of it. I got so much feedback today – here and via eMail – that I will need a week only to check all of this. I find it very, very helpful because of the preselection. And it is interesting to see the bridges that formed in different people’s minds.
Kursk … :) yeah. I have a bad conscience, though … So many things to do. So little time. After moving I will have to reorganize my priorities. First thing.
NICO
so great to hear from you!!! Got your email and answered already. Thanks for the marvelous photographs… As I can see the situation has changed for you quite a bit. I am very happy for you.
I hope you have submitted some of your wonderful images here ….
Did you get my new address??
Cheers & hugs,
Lassal
LASSAL,
I cannot believe I missed your photograph…. Good to see a shot of yours here… I love the mood of the photograph. Maybe would only caution you on the way you have worked the sky… around the trees, you may have used a bit too much contrast for me and the photograph/sky may unecessarily look a bit artificial as a result… With all this said again, love the atmosphere of it all. Have you restarted your portraits/ postcards project?
Eric
PS: By the way, I have an address in Brussels but will only be living there by July (when the family joins me). From March to July, I will be staying in Hotel…..