Insert Photo Here* by Canon DSLR Challenge

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01-JAN-2006	Grant Hamilton

Insert Photo Here*

This is a photograph of the top of a photo storage box where you are supposed to paste one on the lid. I thought that it would be sort of ironic to shoot this with the 17 MP Canon 1DsMkII...

This is the least post-processed photo I have ever posted.

Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II ,Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM
1/200s f/4.0 at 100.0mm iso640 hide exif

Full EXIF Info
Date/Time	01-Jan-2006 22:06:11
Make	Canon
Model	Canon EOS-1Ds Mark II
Flash Used	No
Focal Length	100 mm
Exposure Time	1/200 sec
Aperture	f/4
ISO Equivalent	640
Exposure Bias
White Balance	(-1)
Metering Mode	matrix (5)
JPEG Quality	(6)
Exposure Program	aperture priority (3)
Focus Distance

other sizes: small medium original auto

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Please do not delete, update, or otherwise edit others' entries
* Submitter retains all copyrights *

Guest		08-Jan-2006 04:16
Woot! I converted another one! Thanks Michael. This has nothing to do with this image but I just bought a new 1976 Polaroid SX-70 and am having a blast with it. Are those legal in exhibition? Might have to upload one...

Guest		08-Jan-2006 02:23
Well, I'm going to withdraw my earlier comment. For some reason (which I don't yet understand), I keep returning to this image and finding it more visually appealing each time. I also continue to enjoy it's humor as something more than a quick joke. Perhaps the path to my brain is just slower, but I think I'm beginning to really get it. -Michael

Canon DSLR Challenge		08-Jan-2006 00:38
Dear Andy: "Self portrait in green?" Now that's something I am going to have to ponder...and I rather like this as a title...to give this even more depth and edgyness. Thanks for making me think, Andy, (and Grant). Best Wishes, Traveller

Canon DSLR Challenge		06-Jan-2006 08:02
Andy - of course I haven't really withdrawn my comments, and now my wife isn't looking over my shoulder I can stand firm on them again! Phil

Guest		05-Jan-2006 21:59
Phil, I think its a shame that you've withdrawn your comments. Your reference to Tracey Enim's unmade bed resonates loud. In fact it had occurred to me before your reference. We are looking for depth because the artist tells us its there. And we know its there because the artist is Grant. Without the artist, this is nothing. I would submit that this is a self portrait in green.

Canon DSLR Challenge		05-Jan-2006 14:05
I showed this to my wife - always my biggest critic. She thought it was funny and liked it - for much the same reasons I outlined about the Unmade Bed in an earlier comment. On the basis that she's always right, I withdraw all my previous comments... :) Phil

Canon DSLR Challenge		05-Jan-2006 12:22
OK, Mr. Biscuit comes clean (but only in select ways, of course): I agree that this is not the best we've seen from Grant, but I also think people are dismissing it as simply a joke when (I think) it is something more. OK, I'm now done with soapbox soliloquies under this image [sMiLe]. --Mr. Biscuit

Guest		05-Jan-2006 05:19
In brief, to quote Phil, "it's healthy to disagree. But you're wrong :)". I do have enormous respect for your work, Grant, and I actually believe I get what you are saying with this image. I will also say that I find the majority of your images visually exciting in a profound kind of way. For me, this image is a good joke, it's a momentary poke at the brain and I'm delighted to have seen it. But since the discussion has become elevated to it's meaning beyond the momentary joke, the bottom line for me, in this discussion, is that I don't find this particular image either philosophically or visually profound. Frankly, it lacks even the surface visual interest of the "pretty pictures" you eschew. -Michael

Guest		05-Jan-2006 03:31
Well said.

Canon DSLR Challenge		05-Jan-2006 02:40
Since this image is becoming a locus for a broader discussion, I thought I would chime in with another example. Dunno how he sees this image (relative to his full portfolio), but I've always considered this his best (until he elects to displace it): Describe it's subject to a friend, and listen to what you say. A stuffed animal. A dock. Some still water. Doesn't sound profound, might not look profound to some, but it is one of the best images I've ever seen. Haven't seen it in a gallery for years, but it stuck with me until I went hunting tonight. How many people would like to have this kind of description applied to one of their images? To Phil: Your "Missing Pieces" shot did better in voting (and under stiff competition) than " Escapee". But if I had to pick one to blow up and post on a wall, it would be an easy call: Escapee. And not just because you're naked in one of them. Something about "Escapee" is far more profound. Simpler? Yep. Less engaging on swift inspection? Yep. But more engaging and "stickier"? Yep. Do photogs want their images to be sweet and crunchy, or memorable? --Mr. Biscuit

Guest		04-Jan-2006 19:58
Well at least Joe gets it (thanks). To me, the most important part of making an interesting photo is in seeing something, usually "hidden" in plain view. I strive to make people think " I would have walked right past that!" or "I've seen that a million times, but never that way." I really resist "pretty pictures" of sunsets and flowers and such because they only live in your eyes. I want a photo that keeps going into the brain. When I saw this box lid, I literally had an "a-ha!" moment and I knew that it would be a photo that I would like. I like the color green, I like the tongue-in-cheek formality of centering the text. I like that you have to be close to read the message and I like the irony of the equipment used. I also like the recusiveness of a photo that requests insertion of a photo. I also think that it is a little arbitrary to dismiss a photo because of its subject. Would a photo of a flower be more "worthy?" Most of these http://flickr.com/photos/tags/flowers/) make me so bored I want to scream. I don't care if you vote for this but I can tell you that I am printing it at 30 x 40 and putting it in my bedroom.

Canon DSLR Challenge		04-Jan-2006 17:59
Grant, Photowise we all know (atleast, I) that you certainly can and do better. But if you are just taking a break from the usual, I can understand. I like this one for what it is. The humor is well appreciated, and certainly the most on topic of all photos too. :-) -Cat

Canon DSLR Challenge		04-Jan-2006 15:13
Hey, it's healthy to disagree. But you're wrong :) It brings to mind so many "art" conversations you hear when the National Gallery or the Tate stages a new exhibition, and all it is is (for example) an unmade bed. "It's just an unmade bed" some cry, "No, it's art" say others. Beauty, as they say is in the eye of the beholder. I do enjoy Grant's irony indeed: 1DsII for this is class. But while you see an engaging photograph, I just see a box lid. Phil

Canon DSLR Challenge		04-Jan-2006 12:22
Well, Phil, to step back into character (finally), I'm going to disagree with you. First, part of Grant's secret sauce is he doesn't see the world the same as everyone else. His images work because they afford the viewer the chance to see it in his (somewhat imbalanced, usually aesthetic and poignant) way. This is just another installment in the Life of Moose, as valid as any. Second, Mission 1 for an image is to engage the viewer. It is doing that about as well as any in the gallery, for a diverse set of reasons. Lastly, the word "profound" means (among other definitions) "penetrating beyond what is superficial or obvious". Again, part of Grant's secret sauce is going beyond the superficial or obvious. More often than not, his images start with things in plain view, then capture (i.e. shoot and edit) them in a way that makes one look at or think about them differently. Just one more case in point above. --Mr. Biscuit

Canon DSLR Challenge		04-Jan-2006 08:10
OK, I seem to be in straight-talking mood lately... must be lack of alcohol :) Grant - I like your work very much - if you are half as talented in your day job as you are behind the camera then I would imagine you have some very pleased patients. As for this... it's funny and it's on topic. But a good picture? Even - Mr B - profound? No, sorry, I can't agree with that. Phil

Victor Engel		04-Jan-2006 03:42
Perfect depth of field. -- Victor

Canon DSLR Challenge		03-Jan-2006 23:42
Yeah, I heard you.

Guest		03-Jan-2006 22:57
Just so you know, I cried myself to sleep last night.

Canon DSLR Challenge		03-Jan-2006 22:02
Jeepers, Moose, hope I didn't offend. While I think it is humorous (a bandwagon I perhaps leaped for and missed), I do think it is oddly profound. Dunno why, but I do like it a lot. No disappointment here, and apologies if prior comment left that as a real impression. --Mr. Biscuit

Guest		03-Jan-2006 18:05
Grant, I just love your wit.

Ann Chaikin		03-Jan-2006 01:45
Cracks me up! Bang on topic too. Ann C

Guest		03-Jan-2006 01:26
Sorry to disappoint but this is the photo.

Canon DSLR Challenge		02-Jan-2006 21:37
Ah, I see, the ole "note to self" photo, huh? On pins and needles waiting... --Mr. Biscuit

Canon DSLR Challenge		02-Jan-2006 04:04
LMAO!!!!!!! I didn't even know it was yours - how could I have not? ~ Lonnit