Without reading the comments so far i was left thinking technically great photos, nice presentation, but whats is the meaning behind them? What is the meaning for the series?
In terms of continuity it would have been better for the level of wine in the glass and bottle to drop in each succeeding frame, indicating a progressively enhanced state of inebriation and "courage from the bottle". Also he's a rather rude host not pouring for his "date", but OTOH he is a nerd. I think the 6th frame with the flower in the mouth would be a good place to end it, since the other two which follow are not nearly as funny. I didn't grasp the context of the writing on a arm, probably a language barrier. Rather than the curved KB cord and doggie placemat I think simply having the cord come straight into the foreground without the placement would better convey the idea of a connection with another computer.
chris78cpr wrote:
Without reading the comments so far i was left thinking technically great photos, nice presentation, but whats is the meaning behind them? What is the meaning for the series?
Chris
Yes, I agree ... anybody can take technically great photos
the first 5 looks like good stock photos-the last few are a bit stalkerish-also, agree with chuck on your props (wine, glass, etc)-i think that's part of why the series seems disjointed-it looks like you're telling a story but the pieces are not all present
Hmm, the notion that a nerd going on a fancy date might be another reason why some of the folks here are confused:
Take it with a grain of salt, but personally I see nerds taking dates to robo wars, star trek conventions, etc . I'm a bit nerdy myself, but not a true nerd =P
Also, he's too well pruned and groomed to look like the sterotypical nerd.
steve erkel (spelling?), revenge of the nerds, etc, will give you plenty of info if you want to ensure your message gets across.
It's not so obtuse... a nerd is either taking a computer on a date, or is on a virtual date with someone in a chatroom.
Great pictures, and I didn't find the theme difficult to understand. As more of a bittersweet reference to your humourous images, I remember a close friend of mine who was engaged to a woman on the other side of the world; she couldn't come into the United States on account of visa limitations. They eventually married and are quite happy, but for about two years, their "dates" and "anniversaries" looked a lot like this.
lordarka wrote:
Not only is the above statement completely untrue, but the underlying creative motivation behind these "technically great photos" is not so oblique.
Great series by the way.
Arka C.
I respectfully disagree -- first off, anybody can take technically great photos by buying a slew of expensive equipment, reading a few books and practicing in the studio. To suggest otherwise is a little pretentious I think. Not saying that's what this photographer is doing, but we have all seen photos having perfect lighting and focus but lacking meaning, vision, motivation, I could go on...
Obviously this photographer knows the photos are technically fine. Notice that no one in the thread has even addressed any technical details of the set other than the placement of props. In this case, the props further serve to obfuscate the meaning of this set.
Who is this man having a date with? As the viewer, am I a person who is having a date with a preoccupied "nerd", or am I a computer monitor and the man is on a date with someone in cyberspace? What is the purpose of the dog napkin? Is this even a napkin or a placemat? Why are the flowers suddenly in his mouth in shot 4? Is he doing the Tango or something? What on earth is the meaning of the tattoos? Is it a list of what he should bring to the date, and if so, why is it on his arm? Why is everything mis-spelled? What is the difference between shots 7 and 8? Why are both of them there? And the over-arching question is just plain "why"? This shoot was obviously meticulously planned and set up, I'm sure taking hours to prepare and complete... maybe even days.
The set is also highly stereotypical and overgeneralized, almost to the point of being slightly offensive. I don't want to be mean, but I can't imagine what the motivation was to take this set. Maybe the OP can give us some insight. Just looking at the photographer's other work, he is highly talented ... but this set seems way out of place.
. I'm a bit nerdy myself, but not a true nerd =P