I have to begin by thanking David for giving me the opportunity to participate in his excellent website.
This is shot in one my favorite shooting locations around Toronto; Whitby's abandoned psychiatric hospital. This place has been deserted for more than eight years and consists of many buildings. We've been there only twice and have seen only a few of more than 50 buildings, since it's very hard to get in some of them (and against the law I assume!) The whole place is pretty spooky and I can't imagine going into most of these buildings alone so we go there in groups.
This photo was shot on location and without touching any of the elements in the shot. One of the reasons that I decided to post this image as my guest entry here is to make a connection with another lonely chair photo from the same series on my own website which was shot in the same facility on a different day.
It was a tricky exposure and I shot using bracketing to bring out details in both dark and bright parts of the image. The reason that I chose to shoot JPEG and not RAW was the fact that I was shooting with Digital Rebel's kit lens which is not of great quality and has noticeable lens distortion and I was planning on using DxO Optics Pro to correct the lens imperfections, and unfortunately it doesn't support RAW format yet.
A single empty chair. In the dark. In an abandoned psychiatric hospital. The sadness evoked by this image in the foreground is almost suffocatingly perfect -- but what I think I love most about this is the light -- the hope illustrated by the leaves -- the open door. One of your best imho to date. Truly inspiring, your photographs are.
Thanks Sam: I've really enjoyed this series on your site so it's great to get one of them here. It also ties in quite nicely with my own lonely chair shot, though mine is a rather poor attempt in comparison. Thanks again for agreeing to take part.
comment byJoe Holmes at 02:07 PM (GMT) on 24 July, 2004
Sam -- the light in this shot is terrific, framed by the dark foreground and the black beyond the broken glass in the distance. I especially love the brown tones throughout, broken only by the green leaves that invade from the right. Beautiful.
comment byHenry at 02:24 PM (GMT) on 24 July, 2004
Having the shot longer vertically than horizontally definitely helps. Very nice use of deep DOF and the contrast in color across the hall is gorgeous.
comment byMarisa at 03:19 PM (GMT) on 24 July, 2004
That's so unusual, but breathtaking.
comment by Peter G. Williams at 08:02 PM (GMT) on 24 July, 2004
Although this image is depressing in terms of the overall message it conveys to the beholder; it captivates the imagination of those who have not experienced hospitalization in a mental health facility.
Good use of existing light accentuates the broken glass above the door at the end of the hallway; further impacting on the effect of illness and anger.
comment byAlison at 09:00 PM (GMT) on 24 July, 2004
Awesome shot. I like the creepy, decay feeling, but then the glimpse of the live plant is almost calming (almost). Life taking over dead... the ciiircle of liiife.
Very nice indeed.
comment byJinky at 10:20 PM (GMT) on 24 July, 2004
Sam I just adore your images from this place. You had me rivited in your description. So eery. Arnt you scared of falling through the floor or having the roof fall on you?
Awesome shot. SIlky smooth!. How in the world did you get such a clean DOF with a f/5 aperture. I noticed you said you bracketed to capture more detail in the light and dark areas...Does that mean you combined two images?
comment byEmily at 02:50 AM (GMT) on 25 July, 2004
sam, great photo, as usual.
the exposure is perfect. and your pictures of places, of settings, are particularly good.
Sam -- I didn't get to comment earlier -- I was too busy tossing about over what to post! -- I think your image is outstanding -- I just love all the images in the series .. this one has a sense of something still going on inside... a very eery feel to it... what sort of freaks me out is the the grass (bird's nests?) hanging from the ceiling about a 1/4 of the way down the hall... and the open fire extinguisher compartment -- all symbolic in some manner... wonderful capture!...
I have to begin by thanking David for giving me the opportunity to participate in his excellent website.
This is shot in one my favorite shooting locations around Toronto; Whitby's abandoned psychiatric hospital. This place has been deserted for more than eight years and consists of many buildings. We've been there only twice and have seen only a few of more than 50 buildings, since it's very hard to get in some of them (and against the law I assume!) The whole place is pretty spooky and I can't imagine going into most of these buildings alone so we go there in groups.
This photo was shot on location and without touching any of the elements in the shot. One of the reasons that I decided to post this image as my guest entry here is to make a connection with another lonely chair photo from the same series on my own website which was shot in the same facility on a different day.
It was a tricky exposure and I shot using bracketing to bring out details in both dark and bright parts of the image. The reason that I chose to shoot JPEG and not RAW was the fact that I was shooting with Digital Rebel's kit lens which is not of great quality and has noticeable lens distortion and I was planning on using DxO Optics Pro to correct the lens imperfections, and unfortunately it doesn't support RAW format yet.
wvs | sam javanrouh
daily dose of imagery
lens
capture date
aperture
shutter speed
shooting mode
exposure bias
metering mode
ISO
focal length
image quality
white balance
cropped?
Canon EF-S 18-55mm
3.58pm on 11/07/04
f5
1/40s
Av Bracketing
+0.0
Pattern
100
25mm (40mm equiv.)
JPEG
Auto
Minor
A single empty chair. In the dark. In an abandoned psychiatric hospital. The sadness evoked by this image in the foreground is almost suffocatingly perfect -- but what I think I love most about this is the light -- the hope illustrated by the leaves -- the open door. One of your best imho to date. Truly inspiring, your photographs are.
Thanks Sam: I've really enjoyed this series on your site so it's great to get one of them here. It also ties in quite nicely with my own lonely chair shot, though mine is a rather poor attempt in comparison. Thanks again for agreeing to take part.
Sam -- the light in this shot is terrific, framed by the dark foreground and the black beyond the broken glass in the distance. I especially love the brown tones throughout, broken only by the green leaves that invade from the right. Beautiful.
Having the shot longer vertically than horizontally definitely helps. Very nice use of deep DOF and the contrast in color across the hall is gorgeous.
That's so unusual, but breathtaking.
Although this image is depressing in terms of the overall message it conveys to the beholder; it captivates the imagination of those who have not experienced hospitalization in a mental health facility.
Good use of existing light accentuates the broken glass above the door at the end of the hallway; further impacting on the effect of illness and anger.
Awesome shot. I like the creepy, decay feeling, but then the glimpse of the live plant is almost calming (almost). Life taking over dead... the ciiircle of liiife.
Very nice indeed.
Sam I just adore your images from this place. You had me rivited in your description. So eery. Arnt you scared of falling through the floor or having the roof fall on you?
Awesome shot. SIlky smooth!. How in the world did you get such a clean DOF with a f/5 aperture. I noticed you said you bracketed to capture more detail in the light and dark areas...Does that mean you combined two images?
sam, great photo, as usual.
the exposure is perfect. and your pictures of places, of settings, are particularly good.
Sam, great shot. Love the colors and fine detail.
This is one of the best photos i've seen. speaks great volumes. love the colours as well.
Sam -- I didn't get to comment earlier -- I was too busy tossing about over what to post! -- I think your image is outstanding -- I just love all the images in the series .. this one has a sense of something still going on inside... a very eery feel to it... what sort of freaks me out is the the grass (bird's nests?) hanging from the ceiling about a 1/4 of the way down the hall... and the open fire extinguisher compartment -- all symbolic in some manner... wonderful capture!...
Only eight years abandoned and plants and bird nests in the hallway - says something about the resiliency of nature, don't you think.