An Da Shealladh – The Second Sight
Jonathan >
An da shealladh – The two sights : one in the here-and-now, the other as premonition of what will be – or is already become, elsewhere. The gift of second-sight.
Or perhaps I mean An Darna Umhail – The Second Glance. Seeing things differently, from another perspective, at the second look. In this case I’m referring not to the gift of second-sight, of which the folklore of the islands abound, but rather the remarkably different perception of reality captured in, on the one hand, colour ; and on the other hand monochrome. In reality, the latter is intrinsically as subtle and complex as the former. Compare these two, taken at the same time a couple of days ago.
Is the difference a question of technology and human optics? Or is the difference also a question of perception, conditioned by culture, the presence and significance of black-and-white photographs in our formative years : personal factors, that is?
For me, monochrome photographs of rural landscapes evoke the simplicity (or so it seems in retrospect) of the 1950s, before modern technology began to reach into every corner of our lives.
What about you?
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I like both!
J > That’s what I thought ; and that’s why I published both – because I couldn’t decide!
For some reason, I am drawn to the color picture
Not sure why.
J > In this case, me too. The colours in the foreground are significant in making sense of the different materials – rock, heather and grasses,
Yes.
I think that monochrome is sometimes more evocative of mood. Not distracted by colour, the forms are more defined and dramatic. There’s a place for both☺️