March Photo Contest, help me chose the theme

[Schema Thing]

I'm down to the following three ideas:

Ain't That America

or

Rust Never Sleeps

or

Beautiful Decay


Contestants should feel free to freely interpret those phrases.

What's your preference, DU?

[Mike 03]

1. "Beautiful Decay" because with the other two topics are not that creative.

"Beautiful Decay" is a far more fertile topic.

[HappyCynic]

2. Thanks for the topics!

I had to decide between the second and third (I'm not in the US so the first would make it really difficult for me and a few others).
Thanks for leaving it open to interpretation. After all, it's not the topic but the photographer that can make it interesting and creative.

[alfredo]

6. Showing American influence in your home could be

an interesting exercise. A KFC sign in an unexpected place, or promo for an American movie might make for a fine photo.

[Mira]

7. You just reminded me of a documentary I saw and that I want to buy and can't find

about Corbin, KY.
"Trouble behind"
Corbin is the home of KFC where it showed his statue being used as art in some living rooms. A film full of Americana, not much of it is pride inspiring.

[alfredo]

10. Corbin is the perfect Republican town:

All white, poor, and ignorant.

Colonel Sanders was not a typical Corbin resident. His views on race were progressive for his time. He had an African American chauffeur that became a good friend. Sanders used to tweak the good old boys by taking the wheel and do Chauffeur duties for his Chauffeur. A white man opening a door for a black man was unheard of in my younger years. He loved to tweak the noses of the good old boys.

He also used to feed the hippies in the park. He was also a big supporter of research into aging.

[Mira]

20. Alfredo!

I've been to Corbin twice. I admit it was curiosity that made me schedule stops there, both times on car trips to Columbus.

Good for the Colonel, but not so good for the town. They have ONE black resident right now, a Katrina refugee, the second since 1919 when they rounded all of them up and took them out in railroad cars.

Imagine, a whole couple of generations who have grown up in an America of theirs without any black people.

But I'm not slammin' nobody here :)
Just telling a bit of history.

I like very much hearing that about Colonel Sanders.

[alfredo]

21. Corbin is south of Sublimity City and west of Arkle Ky.

Though it is a backward confederate flag lovin town, it's better than Manchester. The creeks in Manchester are of a color not seen in nature. Some run clear because even algae find them poisonous.

One thing I remember about the Colonel is that he seemed to be having a lot of fun.

[Mira]

22. Dang,

more territory to explore.

What do you mean "remember"?

[alfredo]

23. Just seeing him around in person or on TV. He might have been

an asshole in private, but I never saw or heard of that side of him.

[alfredo]

24. A great resource on that part of the world: Appalshop.

http://appalshop.org/

They have a fun radio station, WMMT.


Love this site:

http://www.folkstreams.net/

[Schema Thing]

13. Yes, when I read HappyCynic's reply, I thought

actually I'd LOVE to see what expats and non-Americans would enter.

[alfredo]

19. and it is broad enough that finding suitable entries

would not be a problem.

[HappyCynic]

25. True...

On reflection, there are a few interesting things I could do with it but I still prefer a category like decay. If I can, maybe I'll try to shoot something that would have been appropriate.

[alfredo]

26. Maybe you can find an American Icon in a state of decay

[HappyCynic]

27. And if I'm lucky...

A good helping of rust for the trifecta.

[alfredo]

28. The River Rouge plant in Detroit would fit the category.

It's gone now, but there's more than enough old warehouses and factories that will supply image rich environments.

[Mira]

3. I voted for the "Ain't that America" - to me it is hugely fertile ground.

It's also not anything I've seen us do.
Great idea, and Buehler, I'm glad you are here so we can play.

[Mz Pip]

4. Voted for Rust Never Sleeps.

Sounds interesting. We did Wabi Sabi a few months ago, which seems similar to Beautiful Decay. It was a very challenging theme.

Any of the ones in the poll will be good topics.

[Schema Thing]

5. I had to google.

Wiki says that the Japanese word for rust is also pronounced "sabi".


I see "Rust never sleeps" and "Beautiful Decay" as being similar themes, but open to very diverging interpretations.

[regnaD kciN]

8. "Beautiful Decay" sounds a hell of a lot like "Wabi-Sabi"...

...which we just had a few months ago. :wtf:

[dixiegrrrrl]

9. True, dat.

[Mira]

11. Yeah, but I think most of the voters know that. We had F U N with

Wabi Sabi.

[Juneboarder]

12. Agreed...

Sounds like fun... again :)

[Schema Thing]

14. Ok, good to hear...

... I thought about this overnight, and was going to ask the mod to lock this thread, and then make another post apologizing for having missed the fact that Wabi Sabi has been done recently.


I think I'll let it stand, and just reiterate that "beautiful decay" is free to be interpreted in ways that diverge from the Japanese Wabi Sabi concept.

[Mz Pip]

15. Beauty

is in the eyes of the beholder. It will be fine. :-)

And it seems to be what people want to do. Majority rules!

[Mira]

16. I would say it was late summer

based on my memories of shooting stuff for it.
If you feel like it and have the time, look from August forward and see what we did. It was interpreted by us to incorporate lots of rusty objects, which would make your second choice more like what we did for WabiSabi. I'm almost 100 percent that RichardD led that contest and gave us the theme.

WabiSabi is objects that have retained functionality in spite of age and decay, and are beautiful in their usefulness.

The beautiful decay to me means it can be either.

[Celebration]

17. hmmm, September or October

We went to Florida around that time, and I took my picture in Lower Alabama.

I might use another one from that series.

[HappyCynic]

18. Beautiful Decay vs Wabi Sabi

In my opinion, there is overlap between the two topics but some important differences as well. Wabi sabi refers to objects that have acquired beauty through aging (rust, fading, etc.). Decay, on the other hand, is more focused on the dissolution of things (not necessarily objects). It can also be mold or rot (anyone for macro of fungus?) or societal decay (probably a little harder to make "beautiful"). I'm sure there are other interpretations as well.

[Dinger]

29. How ABout "Early Spring"?

?

[Mira]

30. Are you series?

The month is one third over, we don't have a declared theme yet, and you want to start over?
Have the Republicans gotten to you with this idea? (This is not Health Care Reform, just a monthly contest.)

On a personal note: Are you still reveling in your win?
I'm proud of you!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Dinger]

32. The Luncheon Is March 20th

Just a little tease there . . .

[Dinger]

33. Well, Ya Go Me!

Caught red-handed!
:sarcasm:

[Tindalos]

31. There's a seasonal contest for spring

!


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