Montague Bay, Galiano Island

[amolitor]

I honestly have no idea what to make of this one. I shot it because it seemed like a good idea, and when I look at it it still feels like a good idea, but I am neither sure that I like it (although I am fairly sure I do), nor do I have any clear notion of what to make of it.

Perhaps you folks can make it out, somehow.

[Riaan van Wyk]

..nor do I have any clear notion of what to make of it.

I agree. 

[luxborealis]

I know where you're coming from. We all make photographs that fit this pattern. However, not to be facetious, but if you, as the artist, "have [no] clear notion of what to make of it" then what's the point? Trash it and spend time on something you wish to express/communicate. Who are we to put words in your mouth? It may seem harsh, but: "There's nothing worse then a sharp image of a fuzzy concept." – AA

[RSL]

It's probably a winner, Andrew. It reminds me of Andreas Gursky's "Rhine II" which sold at Christie's for 4.3 million, U.S. You can see a copy at http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/art/8884829/Why-is-Andreas-Gurskys-Rhine-II-the-most-expensive-photograph.html. Andreas says: ". . .it's an allegorical picture about the meaning of life and how things are." And Christie's described it as "a dramatic and profound reflection on human existence and our relationship to nature on the cusp of the 21st century."

All of which leads me to the conclusion that if you can come up with B.S. powerful enough (in a nasal sense) to get this picture into an auction at Christie's or Sotheby's, you may be able to retire on the proceeds. You might try something about the allegorical significance of the loss of stability for a once well-holed post as it's uprooted and moved toward the sea, to drift endlessly toward unknown lands, a significance that reflects on the drift of once-stable human life uprooted by modernity.

[amolitor]

Mine has a log, which should be good for another half a million or so. Plus it's all angled, suggesting simultaneously man's descent into hell, and his rise to heaven.

If I only made the photographs where I had a very clear concept to express, I might press the shutter once a year. Most of us, I think, muddle forward with a mixture of unclear ideas and intuition, occasionally producing something that clarifies the original idea and just about as often producing something just as clear but completely unrelated to the original idea. Twenty years ago I was a research mathematician, and that's pretty much how math goes. I've written around a million lines of software since then, and that's often how THAT goes as well.

So, I'm ok with my process.

My point here is that I don't feel that this is a bust, it's just something that I like that I can't quite make sense of. If I thought it was shit, I would flush it without a second thought, like I do with almost everything else I shoot.

[Slobodan Blagojevic]

... I am neither sure that I like it (although I am fairly sure I do)...

Pardon my limited knowledge of English, but which one is it? Are you sure or are you not sure?

[popnfresh]

My point here is that I don't feel that this is a bust, it's just something that I like that I can't quite make sense of. If I thought it was shit, I would flush it without a second thought, like I do with almost everything else I shoot.

Here you go. This version should be worth six figures, at least.

[amolitor]

Pardon my limited knowledge of English, but which one is it? Are you sure or are you not sure?

Remove the parenthetical for the neither/nor construction to make more sense:

viz I am neither sure that I like it, nor do I have any clear notion of what to make of it.

The parenthetical was to stave off the inevitable 'if you don't like it why are you posting it' commentary.