DPChallenge: A Digital Photography Contest You are not logged in. (log in or register) 
 
Challenge Entries
Portfolio Images

You are viewing the last image.
A la recherche du temps perdu - Marcel Proust
A la recherche du temps perdu - Marcel Proust
mariuca


Photograph Information Photographer's Comments
Challenge: Classic Novels (Advanced Editing VII)
Collection: Challenges 2013
Camera: Canon PowerShot G12
Location: NYC
Date: Oct 15, 2013
Aperture: f=5.6
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1:20
Date Uploaded: Oct 15, 2013

[Oct. 22nd, 2013 07:28:51 PM]

No sooner had the warm liquid mixed with the crumbs touched my palate than a shudder ran through me and I stopped, intent upon the extraordinary thing that was happening to me. An exquisite pleasure had invaded my senses, something isolated, detached, with no suggestion of its origin. And at once the vicissitudes of life had become indifferent to me, its disasters innocuous, its brevity illusory – this new sensation having had on me the effect which love has of filling me with a precious essence; or rather this essence was not in me it was me. ... Whence did it come? What did it mean? How could I seize and apprehend it? ... And suddenly the memory revealed itself. The taste was that of the little piece of madeleine which on Sunday mornings at Combray (because on those mornings I did not go out before mass), when I went to say good morning to her in her bedroom, my aunt Léonie used to give me, dipping it first in her own cup of tea or tisane. The sight of the little madeleine had recalled nothing to my mind before I tasted it. And all from my cup of tea.
—Marcel Proust, In Search of Lost Time

This is the celebrated passage the Bear referred to. I did not want to illustrate it. I did not want to use Proust's novel (I had already had an image for the challenge that I'll post in the outttakes), but I walked past an abandoned shop and suddenly Proust came to my mind and, similar to his experience, I looked closely to see what prompted the thought.
Behind a dusty glass I saw these leaves that were slightly moving as if they were whispering and shivering in the same time. It was as if behind this glass a sweet melancholy like a faint fragrance permeated the air.
I picked up my camera and took one shot and posted it without almost any processing, save for some sharpening after reduction. I felt like I had to leave the memory intact.

The comments were spot on and the marks probably a little higher than what I expected. It's a highly personal shot.

During this exercise done for this challenge, it's good to mention what Proust said: It is the work of art that allows us to rediscover lost time.
A work of art. This is what we strive for.

Statistics
Place: 30 out of 86
Avg (all users): 5.9810
Avg (commenters): 6.1579
Avg (participants): 5.9302
Avg (non-participants): 6.0161
Views since voting: 519
Views during voting: 204
Votes: 105
Comments: 23
Favorites: 0

Please log in or register to add your comments!

AuthorThread
 10/23/2013 12:43:08 AM
I'm glad this very personal expression finished well. I'm going to have to read some Proust. It's rotten to feel so ignorant.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/23/2013 12:27:26 AM
I knew is yours... Beautiful
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/23/2013 12:10:56 AM
I truly had this figured for the Posthumous entry
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
10/22/2013 11:29:27 PM
gorgeous, like the layers curling unto themselves and one another. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2013 10:36:31 PM
In search of lost time... I guess the image fits the title but it doesn't compel me. 7 anyway for the technical aspect and for making me think.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2013 05:23:49 PM
nice light on the dead thing. lost time for sure.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2013 02:27:52 PM
A little lacking in the poke department and not sure why you left the shine top right.5.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/22/2013 02:04:08 PM
definitely gives a feeling of previous glory and how that fades
While this topic can be viewed in many ways (everything that is alive or constructed by man will inevitibly fall into this), the presentation here is neither degrading, nor sterile, and that makes worlds of difference
an 8 from me
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2013 11:23:52 PM
A very interesting subject, beautiful tones and shapes, although I feel the light is just a tad dull
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2013 06:43:08 PM
While I don't know that it speaks directly to any part of this novel, I think it does a good enough job of evoking the feeling of the novel.

Frankly, I like this a lot, it's mundane, but well shot and processed, such that something which is otherwise uninteresting now has meaning and interest.

7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/21/2013 03:15:45 PM
4...I'm not familiar with the novel, but the leaves fit the title nicely I suppose. The texture of those leaves is fantastic. What ruins it for me is the edge of the MDF looking shelf they're sitting on. Same shelf also isn't quite level. And the strange plasticy texture in the background fights the organic-ness of those beautiful leaves. I tight crop of those mingled leaves would have lovely, and fitting I think.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/20/2013 09:40:45 PM
I have not read these books but after a bit of research I think I will need to. I rather like this image. Wonderful soft colours yet a powerful still life image. 8.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/19/2013 10:50:37 PM
I am not familiar with the book, but the image doesn't appeal to me. The colors go well together, but the composition could be better, and that yellow area at the bottom is not straight and distracts me from the rest of the image. It looks like there could have been some really cool texture in those leaves and maybe would have benefited from showing more of it.

Gave it a 3
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/19/2013 09:42:30 PM
Beautiful colors and textures. Nice take on the lost time. Reminds me of my father and the way he used to gather rusted autumn leaves in his workshop. 7
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/19/2013 05:37:11 PM
I have not read the story, only the plot summary. This still feels like an ambiguous take on the story, that may or may not have anything at all to do with what the story is about. The colors and tones and textures all work well, but the edge at the bottom of the page could be straightened or removed. It draws my attention from the content as it is. 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/19/2013 04:11:07 PM
Haven't read Proust but I know it's long and can understand how the shriveled leaves may reflect such a long passage of time spend in writing the entire set, or perhaps Proust's regret for "lost time". So the image might even serve as an illustration for a literary work which defies illustration. As to the image itself, the color and detail are suburb but the crop/composition could be improved quite a bit. In other words, while the subject itself (the leaves) are visually appealing, the effect is marred by several unattractive elements such as the black glare (upper right) and the edge of the shelf. Better to burn in the glare and crop out the shelf. And of course, if possible recapture the right edges of the leaves which are currently cropped out. Ultimately the worthy qualities are outweighed by these defects which if corrected could result in a 6 or 7 from me but in its current state, only a 5.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/18/2013 09:39:23 PM
I an one of a few that have taken on theâ Comment on every vote challengeâ. I will post the score I gave you then try to explain my reasons for said vote. Hopefully nothing below will be taken personally, and maybe we can both learn from it..
On this I leave a 6, I donât know enough, or anything of this novel to form any opinion of how it relates. The image is nice and might make for a good cover, but for me the picture contains few words to describe a novel.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/18/2013 12:13:51 AM
I love the texture
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2013 09:27:04 PM
"In Search of Lost Time" or, more commonly in English, "Remembrance of Things Past", Proust's masterpiece and a seminal work of literature. While I might have been more engaged by some stale, dusty madeleines, this works quite well for me: there's a sort of an aching husk of longing to it.

7 from me.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2013 10:16:47 AM
Nice detail. Seems a little monotone. Would have liked to had seen a little more color.
Gave this a 5
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/17/2013 04:30:49 AM
Nice tones, gives a nostalgic feel in line with the novel. the ledge at the bottom is a little distracting. Interesting still life.6.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/16/2013 10:13:21 PM
Very interesting processing on this leaves! Almost painterly! Quite appealing. Wish there was a little more lights/highlights to give it some depth - comes off a little flat right now. Probably crop that bottom strip off too. Anyway, these leaves have surely failed in their search for lost time as must all things in time.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 10/16/2013 11:54:27 AM
I haven't read this book, though I did read a book about this book. The abstract composition reflects the endless twists of the main characters thoughts and remembrances, a good visual metaphor. 6
  Photographer found comment helpful.


Home - Challenges - Community - League - Photos - Cameras - Lenses - Learn - Help - Terms of Use - Privacy - Top ^
DPChallenge, and website content and design, Copyright © 2001-2025 Challenging Technologies, LLC.
All digital photo copyrights belong to the photographers and may not be used without permission.
Current Server Time: 03/11/2025 01:49:22 PM EDT.