wwp@yahoogroups.com:
June WWP event theme: Time
Keith Martin 2009-May-07 12:25:00
The theme for the June WWP event is Time.
The precise dates and times will be announced separately, but I
wanted to write a little something to help people get started with
their ideas...
We can't see, touch or taste it, but Time affects us all.
We have many phrases to describe the passage of time and its affects,
including "the ravages of time", "time flies" (whether straight like
an arrow or curved like a banana), "time waits for no man", and "time
takes its toll". Many of these phrases are used as warnings to watch
out and keep track of time, as "running out of time" is a common
experience for us all.
We speak of time running at different speeds, subjectively at least;
when we're enjoying something it flies past, but when we're doing
something deathly dull it crawls. Einstein found that time really
does run at different speeds in an objective sense too, as set out in
his theory of relativity - although this doesn't explain why waiting
for a kettle to boil always seems to double the time it takes.
Whether we regard something as maturing or degenerating, we are
describing the effects of the passage of time. Time is evident in new
growth woods and ancient forests, in natural erosion and weathered
storm pilings, and in the dynamism of small children as well as the
quiet of the elderly. It is shown in the accumulation of dust in
quiet corners and in the rush-hour crowds of commuters seen every
weekday in cities around the world.
We live our lives by timetables (or schedules, however you choose to
pronounce the word). We use alarms to wake us up (although in my case
I never actually hear the alarm), we know when we have to leave the
house in order to get somewhere by a certain time, and we try to get
to bed by a certain time as well. We speak of good or bad timing,
free time, time alone, 'me' time, time for change - yet, despite how
vital time is to us all in every part of our lives, we cannot
actually affect time in any way; it marches on.
Showing time in some way, capturing its effects or essence in
pictures, can be a challenge, but it offers tremendous creative and
aesthetic possibilities. Time-lapse photography, very slow shutter
speeds and other ways of using time to affect the picture-taking
process itself are as valid as concentrating on recording aspects of
time within the subject.
How will you convey time in a panorama?
Keith