The Prison

[Manfred M]

The shot shows the interior cages of the elephant hose at the Higashiama Zoo in Nagoya, Japan.

When I first saw it and the heavy bars, is somehow said "prison" to me. One of the elephants can be seen in the background. The other two elephants were outside in the exercise yard.

[Mike Buckley]

I like the patterns and wonder if the image wouldn't be at least as nice as a monochrome.

[Manfred M]

It does, and I thought about monochrome when I was shooting. I think the problem with going monochrome is that it changes the message that I am trying to portray with this image.

A monochrome version works well and makes a more traditional view almost one that is set in the past. What I was trying to present is that in spite of extreme cleanliness, bright natural light and a warm tone (I did boost the warmth in the colour version), it's still a prison. I loose this content (and hence message) in monochrome.





I also lose the elephant....

[Mike Buckley]

The monochrome version definitely doesn't tell your intended story. Even so, I still prefer it because I'm a fan of patterns and I like the way the patterns bring more attention to the elephant in the rear and vice versa.

[Rebel]

The monochrome version definitely doesn't tell your intended story. Even so, I still prefer it because I'm a fan of patterns and I like the way the patterns bring more attention to the elephant in the rear and vice versa.

+1

[bnnrcn]

+1 to Mike's comment. I also like the way you cacth patterns , shapes and leading lines in daily life Manfred

[JBW]

how could it say anything but prison.

[mugge]

To me, the colour version is bright. Are the bars meant to protect the animals as well as keeping them in? In the mono version. Are the bars a barrier to the viewer as well as keeping the animals in? To me, the two photos are totally different. It depends what you want the viewer to perceive.

[Manfred M]

To me, the colour version is bright. Are the bars meant to protect the animals as well as keeping them in? In the mono version. Are the bars a barrier to the viewer as well as keeping the animals in? To me, the two photos are totally different. It depends what you want the viewer to perceive.

I rather suspect that the bars are to keep the elephants in and protect the visitors from them. Harming an elephant is not going to be all that easy.

In real life, the bars are a middle gray are close to what I show in the colour version. The black & white version is my response to Mike Buckley's comment. When one only has a gray scale to work with I had to come up with a conversion that had a degree of depth.

In my view, I prefer the colour version, as it delivers the message better. A jail (for elephants) is still a jail, regardless of how bright and clean it is and how well maintained it is. I find the B&W version is more of an image about the horizontal and vertical lines and less about the elephants that spend time there..

If I show a shot I took taken just a few steps to the left of where I shot the previous one, I capture a completely different, less threatening looking place, in either colour or monochrome.

[Mike Buckley]

Though I agree that the second composition conveys a less threatening feeling, it does a better job of conveying for me the concept of the clean jail. Perhaps it's the long corridor that I associate with jails.

Regardless of how each of us perceives the photos, the discussion about them is very enlightening.

[John 2]

Though I agree that the second composition conveys a less threatening feeling, it does a better job of conveying for me the concept of the clean jail. Perhaps it's the long corridor that I associate with jails.

Regardless of how each of us perceives the photos, the discussion about them is very enlightening.

+1 to that. As to the original image, I prefer the colour version. The colours add to the depth of the composition for me and although that isn't so important if you see the mono version as a pattern shot, I like the intent of the original composition.

[Shadowman]

Nice concept.

[IzzieK]

I like the composition and the explanation of both as to why you shot these images...I prefer the colour version too as the black and white version looks "cold" to the taste, no variation at all...

[AlwaysOnAuto]

This is very much like the elephant handling facilities at the San Diego Zoo.



I imagine the smaller mesh as seen in my photo is because the handlers are in close proximity to the cage when working on the elephants. No 'reach thru' of their trunks can happen. Note the yellow line in Manfred's shot, clearly a 'stay out zone' for humans.
Nice picture Manfred. I wish I'd had more time to get a better shot.