1437 - Hope

2010-09-21

Sometimes it’s hard for me to find a title for an image. This is such a case. This is not conceptual work. I just left the tramway and through the blinding light I saw people and shadows. No time to compose, no time to think, I just made a series of images. This was the first, and when I processed it, I was struck by the power of the sun and the red traffic light, standing like an idol straight in the middle of the frame.

What exactly is going on here? The red light seems to be in some kind of control, but the people don’t look scared, rather calm, not intimidated, rather confident. They also seem to look through the menace of the light, seem to look at the sun behind it, this original light, that it is so much stronger than everything built by men.

I finally settled with “Hope” from the 2000 Apocalyptica album “Cult”, and in a way all of these words somehow fit the image 🙂

The album is not available for digital download, it’s not even in circulation in the US, but you can get it via the Amazon Marketplace. It is well worth the money. Hear the hymn on YouTube.

There are 8 comments

Juha Haataja   (2010-09-21)

Great! The wisps of cloud above add a nice touch, as if they had escaped from the rigid urban environment.

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Rick   (2010-09-21)

I wish my instinct was as honed as yours! I couldn't have come away with an image like this if I tried properly. Maybe I try too hard...

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Rick   (2010-09-21)

Of course what I meant to do was put: "No time to compose, no time to think, I just made a series of images." in the quoted bit... :-/

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andreas   (2010-09-21)

Oh I understood it the first time 🙂 No, I really was lucky, not more. When I said the sun was blinding, I really meant blinding. If you like, my creative part came after the fact, in seeing the potential in the image and trying to process it. Shooting was pure luck, but then, if you don't try, you're denied even that, right?

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Rick   (2010-09-21)

So, were you thinking that there might have been a photo lurking in this scene and made your camera ready as you got off the tram, or do you keep the camera in hand ready to shoot at all times?

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andreas   (2010-09-21)

More or less yes. You never know 😄

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Flo   (2010-09-21)

I'm with Rick on this, Andreas. My reactions when presented by a scene like this are never as quick as yours must have been. You had only less than a minute before the light would change and then this scene would have broken up into hustle and bustle. So you caught a magical moment - a pause between actions and decisions. Wonder whether any of those people appreciated this forced pause in their activity? Did some of them "foam at the mouth" to get going again? What did they use this suspended minute in time for - resting one's body, resting one's brain - or worrying, stewing about things still to be done?

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andreas   (2010-09-21)

Ahh, this is not a minute we're talking about, this is a second, maybe one and a half. As other people left the tramway, they rushed forward, blocked my view. But then again, whatever happened in that second, it was luck, nothing more. What I'm pretty proud of, is what I made of it afterwards.

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