A worm casting an eye heavenward at this doleful view would have no reason to hope for reincarnation. It is another tumbling down building, its distress heightened by the awful angle. But of course that is for us to think about, not for the lowly worm.
The initial image, already virtually monochromatic, shows simple diagonal lines, a little detail in the peeling paint, and a mid-morning sky typical of summer on the Front Range. In other words, even taking into account the extreme angle, nothing special.
The duotone, however, made me sit up as the clouds became distinct and, with their greenish cast, menacing. The roof’s shadow falling on the siding takes on the appearance of human intention and hopefulness, as if someone had taken to heart a suggestion about brightening up the neighborhood and decided to start with the chicken coop.
The pastel allusion to complementary colors is a little worrying. If this is somehow what is hiding out in the benign old gables of unattended houses, what else do we have to worry about?
Maybe the worm knows.
The photo at the top of the page was for me something of a compromise. The instructor preferred the extreme angle of the flowers, above. Although the angle was less extreme, I by far prefer looking up through the alchemilla leaves with the dew drops, below.
next page: Bird’s Eye View; Duotone or
return to index