Monday, February 25, 2008

Mood

Here is the original photo.
Here it is in Black n White.
and here in sepia tones.

My thoughts as I look @ these three are about mood, feeling, and atmosphere. The house is a charming subject for me. Large and old, once stately, plain but sturdy. It provided shelter for many, or a large family, judging by the size. The house is lonely and neglected, even though it served well. Some small attempts have been made to preserve it-there are metal sheets over the doors.

Nevertheless it is lonely and forgotten. Anyway, about mood. Look at each picture. Feel it. How does it affect you.? Is it different?

For me the difference is striking. At first, the color picture, as taken, is old and tattered. It is interesting and evokes stories of imagined inhabitants. The black and white looks colder, distant, aloof. This is connoted by the coolness of the blacks and grays. The sepia is older still and ominous or evil in feeling.

I've been thinking about these different moods of the same house for a couple of days. It has provoked a curiosity about how I may color the scenes in my life. Do I? Is it conscious? Can I influence it? I know my children are happier and easier when I an happy and calm. Can I copy that coloration? I wonder. I'd like to.

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