Friday, June 11, 2010

They call it isolation

We watched Three Days of the Condor the other night. The 1975 movie with a cute Robert Redford and a gorgeous Faye Dunaway. She is a photographer in the movie; he is a book translator, CIA researcher. At one point when they are in her apartment, he comments on her black & white photos being lonely.

I have been thinking about this very statement since then. Sure, many b&w's are lonely. Most things that photograph remarkably well that way are metal, steel: bridges, benches, etc.


Then again, for me, b&w creates a sense of other worldiness. We do not see in b&w, so the perspective on an image is stunning.



It is also lovely utilized to enhance the texture of an object or even a surface, such as a face or a petal, even fish.


So I am not sure if lonely is the right notion. Black and whites can hone in on a sole impression. Maybe that is what he really meant. Or maybe just like with a poem, it is the observer who denotes the interpretation.