Forgotten - WARNING - Graphic

[jjeling]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4010/4461036885_b400b2e793_b.jpg

[Mad Aussie]

You've taken a tough subject, and done it justice JJ.

[craigUK]

I agree totally with MA wonderfully captured
Craig
:)

[jjeling]

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4038/4472970149_8ddaab3ec8_b.jpg

Kind of ironic that it was a black cat. :sad:

[Iguanasan]

The first one was sad but for some reason seemed oddly respectful. The second one hits a little too close to home I think :(

[Mad Aussie]

The first one was sad but for some reason seemed oddly respectful. The second one hits a little too close to home I think :(
I know what you are saying. The first one almost hid the identity of the victim. I couldn't tell what it was exactly, only that it was an animal. Apart from a hint of blood in the road, there was no real graphic content. I liked it for that reason.

[Michaelaw]

Very tough subject to put forth without hitting hard on emotional strings. As a lover of cats I find the second image disturbing to look at all the while knowing that as much as I don't like to see it, It is a reality, one I deal with too many times on my daily commute. If I remove emotion from the equation, I can understand the validity and craft of the second shot...Poor Kitty:sad: Well done :thumbup:

[jjeling]

My apologies if this has stepped across the line. Photography is something for me that has no limits or boundaries. I know I posted the other picture of the animal, but this one for some reason struck me as well. I see it all the time, as many of you probably do as well.

This one was intriguing to me as much as the other. Being a black cat, it is the opposite of the saying don't ever cross the path of the black cat. Although, I may be in for a real treat after this. The fact that it is black covers up any bodily injuries sustained, with exception to its mouth. Its mouth seems to be screaming silently, but noone is listening. It matches the title of this thread perfectly, forgotten.

[Mad Aussie]

I don't think you ocer stepped any line really ... and you did put a warning in the title ... maybe saying 'Graphic Content' might have been better ... I came in expecting to see a 'Graphic' instead of a 'Photo' :)

[Michaelaw]

I knew what I was getting into from the getgo just by the title. Your description JJ of the scream from the mouth and the reference of forgotten is a heart string puller for sure but in truth I believe, somewhere, in some little farm house, condo, what have you, the very presence of this animal will be missed by someone :) For me, you didn't cross any line and if you had it would have been a line I drew, a line you could never have known existed.

[Iguanasan]

Yeah, I don't necessarily think you crossed the line, however, the first image was sort of a slap in the face and the second image was a little like a punch in the gut that I wasn't quite prepared for. The quality of the images are very good. The topic is difficult.

[jjeling]

Thanks guys. Honestly, I think this is a subject that is often overlooked. We pass this type of thing all the time and more often than not, do not think much of it.

Last fall, I was going through some training for the job and driving about an hour to work everyday. Then one day I went to a football game with a group of people on a bus, to the same destination. The bus stopped in some heavy traffic. Sitting at a higher elevation, I started noticing things I wasnt able to see during my commute. The one thing that struck me deeply was a deer in a ditch. It had a rope around its neck and there were no visible wounds. I would have gladly skipped the football game to photograph the deer but I couldnt ruin the plans of 60 other people.

It sounds crazy, but I have become slightly obsessed with this type of thing and will probably stop a few more times to see if I can give these subjects some more justice. Just know that I am not here to offend anyone, only to bring attention to what is happening.

[Mad Aussie]

Thanks guys. Honestly, I think this is a subject that is often overlooked. We pass this type of thing all the time and more often than not, do not think much of it.
Not true for me. Riding so many k's on a bicycle, as I do, I get some close up (and smelly) views of various kinds of road kill. I usually don't have a camera on me, and when I do it's the compact which I wouldn't use for this sort of shot.
I think about driving back with the van and DSLR but have never bothered. In the end I ask myself what I would do with these photos? I wouldn't hang them on the wall. I've never needed such a shot for my work as yet, and for me, I don't need them for my own creativity or anything like that, so I don't take them.

[jjeling]

I wouldn't hang them on the wall. I've never needed such a shot for my work as yet, and for me, I don't need them for my own creativity or anything like that, so I don't take them.

At least your being honest. For me, I have no reason to use a camera other than the fact that I enjoy doing this stuff. Its a personal journey, and its my way of sharing what I get to see and experience with the rest of the world(no pun intended). As for hanging this stuff on the wall, it will be on mine for sure. I have my ideas, and its going to cost the equivalent of a pro camera setup, including lenses, but its not going to happen for quite a few years. Four walls, four chairs, hundreds of images, and no spaces. Its taking some time to assemble all of the images I would like to have to put up, but in time it will happen. There will be messages built into it through series of images(Credit to Marko) but it will be extremely subtle and will not be noticed unless pointed out. Remember building words through images? It was a fun game I particularly enjoyed, but this will be on a lifesize scale, and the words will be hidden among hundreds of other images surrounding them.

[Mad Aussie]

Sounds huge :)

[jjeling]

Itll be inside the confines of my own house. No plans for taking it elsewhere unless someone on Ebay wants to buy my house for a stupid amount. :headslap: But then Ill try and retain the copyrights to my work! :angel:

[Wicked Dark]

Now that this has gone to 2 pages it is safe for me to come back. I hate to say it, but because it's a dead cat I can't look again. Too violent and senseless as all roadkill is (I swerve safely for frogs I'm so weird). With three live ones in my household it's too close to home. For that reason I wouldn't care to shoot this kind of thing although I have shot dead animals before - a moose (yeah, a whole frigging moose - found it in the woods and it was icky) and a seal on the beach...if its eyes weren't open and covered in sand you'd never know it was dead. Those deaths are easier for me to take because they don't speak to me of casual violence done out of turn. Not to say those dialogues aren't valid, they just aren't convesations I care to have.

[Marko]

I've edited the thread title here JJ to make people more aware of the content.

I think you've done a good job on these JJ even though I looked at the images for a millisecond. Personally I have a very hard time looking at these images but you have every right (of course!) to post them and your project does sound interesting and very provocative.

marko

[kat]

I think if there weren't people able to take photographs of "graphic" content we wouldn't see the whole world.