a study of perspective

with the camera sitting on the manfrotto as silent as it could be, i tried to disappear in the shadows of the studio, hidden behind the hanging window frames still filled with their aged glass. from a slight distance, and with their focus on their artistic production, i could attempt to make my presence one that was only barely -if at all- felt. i had noticed that of all the windows that hung from the warehouse rafters, one of the pains had cracked, distorting or breaking the clarity of objects behind it. the distortions wasn't what most interested me, but instead how one broken pane and one unbroken pane could change create a story about of the two artists sitting across from each other at the same studio desk, each the opposite of the other (note the color of their clothes). my thoughts began to wonder if the crack in the glass, couldn't represent the vision of the world of the person sitting behind it; one possibility. i also wondered if the state of the glass couldn't somehow represent future of the person sitting behind each one, a future only temporarily frozen in the act of taking the image. the values of the referents of the photograph will change as the lens free from the confines of the photo is changed, that is to say as soon as the image is frozen, the world continues and the experiences and occurrences begin to change the way people will see the image. or even, if the glass would be the internal filter affecting the external perception of the objects behind.

here, there are two individuals, two people from very different spaces and with very different experiences. knowing their personalities, i had to remove myself from making any judgment as to whether or not the image would in fact reflect their individual personalities, but instead personalities that any viewer could imagine. with neither subject in focus, it was easier to "dis-imagine" their known identities. the "lens" through which the observer views each of the subjects now takes absorbs more of the resposibilities of the persona of the subjects -in addition to the colors thrown over their blurred bodies-; one sits behind shattered glass and the other through a perfectly un-shattered pane.

one thing that i notice is that because the crack in the glass is clear, i keep returning to look at that side of the picture, rather than the one with the "unobstructed" yet blurred view of the reality i am creating. the crack, the imperfection gives me a point of reference for the rest of the photo. i almost seem to find more "perfection" in the broken side simply because i can see what is broken clearly. with something concrete in the image, i can grab hold of it and not throw ignore it, not throw it to the side. with that irregularity i can feel that the value of the image is changed, and that the person on the left may be less likely to ever have clarity because their view is forever blocked by the cracked glass. i stopped the moment (though not the reading of the moment) there and there is no changing that. so which of the two, equally unclear subjects is presented more clearly in this photograph (and how long will that reading be the dominant one)?

one thing i know is that i would like to return to the thought of the internal filter, held within, seen within the photograph as its obviety (especially if one is more apparent) creates a new dialog externally.

i would also like to note that my personal ramblings can be seen as such and that -while i will still hold ownership...- i am not, unfortunately, the "expert" of my own work. that very well could be a dangerous invitation to comments.