Photo Challenge 6 – Temptation

My journalist friend, Veena, gave us a tough theme this time.  Almost everybody rose to the challenge.  Almost.
I don’t think I put enough effort into mine,  so don’t be afraid to get stuck in to me for that.  And I haven’t heard from Ken so we’ll run with four images this time.

Temptation means one thing to most people, and many things to the rest.  To creative people like us (cough) I think it can mean thousands of things, and I’m glad of that because I didn’t want to be posting five images of young hunks and spunks at the beach or the like.  So, do we keep it simple and present a direct connection with the theme?  Or do we go for something far more subtle, that might be a little left of centre and promote discussion?

Let’s see what we’ve done.

Steve’s submission

I struggled for two weeks to come up with something, and failed miserably. In the end I decided to portray one of my cats – Mushroom, trying so hard to resist his natural urge to explore whatever is on the other side of his fence.  Watching him in live action portrays “temptation” far better than my still image ends up doing, as he prowls, stares, moans, whines and murmurs, begins to wiggle his tail in readiness to jump before turning around to pace the fence once more.

My thoughts:

The thoughts running around my head at the last moment, as I was getting some selection input from Joepi (i.e. cheating) on my final two-image shortlist follow:

I like the aesthetics of the first (the image above), but perhaps the link to the theme is too subtle and requires some creative thought.  I like that he is staring directly through the gap.  But if you weren’t told the theme first you could think it was simply curiosity.

The second (cat is in initial stages of a leap) is more obvious, but it could still be interpreted as something else – like escape or opportunity.  He does actually jump on this attempt, so even though he is only poised at the photographic moment, it would take some prompting from me to have the viewer imagine him as being tempted, and not already have made his decision.

I don’t think temptation should be directly associated with action. As a state of mind, I think it is definitely more closely related to curiosity, so that’s the image I chose.

Katy’s submission

Katy says:

As soon as I laid my eyes on this month’s challenge, I thought of an apple – the shape the word ‘temptation’ has taken along the years, at least for me. But then I gave the theme more careful thought and came up with something a bit more original than simply placing an apple against a plain background and shooting it macro. Anyway, next thing I did was to get my spice-things-up dice out of the drawer and roll them to see what my luck was.

So get tempted…

P.S. : The word displayed on the first die is the Portuguese for ‘kiss’. 

My thoughts: This is why I love having photographers from distant lands involved in this. We are treated to broad interpretations along with somewhat alien concepts and experiences.  And I get to learn a new Portuguese word!  The out of focus question mark on the second die is brilliant, and I love the red rich sensuality of the scene.  This image  makes me try harder to be more creative next time.

Mat’s submission

Mat says:

This is my good friend Max (from top Aussie rock band Asleep In The Park) posing in front of a Melbourne shoe shop. I experimented with a few different shutter speed settings to show other people as a blur while Max held perfectly still. This one at 0.6 seconds and f/22 turned out the best. I adjusted the levels and curves in Paintshop Pro and cropped to highlight the Soul Sale sign – after all, true temptation always costs us our soul!

My thoughts: Mat’s on a roll. This is a wonderful image that could well be used commercially. The blurred passers-by are exactly as they should have been treated.   The composition, particularly with “Soul Sale” adding to the number of ways we can interpret this, appeals to me. The shoes and boots are well arranged, creating a space in front of Max who is playing the role of the “will I or won’t I” shopper to perfection.  The entire image may seem a little claustrophobic at first – there’s a lot going on in a small space – but I kind of like that.

Joepi’s submission

Joepi says:

Temptation by my own thought is the act of wanting what is Naught.
Not yours to keep, Not yours to feel. Not yours to see and what’s Not meant to be…
Temptation by my own thought is not following what is taught.
It’s not yours yet you touch. Don’t touch yet you reach.
Close your eyes…Yet you peek.

 

So here’s the thought behind the image: Fishnet stockings have always been a symbol of sensuality. They have a “come hither” quality about them that is absolutely irresistible and yet their naughty taboo reputation also keeps a number of folks away (some even with raised eyebrows ;-D) This pose of seated, raised and closed yet slightly spread legs also screams “come hither.” But the notion is being waived off as the legs are closed with hands to cover and the instructions to not peek should be enough to deter you from coming closer… right.
f5.6 47mm focal length 1600ISO 1/20sec

My thoughts: I think Joepi’s image is a poster ad waiting to happen. Just have to figure out what is being sold – perhaps a new perfume called “Temptation”?  Hard for me to fault this shot. Great lines and exceptional imagery.  I hope it tempts you readers to weigh in with your thoughts…

Next Challenge

Hmmm, let me dig into my old calico bag of themes and see what I can drag out…
And the winner is… Sydney!  No no no, wrong announcement thanks Juan Antonio!  Try again.
Ok, the winner is Joepi so our next theme will be her suggestion – “Technicolor“.
Please have your photo to me by Sunday February 1st.

This should be fun, and you gotta be in it to win it.

PS – I was thinking that if this challenge  thing continues to hum along nicely, I might have to introduce some incentives for you readers to submit the most thoughtful, incisive or enjoyable comments. I’ve a heap of crap in my back rooms that I could give away – books, CDs, stuffed toys, old sporting trophies etc.  You know, stuff people really want.  Let me know what you think…

Trialing the Panasonic around Melbourne

Day 2 in the city with my new point and shoot – the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ18, and I thought I should try a few shots over lunch and on the night walk back to my car. Check out all of the shots here.
Sitting on a bench in the middle of the CBD, I was staring into my LCD screen trying to interpret the icons. Suddenly feet started appearing in the preview. I decided to see how fast the autofocus worked on a dull day with no pre-focus and got this.

 

 

 

Looking back up from the foot, I noticed a street artist using his hands to create some pretty authentic renaissance style painting on the concrete. You could spend all day in Melbourne photographing the various street performers, and when you get bored with them you just photograph some of the more unusual people hanging around.

I was curious about how the camera handled night lights and handheld slow shutter speeds. For the most part it does a great job, although at times I had to place it on a steady surface and take long exposures. This shot was handheld and typifies some of the night shots I might be capturing in many of the world’s busiest Asian cities.

After much dawdling around the CBD I started to get cold and began to make my way back to Crown Casino, where I had parked for the day. The rest of these images were taken on longer exposures, but show what you can do with a cheap camera when you are traveling. These are all different views of the Yarra River around the Southbank and Crown Casino areas.

Every hour the Crown Casino flame jets explode into life, lighting up the boardwalk with spurts of a hot, orange glow. Far more difficult to photograph with this type of camera, and I really wasn’t in the right place to shoot them effectively, but hey – I had fun trying. Perhaps the tourists in the foreground of this image had more luck than I did.

Well, next stop Singapore. See you there…