I was trying to portray the childhood of a significant number of children in this world, being abused (locked in closet would be the least of that), the ray that the child sees in the closet represents hope.
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Thank you for your comments (at least the ones that are constructive :P)
As far as how long it took for this shot -- about 30-40 minutes. I had to adjust hte lightbulbs in my bathroom and the amount of light going through the door. Then I took the photo and saturate it a little more in photoshop to give the nice yellowish color (so no, it's not spot edited if you're wondering, it's a matter of using hte level tool to give it the greatest contrast and dim it a bit, then saturate the colors to make it more effective. The carpet would take the color and turns it into something unnatural looking which is what i was hoping for, as it's a creme carpet) Remember: it's very difficult to capture the original color in shadows -- our eyes adjust in real life but for some reason it doesn't work for photographs (i can tell the color is yellow when i took the photo, but it will come out as a greenish tint due to the carpet shading, it just wasn't THIS GREEN without saturating the color a little more)
And no, i was never locked in the closet, i had my share of corporal punishment, actually, more than my share. I do know people who were traumatized as a child and this is for them. I didn't want to do a happy childhood as a submission. So, it looked like a lot of people either HATED it or loved it as the score shows :-)
I did a similar photo but yours is so much more powerful and conveys the emotion much better. I gave you a 10. Don't grieve about the score. It's a riddle to me every week again ;-)
Interesting twist to childhood. Just goes to show that not all are the same. The idea behind this photo is great. I like how the light shines in and how it's lit like that, however t he color is odd to me. It looks liek it's been really post edited. I could be wrong. Maybe it was taken with night vision. I'm not sure what those photos look like, so who am I to say? nice photo and good luck in the challenge.
Congratulations on taking a risk! As it's turning out very few people were willing to show the side of childhood that some children endure. I admire your courage! Also did a good job of executing it. Good luck! Grayce aka Gracious
This would have taken some deep thought to understand without the title but that's cool with me. I like your concept and especially your photo. Very effective indeed and your light is excellent. 9 - floyd
Initially I thought the yellow projected some sort of an object in space. First of all, I commend you on using a "tough" subject. It's a wonderful break from all those toys, toys, toys. And yes, I get transported in what the child in that closet sees: nothing except that little bit of light. Yet, I find that from a photographic image I would like to see a little more. I know see three dark shapes at angles and 3 light shapes at angles. That's okay but from a graphic design point of view it is not particularly strong. Wish I could say that better. Emotionally it has a lot of impact but visually it doesn't. And I feel a good image is the sum of those two. Hope I didn't offend. 6 Journey
the title is absolutely horrendous. try not to use that space to explain your photograph. however, the use of light and the composition of this shot is great. very well done. i know you're taking a hit on the subject matter, but it's a very artistic shot with a very real subject matter, and i think you've done it well. good work.
I find this very evocative. Because I first looked at the photo without looking at the title, I found something in this that did speak to me of my own childhood, even though it was so far from the experiences originally intended to be conveyed - I remembered those evenings when I'd been put to bed, but could hear interesting grown up chatter coming from downstairs - the TV or guests with my parents - and I crept to my door, where the light seeped in, and wondered whether I should go down and interrupt or should try and go to sleep? When I read the title, I realised the intention behind it, and felt very sad. It wasn't too much of an extrapolation to understand and even visualise the kind of childhood this actually represents. Even where the "message" of a photograph may seem limited in terms of audience understanding, there may by other messages it whispers also. 6, Kavey
Rays of hope would have sufficed as a title… The image is quite powerful and provides a glimpse of a darker side of growing up. In terms of the challenge it fits. I think the only way you could have improved the image would have been to make the visible element sharper.
The shot is excellent and well framed. Without reading your title, the memory this brought back to me was being afraid of the dark and having my parents leave the bedroom door just slightly ajar with the hall light on. Through that small opening I could hear Perry Mason (TV show) playing in the front room. P.S. I hope being locked in a closet was NOT your experience. I know of a young woman that was. It affected her mentally.
I suppose someone could have experiences this as a 'childhood'. I know that Harry Potter lived primarily in the cupboard beneath the stairs at the house on Privette Drive :) - jmsetzler
I keep thinking of this photo at strange moments throughout the day. It has an enormous amount of emotional feeling. I truly believe that a photo that makes one terribly upset has touched on a deep level and has thus succeeded. Great job.
Another dark image of childhood. This seems like it would be a hard concept to convey, you seemed to have executed as well as could be hoped for. The photo itself doesn't stand with out the title. That's not all bad, but I prefer photos that require the title less. 7 Swash
Interesting use of negetive space... Conveys feeling well... I think I would have liked the convergence of the lines lower in the frame, But that's just me... The one thing that really didn't appeal to me was the color of the light... Yellowish-green? I think a red hue would have worked better, but again that's me...
08-28-2002 Re-evaluating some of my previous selection .........Originally this photo did give me a sense of fright and was very haunting.....now that I am over the shock I can look at it objectively and score it closer to what it should be. Original idea, Good placement, form is great, good contrast = 8 syamjonimi ;'-D
I am getting the feeling like our parents treated us like shi? belts and closets my stepfather made me strip and he used a metal pancake turner on me so my ass would welt up
this is a very arresting shot, dark and painful meaning very effectively protrayed by the crack in the doorway, by the contrast. I like how the light plumes fade into the dark
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