Photographer's Note
Not the most joyful pic in this site...(should I put it in daily life category or flower pics...)
If you don't have time to read Montaigne's Essays but however want to think about sense of life and death, drop at the catacombs, one of the lesser known touristy spots in Paris. it displays stocks and heaps of former Parisian bones and skulls, moved out last century to underground galleries in order to avoid overpopulation of the town cemetaries.
the visit might be a shock, I came out of there a bit changed in my mind. Some people get accustomed to the view, I think i couldn't.
I missed a fantastic shot that day, the attendant was relaxing on his chair at the entrance of a gallery, back leant on a pile of skulls, reading the sports daily "l'équipe", over his head you could see written "entering this passage, give up your hope". I guess his favorite football team had lost that day...
Seeing so many stitched panos in TE gave me an idea of recycling some of my old negs. This is 3 parts of negs stitched. It's very difficult to shoot in the 'combs, a friend had brought a mini mag lite and this was the only light source we had. I found a plant growing in the middle
of a skull pile.
The pano focuses on 2 questions :
- how can life grow in this darkness?
- who planted the seed?
Jebelis, eleparc, Riz, dream, MLINES, droonsta, AdrienneClaire, Sanderson-Brown, jabber marcou esta nota como útil
Critiques | Translate
evilren
(1395) 2003-07-24 19:56
If I got it correctly this is a combination of 3 shots.I have been to the catacombs a few years ago I wish now that I was more in photography then...u manged to create a master piece,the focus on the left skull creates a dimensional effect..
even though the subject itself is creepy u manged to make it even more then it is..u can see it especially on the right with the shades.. I don't know about the flower..."hope" in such a place..but it does make u think
Motrem
(2392) 2003-07-24 20:44
Ah bon dieu, est-ce possible? J'ai lu votre note avec grand intérêt, j'abonde dans le sens de Caprice. Great shot!
AdrianW
(2274) 2003-07-24 21:34
Ahh, it's a stitch - I wondered why the DOF/focus wasn't consistent across the image! A very haunting image indeed, well done :-D
smiley
(613) 2003-07-24 22:42
This is something I always wanted to get see. There is something a little dark and unnerving about such a scene but it is tough to tear away. Quite cool.
JB
thien
(2112) 2003-07-24 23:53
What a shot Luko. The sense of depth is incredible. The contrast of life and death is just superb.
gringofil
(0) 2003-07-25 0:29
I have no idea who planted the seed...or it might have been the attendant? Who knows...working there one can grow into a special sort of outlook on life (and death). Incredible shot, Luko, truly amazing.
Mike
(693) 2003-07-25 3:07
How can anyone not like this picture! it's so macabre, you've done a great job combining the three images, a memento mori for the 21st century.
philip_coggan
(11) 2003-07-25 3:18
The seedling is a nice detail. I dno't think it has much of a future, though.
I like the texture all through this view, and the 'expressions' on the skulls - they look so individual, you can read into them different reactions to their current state, as if still alive.
mcreider
(673) 2003-07-26 5:57
Exciting b/w.
"Montaigne's Essays" - you make me laugh, mon pauvre ami. Montaigne, aujourdhui? (Hope I have not misspelled)
Darren
(6823) 2003-08-18 11:25
This is just well done Luko, I have nothing to add. As usual, your comments about the shot add greatly to my understanding and enjoyment of the photo itself.
mariogil
(113) 2003-08-25 7:49
What a great shot Luko! Congratulations!
Everything is 5 stars... composition... ligth/colors... the angle...!
Very good work!
bodinux
(363) 2003-10-01 0:36
Although I saw this picture some time ago, I didn't write any critic at the time. Then the idea came to me to do a workshop on it. I don't see this workshop as an improvment of your great picture, it is just another way of seeing the same subject. Hope you like it.
mtolloczko
(201) 2003-11-05 6:21
Excellent work, however, I cannot put it into my favourites; this would give me nightmares. Yes, life grows where it can find at least one of the elements of life. In this case a little organic matter and some oxygen. ...gruesome...
Jebelis
(229) 2004-03-22 22:23
nice shots... i plan to go there in a few weeks in paris... maybe pictures will be good with a digital camera... thanks for all the infos.. i'll post some more from there if i can made it...
eleparc
(24063) 2004-04-13 16:00
Luko I had missed that shot. it is really fantastic in its simplicity and beauty;-) a real positive shock ;-)bravo!
sohrab
(7439) 2004-04-18 15:41
hi luko
i'm still trying to find time to go through your pics. this one is really nice.it may sound very weird but i've always been fascinated with the theme of death.
your title is very good considering the flower in the middle of the skulls. i especially like the pic of the skulls on the left. really nice. you've made death look so beautiful. pardon me if i'm scaring you now.lol. but you should know that it is death that makes life beautiful. the rich black in the photograph is giving it a lot of elegance.
you should check out raghu rai's photographs on the bhopal gas tragedy.(magnumphotos.com) theres a particular photographs of the skulls of the victims which have been stored. it is the silence in the photograph which can send shivers down your spine.the photograph will cry out to you. you seem to be heading the same way.perhaps you should check raghu's work out.you'll definitely like it . take care and i shall look forward to hearing from you.
bye bye
MLINES
(12516) 2006-03-05 1:13
Bit spookier than many TE photos but effective. Very good message written about it. Good work.
rajhema
(1873) 2006-03-31 9:28
contrasting message. I've heard about this place and want to visit. Very well composed. I guess with the given light you can do only so much. BW selection is a good idea.
avachava (26) 2006-04-09 9:56 [Comment]
cessy
(13647) 2007-06-23 4:08
wow... what a picture .. and great note as usual coming from you
dunno why, seeing this and the growing plant, made me remember movie final fantasy, spirits within
Sanderson-Brown
(6) 2007-12-08 11:23
Hi Luco,
you can show a dead rabbit and everyone freaks, show a couple of dead humans and no one bats an eyelid! ;-) thats what popped to mind when i first saw this shot.
Well done though, great use of the light you had avalible and great povs. That flower is strange, but maybe its a sign to show that there is still life amoung the dead!
Thanks for sharing these different, moving images.
Regards
Paul
michelleknight
(112) 2010-11-19 5:49
I love this shot!
I have been wanting to go there & I definitely will. I agreed with the other reviews about how successful your stitching of 3 shots is, & the 3d effect of the skull on the left.
Congratulations.
Michelle
benenuts
(234) 2014-03-08 14:01
J'ai visité moi même ce lieux il y a 20 ans. C'était encore le temps des argentiques. C'est un peu morbide mais il faut le prendre avec le sourire. D'ailleurs pouvez me dire quelle rangée avez vous pris la photo je crois reconnaître mon oncle Jules disparut. ( rions un peu) bonne photo avec des effets sympas
Photo Information
-
Copyright: Luko G R (Luko)
(14000)
- Genre: Lugares
- Medium: Preto & Branco
- Date Taken: 1997-03-00
- Categories: Vida Diária
- Camera: Nikon FE, Leitz Elmarit R 35mm/2.8, Kodak TMX 3200
- Exposição: f/2.8
- Versão da Foto: Versão Original, Workshop
- Tema(s): Death, Best of Paris, skulls /squelettes, Favourites 2, All Saints Cemeteries II [view contributor(s)]
- Date Submitted: 2003-07-24 19:16
- Favoritos: 9 [ver]