Mom's clothes peg


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plastic

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Aug 19, 2004
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In A Suitcase
sg_clothespeg.jpg


On Mothers' Day, I was taking a smoke and looked out of the window and saw the laundry being left out to dry... then I started thinking about the years and years when my mom washed all my dirty laundry, making sure I had clean diapers when I was a baby, clean uniforms when I was in school, clean fatigues when I was serving in the army, clean shirts when I was out to work, clean sheets on my bed where I sleep... all these years of washing and hanging out to dry without complaint. This well used clothes peg is evidence of her years of unconditional love, evidence of her love for the family she has given her whole life to take care of. Thanks mom. Happy Mother's Day.
 

this is one of those pictures that doesn't need much explanation, and a powerful title says it all. frankly i only scanned through the writing with little interest, afraid that it'll kill the lovely imagination i'm having just by looking at the title and the picture.

beautiful :thumbsup:
 

nice shot, and writings....

heart warming! reminds me of how i may have overlooked those little things that my mom (in fact, i believe every mom) have done!

thanks for sharing!
 

Heartening.. Dude.. You got a very creative way of expressing your love for your mum.. Well taken shot too.. Cheers!!
 

excuse my brutal honesty, but I can't lie.
this shot does nothing for me unless I read the essay... even if I do read it, it works only a little... maybe a shot of yr mom with the clothes pegs would work? Or a shot with alot of clothes pegs on a sagging clothes pole? I dont think I can do better, maybe it's easy for me to comment as a viewer but all this shot conveys to me is that it's just a single old peg.
 

Rev said:
excuse my brutal honesty, but I can't lie.
this shot does nothing for me unless I read the essay... even if I do read it, it works only a little... maybe a shot of yr mom with the clothes pegs would work? Or a shot with alot of clothes pegs on a sagging clothes pole? I dont think I can do better, maybe it's easy for me to comment as a viewer but all this shot conveys to me is that it's just a single old peg.

This single clothes peg has history, just like all our mothers.
 

Rev said:
excuse my brutal honesty, but I can't lie.
this shot does nothing for me unless I read the essay... even if I do read it, it works only a little... maybe a shot of yr mom with the clothes pegs would work? Or a shot with alot of clothes pegs on a sagging clothes pole? I dont think I can do better, maybe it's easy for me to comment as a viewer but all this shot conveys to me is that it's just a single old peg.

Forgive me, but what you are suggesting is not art photography, but photojournalism/snapshot/candid photography. I guess we are approaching photography differently in this case. But thanks for suggesting it anyway. Shooting something so straightforward is what I want to avoid these days. I guess I am looking for something different altogether. Thanks for the brutal honesty. I am a little way past that style. Maybe 15 years ago.

It would be good for you to use your imagination a little more and envision what I am trying to show here... then this shot will then start to make a little more sense. Maybe.

ps (general) : Pardon me and forgive me for my defensiveness. I am approaching photography as my art, my canvas, and I will defend my ground until someone can convince me otherwise. But please, criticise and comment nevertheless. Don't let my defensiveness stop you. But if you are a rookie wanting to rattle and impress, take a number and be ready to get ignored. I apologise beforehand and state my ground. If you understand what I am doing, I appreciate that, if you don't, it doesn't bother me either. I share for the pleasure of myself and those who appreciate it, and for those who don't, skip my postings altogether. I am not interested in the shallow flaming and you-know-it-all-attitude. Been shooting enough and owned enough gear to cut you down on your crap. Rev, I am not referring to you in this comment... just that I am a little shaken by the DP thread and all the comments made. Its scary how technical people are trying to show artists what art is about.
 

G-man said:
This single clothes peg has history, just like all our mothers.

Thanks for articulating this for me. Yes, this single, boring, worn, plastic clothe peg reminded me how much my mother (and almost everyone else's mom) has sacrificed themselves and sometimes deprived themselves a lot of finer things in life so that they can bring us up. A tear was rolling down my cheek after I shot this and gave my mom a hug afterwards. Its just a realisation of how much, sometimes, we take our mothers for granted. I opened the wardrobe the next day, and put my head into the drawers and smelled the fragrance of clean laundry and thank God that I still have a chance to give my mom a better life now since she is still around.
 

This shot in B&W or sepia would be even better I think ... good shot never the less
 

You're welcome to be defensive, in fact, I'd welcome it. I get sick of the 'it's nice' comments sometimes.
It's an open internet forum, hope this isnt news to you, because U cant please everyone and there'll always be 1 DPish person or ignorable idiots to attempt reduce your photo to nothing. Not everyone's gonna be nice & sweet.

Again, here's my brutal comments but at least its honest...
To clarify anyway (dont care if U guys read it or not), when I view pics and make a comment, it means the pic is at least worth some mention because I took the time to view it, understand it... but I can't sugar-coat my comments. I dont expect U do the same either for me but I wont be rude & echo shallow comments just to cut you down because believe or not, I understand everybody sees things differently. Hope U can understand that.

It's not a straightfoward shot, but I see it as a straightfoward shot. I gave alternatives but you viewed them as snapshots/photojournalism, that's fine with me. But I disagree with all of you, the single clothes peg still doesnt carry a strong message to me. Because there's more to laundry than the clothes peg... the ironing, carrying the heavy load of wet clothes, folding, cleaning stains, patching holes, sewing buttons, pruney wet mom hands (wouldnt that have MORE history on the whole bringing you up, cleaning thing, plus fingerprints are unique =P ).... so there i've used my imagination once more, are you satisfied with my imagination this time? Maids do the laundry too, I do the frikkin laundry too. If you like the photo alot, then IT IS GOOD enough, but it still does nothing for me to convey a message without 100 words.

I hate it when so-called artists dont treat other artists as artists in their own right too. Everyone's an artist because everyone's an individual, so nobody has that right to even call others technical people. What I do enjoy is honesty, sincerity, whether the person is technical or so-called self-delusioned artists.

ps: I visit www.iphotoforum.com photo critique section, there's probably 10 a$$holes there and they dont sugar coat their comments... want to try this photo over there to get a different perspective? Might not be for everyone tho...

Happy shooting anyhows...
 

for me the most powerful image derived from this image is that of a mother's hands, the most affectionate hands every child knows, protective and tender. this is easily the most 'global' image that most people around the world can understand. it is indeed difficult for me to understand how another person cannot see that, but then it might just be my point of view.
 

What I like about this picture is How Dirty the Peg Is! But it is still serving it's primary purpose of clipping clothes. This reminds me of a virtue that soon (or maybe already) lost together with older generation.

The fact that you choose to use this related to Mother is what touches my heart too. She save every penny so that the family can have a good meal and fortunate child like me can still go to Kindergarden in those old days....

I don't care how technically good or how artistically beautiful the picture needs to be. You did a great job with your description and photo to convey the love of mother.

plastic said:
sg_clothespeg.jpg


On Mothers' Day, I was taking a smoke and looked out of the window and saw the laundry being left out to dry... then I started thinking about the years and years when my mom washed all my dirty laundry, making sure I had clean diapers when I was a baby, clean uniforms when I was in school, clean fatigues when I was serving in the army, clean shirts when I was out to work, clean sheets on my bed where I sleep... all these years of washing and hanging out to dry without complaint. This well used clothes peg is evidence of her years of unconditional love, evidence of her love for the family she has given her whole life to take care of. Thanks mom. Happy Mother's Day.
 

Rev said:
You're welcome to be defensive, in fact, I'd welcome it. I get sick of the 'it's nice' comments sometimes.
It's an open internet forum, hope this isnt news to you, because U cant please everyone and there'll always be 1 DPish person or ignorable idiots to attempt reduce your photo to nothing. Not everyone's gonna be nice & sweet.

Again, here's my brutal comments but at least its honest...
To clarify anyway (dont care if U guys read it or not), when I view pics and make a comment, it means the pic is at least worth some mention because I took the time to view it, understand it... but I can't sugar-coat my comments. I dont expect U do the same either for me but I wont be rude & echo shallow comments just to cut you down because believe or not, I understand everybody sees things differently. Hope U can understand that.

It's not a straightfoward shot, but I see it as a straightfoward shot. I gave alternatives but you viewed them as snapshots/photojournalism, that's fine with me. But I disagree with all of you, the single clothes peg still doesnt carry a strong message to me. Because there's more to laundry than the clothes peg... the ironing, carrying the heavy load of wet clothes, folding, cleaning stains, patching holes, sewing buttons, pruney wet mom hands (wouldnt that have MORE history on the whole bringing you up, cleaning thing, plus fingerprints are unique =P ).... so there i've used my imagination once more, are you satisfied with my imagination this time? Maids do the laundry too, I do the frikkin laundry too. If you like the photo alot, then IT IS GOOD enough, but it still does nothing for me to convey a message without 100 words.

I hate it when so-called artists dont treat other artists as artists in their own right too. Everyone's an artist because everyone's an individual, so nobody has that right to even call others technical people. What I do enjoy is honesty, sincerity, whether the person is technical or so-called self-delusioned artists.

ps: I visit www.iphotoforum.com photo critique section, there's probably 10 a$$holes there and they dont sugar coat their comments... want to try this photo over there to get a different perspective? Might not be for everyone tho...

Happy shooting anyhows...


;) Now we are all talking.

I don't expect the world to be sweet and nice... the world has never been forgiving, more so these days and multiply that with Singaporeans and New Yorkers... (I have to admit we are up there in the top ten as one of the most nastiest people on the planet)... :bsmilie:

As for your comment and observation, well, I have to respect that, but I don't think I will go down that path... like I said, that shot was never planned. I "saw it" while taking a smoke at the window and suddenly all the years of my mom's sacrifice just hit me... took the camera and took the shot as a tribute to my mom and many moms out there who have gave themselves completely for the love of her family.

Calling some people technical people... well, I am surprised you have never met one... I have met tons over the many years of shooting... nevermind... just meet more people :think: . I hate it most when non-artists call themselves artists and have done s_h_i_t but to bas_tar_dise the name of art. Everyone is an artist in their own right? Well, you see it that way... not me.

I guess at the end of the day you still don't see the shot the way I saw it, so I have to respect you for that. There is no right or wrong in art... its subjective so you have your right to your own opinion. I love that shot for sure. So did my mom when I presented it to her. (Whew, thankfully, she loved it).

So-called artist? Hmm... nevermind... you don't know who I am anyway... you are like me, another person behind the monitor at the meantime. You have your life and I, mine. Again, you can call me whatever you want. I respect that too. Your right, as you have said.

whatever "definitive photographic" forums and whatever posting there to get critism or recognition, that is for insecured "so-called artists" who are still searching and/or lost... sorry, I don't play in that arena... I am quite happy with what I shoot and what I am as a person... an asshole to you maybe, but still happy with what I am, like you said, an individual and unique.

(I think I am getting quite personal now) so I think I better stop. Its nice to exchange these few replies with you... if you have the grace, I would like to buy you coffee one day when I am back in Singapore. It would be nice to take this argument in real life. We can maybe meet up at an art gallery/photo exhibition and share our thoughts. That would be nice. I am sure then, we will come to agree, its all about the word "subjective".

eikin : Thank you.
 

Looks like we are starting our little drama here as well... this must be the "drama mama" season in CS...

The thought made me laugh... :bsmilie:
 

feels that the colors lack punch. and would prefer more bokeh to let the peg stand out. if the peg can leave a long shadow on the background, lagi better.

just my preference and feel. not a judgement. ;)
 

maybe if the yellow peg behind is changed to another less distracting color.... :think:
 

Actually, I feel the yellow clothes peg is very important to this shot. It suggests all that's clean and new and disposable. And the fact that you can't see any details on it contrasts with the main clothes peg which is old and worn and shows so much character - basically an allusion to plastic's mom. It may not be a powerful shot on its own but it because its complemented by a powerful title, it becomes something more. To me, therein lies the creativity and artistry because the simplicity of the shot coupled with a good title evokes such strong emotions.

I'm just wondering if a simpler title might have done even more like "Mother's Day" or something.
 

coffee sounds good... =)

anyway... no hard feelings... last argument on the photo here.
Since U mentioned NY, the clothes peg has no meaning if I see it from an american perspective because they machine-dry their clothes...

the iphotoforum was a suggestion to get another perspective, sorry I didnt mention that clearly. I also feel that you cant take harsh comments because people like DP disturbed you...

Another observation if U'll allow me, is that the approach to the shot is snapshottish. You may have a strong feeling at the time but the effect isnt strong. Maybe my expectation for every photo is that people conceptualize their shots and actually think about what & how to 'capture' the essense, not just 'point&shoot....
 

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