Judith Lesnaw
October 2019 - Left Behind
Original
About the Image(s)
On a night shoot in Philadelphia last year I came upon a brick sidewalk upon which was poised a pair of white high-heeled shoes. The area was well lit by street lights. I had already packed up my Canon camera, but I was intrigued by the scene. To whom had these shoes belonged? Where was she going? Why had she abandoned them? I captured the image with my iphone 7 plus, and post processed it in Lightroom: converted it to monochrome, flipped it horizontally, added a white vignette.
This round’s discussion is now closed!
6 comments posted
Hi Judith...an intriguing little story! I like that you've chosen black and white as colour is not necessary here. Good that you've flipped the image to allow the eye to read it more easily too. I wonder if darkening the top left and lower corners would have added a little more mystery? Just a thought. Maybe a little more detail (tatty zips) could have been left in the shoes to give clues as to their owner? Overall, I think you've achieved a nice contrasty B&W with a mystery included! Posted: 10/20/2019 15:28:18
Very intriguing, I agree. I love the monochrome and the textures on the bricks. It's fun to wonder what the story here was. I find myself toying with whether positioning the shoes elsewhere so the story was suggested (as above a Dam or reservoir or steep mountainside) would make for a stronger or a weaker photo. Part of the fun is not knowing the story, though! Posted: 10/20/2019 15:31:11
Val, thanks for the suggestions and positive feedback. I am puzzled by "tatty zips". What are they? I had no control over the shoes. I did not stage the photo, I photographed the scene as it was. The mystery owner felt no clues. It really was very curious.
Posted: 10/20/2019 15:35:06
Posted: 10/20/2019 15:35:06
Hi Judith,
Modern contemporary feel in this image brought about by your editing ,i like your choice of Black and White.
The isolation of the shoes holds our attention as to ponder why? what ? where.
Posted: 10/21/2019 04:17:17
Modern contemporary feel in this image brought about by your editing ,i like your choice of Black and White.
The isolation of the shoes holds our attention as to ponder why? what ? where.
Posted: 10/21/2019 04:17:17
Hi Judith, I love both images. I really like the warmth and lighting and texture in the color image. Great story and subject, the shoes have a bit of character that lends itself to storytelling. I like the interesting angle you used to take the shot and the flipped version of the shot. Posted: 10/22/2019 23:38:54
Hi Judith, Using the camera to make the shoes appear on an incline takes it out of the ordinary. I first thought they were on a sloped roof! That brought about the questions "How did they get there?" and "What happened to the person?" I got a lot more feeling from the original street light than from the processed image which was more like a catalog image. The story that is prompted by a nice pair of shoes on the pavement is intriguing. The original would make an interesting mystery book cover.
Karl Posted: 10/24/2019 09:20:34
Karl Posted: 10/24/2019 09:20:34