Old Tricks

When I was a kid, my family lived in the countryside. Several villagers in the village were building new houses. From time to time, I walked to the construction site to see how the masters worked. As a child, building a house was simply a big game.

On one occasion, a master had to erect a pillar. I saw him put down a heavy plumb line from a shelf. It was an instrument with a lead cone tied to a thick line, and when the weight stopped swinging, a perfectly vertical line was obtained. Although it was designed thousands of years ago, this clever method is still being used today.

I am amazed by the wisdom of our ancestors who designed such a simple but effective technique.

This instrument triggered my inspiration, and I decided to create a surreal composition.

1 - Background: I sprayed blue on a 4' x 4' piece of white paper, then hung the paper in the window.

2 - Plumb: I tied the plumb to the crossbar. While waiting for the model to get ready, I adjusted the aperture to get the desired depth of field.

3 - White: I asked the model to paint her hands white to add visual contrast.

“What is the significance of this composition? Can you comprehend the motivation behind it?”

4 - Lotus: I had the model sit under the lead hammer and asked her to raise her hands high and spread her fingers to form a lotus shape.

5 - Balance: The biggest challenge was keeping a symmetrical shape between the model's hands and the plumb, while avoiding touching the plumb. Even the slightest bump would cause the hammer to swing, and I had to wait for it to stabilize before I could continue shooting. The model then had to start over.

6 - And so the shoot began. This session sounded easier than it was. My model was cooperative, but complained throughout the shoot. She said holding her hands up high was quite tiring. After many adjustments to her position, hands, and fingers, I finally got the shot.

What is the significance of this composition? Can you comprehend the motivation behind it? Why not leave a comment and let me know what you think?