wwp@yahoogroups.com:
I promised a theme
G. Donald Bain 2008-Dec-19 02:44:00
Traditionally the last event of the year has been without theme, an
opportunity to share whatever you feel has been your best work of the
year. Which is of course a theme, in a way.
But I know some of you relish the challenge of accepting an
assignment, finding a way to exemplify a given theme in a panorama,
and to shoot constrained within a narrow time frame. So, if you need a
theme, here is one for you.
'Tis the Season - December 18-23.
All the major holidays have some sort of visual symbol, some
decorative scheme or iconography. In the US we are bombarded with
various themes and symbols continuously from mid-October to January
first. First the pumpkins, ghosts, witches, haunted houses and scary
spiders of Hallowe'en. Then instantly it changes over to turkeys and
Pilgrims until Thanksgiving. The Friday after Thanksgiving (Black
Friday) is the busiest shopping day of the year, and it starts off a
solid month of Christmas, which has by far the largest number of
distinctive associations.
Christmas has developed a triple personality: a pagan celebration from
northern Europe; a Christian holiday; and a mad orgy of consumerism.
Plus December also has Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, the neo-pagan celebration of
the solstice and other cultural variations. They all contribute
elements to the theme. Let me just list some of them.
Christmas trees, glass balls, popcorn on a string, colored lights,
candles, evergreen wreaths, holly with red berries, poinsettias, big
red bows, bells, angels, cherubs, heraldic trumpets, stars, manger
scenes, sheep and donkeys, camels, wise men, menorahs, dreidels, Santa
Claus, elves, sleighs, reindeer (red-nosed and regular), snow-men,
wrapped presents with bows, stockings hung from the mantelpiece,
lights strung along the eaves, illuminated figures on the lawn,
Christmas carols, Handel's Messiah, White Christmas, It's a Wonderful
Life, a partridge in a pear tree, and on, and on, and on.
So your assignment, should you choose to accept it - create a panorama
that says boldly and clearly - 'Tis the Season!