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Blindness - José Saramago
Blindness - José Saramago
Alex_Petrini


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Classic Novels (Advanced Editing VII)
Collection: Outdoor Portraits
Camera: Nikon D600
Lens: Nikon AF DC Nikkor 105mm f/2.0D
Location: Montesilvano - Italy
Date: Oct 15, 2013
Aperture: f/2
Date Uploaded: Oct 15, 2013

[Oct. 21st, 2013 05:47:29 PM]

Thanks God for inventing white contact lenses:



Original JPEG image, of course ;)

[Oct. 22nd, 2013 05:59:36 PM]

Saramago is one of my favorite authors. I read many of his books and Blindness is by far the one I love the most.

It's been a fantastic week of comments. I appreciated all of them (mmm... most of them) and the way they have analyzed my shot.

What I have been searching for, was a blind and confused gaze, not a horror image. It's funny that someone found it too scary and others not scary enough - that's cool :)

As for the eyes, they are of course white lenses, nothing has been done during the editing stage, as you can see in the original. Of course I couldn't create a white blindness, because it could be ground for a DQ.

The rain is not real. We had a can full of hot water we had to pour on the girl (my niece) before the shot. We had a hose we plugged into a town fountain, we were in a crowded street, and one of us was on a garbage bin pouring the water from above her.

Statistics
Place: 8 out of 86
Avg (all users): 6.5833
Avg (commenters): 7.0000
Avg (participants): 6.5122
Avg (non-participants): 6.6269
Views since voting: 1136
Views during voting: 258
Votes: 108
Comments: 25
Favorites: 1 (view)

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AuthorThread
 12/02/2013 04:54:20 AM
Oh, i've just noticed this. Fantastic shot. I like Saramago very much as well and, like you, Blindness is probably my favourite.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2013 11:38:42 PM
Congratulations Alex.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2013 09:33:39 PM
This is so freaky and good at the same time,
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2013 09:11:52 PM
Great shot, congrats on TT!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
10/22/2013 07:38:31 PM
a little bit too clean, but still disturbing. 5
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2013 06:21:04 PM
Whoa -- nicely done! The hand in the air was a great touch. -9-
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2013 05:52:36 PM
I like this falsified yet visceral expression of wildness. I like how that resonates with the title. The blindness is due to the falsity. We are blind because we think those are her eyes. It's very difficult for us to stop thinking about it. This gives us a lot to think about, which redeems the low-energy composition. After all, why should we be distracted from this meditation by composition?

I mean, those are false eyes, aren't they? Aren't they? Now you're giving me nightmares. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2013 05:45:09 AM
definitely freaky contact lenses
i like the shallow DoF for this and the location is great with the trees creating a tunnel to empahsize the growing darkness
a 7 from me
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2013 08:53:07 PM
Strange and beckoning in a horror film sort of way
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2013 02:39:53 PM
I love it. You didn't really capture the darkness of the novel, but you did get the blindness right.

If she only looked scared and miserable this would be a 9 or 10.

As it is? you get an 8
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2013 01:00:01 PM
As to the inspiration, it seems to work very well as a representation of the book which is where the majority of images in this challenge fail. And I was enjoying this image very much at first glance until I realized the eyes were manipulated in post processing. Now all I see is this defect in an otherwise very well executed shot. I think her blankly staring eyes could have been a wonderfully natural effect. Regretably, my vote is only a 4 in this form.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2013 11:25:47 AM
I love this. What a great shot and well processed.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2013 10:57:25 AM
6...Its freaky, and kind of cool. But the eyes remind me of the whole werewolf/vampire thing that is so popular now. It would have been interesting to portray the "white blindness" of the afflicted. The B&W conversion has nice pop, and the rain is quite lovely.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2013 05:40:12 AM
looks more horror. 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2013 02:09:49 PM
This image is amazing. I really like the B&W conversion, DoF and lighting. Those eyes are great an I particularly like the inclusion of rain. 9
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/19/2013 02:23:05 PM
Lovely shot, and the tie to the story is strong. The model walking in the rain seemingly blind fits well. The tones are nice and I'm glad it's black and white. Not sure I'm ready to call it a classic, but I didn't mark it down for that. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/19/2013 04:37:57 AM
I an one of a few that have taken on theâ Comment on every vote challengeâ. I will post the score I gave you then try to explain my reasons for said vote. Hopefully nothing below will be taken personally, and maybe we can both learn from it..
Not knowing the book I did a wiki on it. Between your image and what I read on Wikipedia I feel the need to search out my next adventure. Thank you. BTW a score of 9.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/18/2013 07:42:31 PM
I don't know anything about the book...

Freaky eyes. I like the composition and the lighting.

Gave it a 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2013 08:33:21 PM
Very good
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2013 04:12:17 PM
A well produced work, good choice with mono and the rain. I like the symbolism of distress/despair. I have a dislike for those eye prop things from overexposure to the zombie zombies, but they reinforce the story. Composition is good with good bokeh. Nice work.8.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2013 01:34:02 PM
Just as the title says. A good image. I am trying to understand why it does not touch me though, which is of lesser importance but I am one of the viewer of this photo. Must be the directness of the message.
I particularly like the rain, like pointy arrows of the sky.
6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2013 01:45:49 AM
An image that really grabs you. Love it!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/16/2013 03:30:34 PM
I love the composition and processing. The rain, the lighting, the wet hair, all of it great. Not so sure about the pose with her hand though? Seems somewhat awkward.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/16/2013 08:30:52 AM
Creepy photograph, but very well done!
Her eyes are so interesting, and the expression on her face makes the photograph that much more interesting.
Great B&W conversion. Lovely DOF.
And the bokeh in the back is wonderful. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/16/2013 06:20:14 AM
Great job and well executed.
  Photographer found comment helpful.


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