Dachau, a photo from Bayern, West

Photographer's Note

The concentration camp at Dachau... I can't describe how it felt to walk through the prison, glancing through open doors at small, bleak cells. This picture captures a little bit of what it felt like to be there. I get the same chills running up and down my spine every time I look at it. I slightly altered the colors of the original photo in Photoshop, to bring out more of the reds in the doors and the brick floor. It was taken with existing light. (There were skylights above the hallway.)

tiobibi, ngythanh, xuaxo has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

Robbi-chan (2) 2005-08-16 17:09

The atmosphere there must have been very frightening. What makes this photo interesting is the combination of the title "Dachau" and the image of a dark floor with the diffusing light in the end. It's not so important if it's really "Dachau" or not, but with the title and an image like that it becomes a concentration camp literaley.

webbcam (6) 2005-08-20 20:17

This photograph is effective for two reasons. First, it seems to be two photographs in one, one rooted firmly in reality and the other existing in almost pure abstract; the transition being the distant rectangles of light, which look like doorways themselves. Second, whether by fortune or by intent, the photograph seems ever so slightly warped to the right, and for some reason I think of a sink slowly starting to drain. Simply put, this photograph portrays the warped, dual-purpose horror that drove the Holocaust.

My one problem is the light closest to the camera. It's not the uncomfortable brightness that bothers me (I think it works quite well given the situation); rather, the skylight lights up too much else by proxy. If you could somehow isolate and contain that uncomfortable brightness to a smaller area and let the rest of the distance between the first skylight and the second one way down the hall fall into a stronger darkness...it would be sweet.

Did you find out why the walls are painted in that color to that height?

ngythanh (8458) 2005-09-02 21:36

My love to books is more than to photography. Unfortunately, I could not read a couple of pages in a row now, due to my eye disease.
Lucky me, your picture kept me busy with thought for awhile. Because I rarely have the luxury of thinkng, I must say I appreciate your posting a lot.
Thank you, thank you, Lindsey!

Regards,

Thanh