One Hour Photo by inquisitive dragonfly
January 25th, 2008 10:18 AMNo dragonflies were harmed in the completion of this task.
What will allow the original state or passage of time to be inferred? My selected medium was water, with an application of temperature.
"The One Hour Thaw". From solid cube to floating island in ~60 minutes. No attempts to extract DNA from metal will be made, but the dragonfly emerged unharmed.
melting.jpg
After the questionable worthiness of the first attempt (see below), a separate, more solid ice cube was prepared with the dragonfly centered for maximum artistic effect. The ice that had melted over the hour forms an ocean of water around an ice cube ocean.
inicebubble.jpg
First idea: "The Jurassic Park Effect". Encased in amber for a million years...or freezing water for an hour. A single hour wasn't enough to freeze the cube solid, and I wasn't sure the lack of freezing really showed the passage of time, so melting (different ice cube, same dragonfly) gets the glory. Notice how the dragonfly's last breath has formed a bubble in the upper right corner, my best idea of showing "only one hour". The bottom melted away from the heat of my fingers shortly after this picture was taken.
inice.jpg
An alternative take of Phase One. I liked the double image effect of the dragonfly, but the angle on the bubble is less entertaining.
9 vote(s)
GYØ Ben
5
Augustus deCorbeau
5
Lincøln
5
JTony Loves Brains
5
SNORLAX
5
Tøm
5
Flitworth
5
Not Here No More
5
Jellybean of Thark
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(none yet)11 comment(s)
I wondered about the "one" photograph, but I really couldn't decide between which hour (freezing or thawing) or with picture of freezing...I'm far too egotistical and wanted to show off my photos. =D
Hm. I'm not so sure. I'm kind of a stickler for numbers, and while I appreciate the use of melting ice to progress the passage of time, this isn't one photo. I get that you took some nice photographs, but the task was "one photograph".
I do appreciate the continuing theme.
Hmmm. I would state that an argument can be made that only one of the two photos marks the passage of time.
The first photo sets the stage, shows us the norm, captures things at a certain state.
The second photo shows a change in that state, and therefore only it shows the passage of time. Therefore, to me, the task is completed appropriately. The first photo is merely a reference.
Also, it reminds me of a performance piece once done by Laurie Anderson, where she had a pair of ice skateds embedded in a large ice cube. She put her feet into the skates, got pushed out on stage, and played the violin until the ice melted enough for her to step out and walk offstage.
Pretty. My first time lapse movie was of ice melting.
I don't think the "one photo" thing really matters. Even with seeing beyond sight which asked for 1-3 photographs, just about everyone posted more,
http://sf0.org/InkTea/Seeing-Beyond-Sight-Photo-Challenge/
my favorite one had a couple hundred photos
http://sf0.org/MFC/Seeing-Beyond-Sight-Photo-Challenge/
It's actually meant to be two separate hours...the dragonfly in ice is exactly 1 hour 2 minute after I plopped it into a tray, with the viewer meant to infer that the ice must have started out as just water. The dragonfly on the ice island is 59 minutes after a completely different ice cube was removed from the freezer. The same dragonfly was involved, but I deliberately didn't take any pictures from the beginning of each hour. If you're going to be a stickler on numbers, be it on not-quite-accurate hours.
If I'd had any patience at all, I would have run a simultaneous hour of one dragonfly melting and the other freezing, so they would both be the part of the same hour. It didn't occur to me.
D*** it. Whose idea was this? Now I have to go dunk more dragonflies in ice.
I'd like to point out that while I like to be loosey goosey with proofs, and I'm a dragonfly appreciator, Inktea knows whereof she speaks on one technicality: she wrote the task in the first place.
I trust the community will decide eventually how this should be interpreted so i'm not going to be all dogmatic (and not flag, heaven forfend). Though I feel the point is well taken that in fact the number of photos is a critical issue. How many different ways can we express a crucial chrononautic tension: the dialectic between a medium that captures single moments in time, and the passage of a multitude of those moments? I believed it could be done.
Dear Lowteck,
Honestly- I was irritated by the seeing beyond sight thing, too- and was really really torn about posting an extra picture. It *is* hypocritical of me to fuss about it, and it's not like I'm going to flag her completion or anything... But, having written the task myself, I know that the intention was one photograph.
And again, I know it's hypocritical- I thought of that exact same task you linked to... but it was one of those limitations that makes a task just a little challenging, and has something to do with the particular language of even the title of the task. Again, not going to flag, not going to complain again, just wanted to voice my intent when writing the task. I swear, I'll button up now.
love,
inky
This is a vote for completing the task.
Twice.
These 2 photographs represent 2 separate hours.
I dislike confusion (I'm a scientist and/or writer in my other incarnation). The arrangement of pictures has been adjusted in an attempt to clarify that there is one photo per hour (alright, alright, there are two photos of the first one, but I like them both!), as in line with the interpretation of the task I could get without, as noted in previous praxis, figuring out how to set a one-hour exposure.
Naturally, controversy may now reign on the appropriateness of changing an already-submitted praxis...but then why else would there be an edit button? (Don't answer that).
I don't care that more than one photo was taken.
This is awesome, and you can *prove* you documented the passage of an hour, which isn't an easy thing to do!
Nice.