Thursday, September 11, 2014

Grunge - found and fashioned

Grunge is a category of music, a style of clothing and, looking for the origins of the term, probably was a back-formation from the slangy adjective grungy, which in turn may have come from grubby, dingy, etc.  So why would one want to portray that in a photographic fashion?  Actually, let me put it differently, because one could certainly want to report on fashions that are patterned after a grungy look, but what I mean is this: when I'm confronted with the kind of actual decay of human creations that makes me not want to touch anything, well, I do my best not to touch it.  I'm not a forensic photographer, and don't particularly aspire to be one!  Even so, there is a certain kind of fascination in seeing what happens to metal as it rusts, to fabric, plastic, and leather as they degrade, to buildings as they succumb to weather.  So, from time to time I've done visual explorations of worn out things, abandoned devices, buildings in disrepair, and so forth.

What was different today was that I was inspired to simulate the appearance of many years of neglect.  On what?  A car interior, not a terribly old one by my standards, but old enough.  It had actually been beautifully maintained, but what can I say - the styling of the vehicle made me think of treating photos this way.  I shot them normally, making some adjustments in Snapseed (a free iPhone app), and others in Adobe Lightroom.


One perspective on grunge wasn't enough, so I tried another:


These shots were done with an iPhone 5s, resting against the windshield.  Recognize the car model?  I'll identify it in the comments, as soon as one of you asks (or knows the answer).

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5 comments:

  1. Is it a Bently? A Mercedes-Benz? A Jaguar? A Toyota? A Rolls Royce?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Is there a prize if we correctly ID the vehicle?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oops, I would have offered a prize, but just answered it myself before your request appeared. You win anyway, as you clearly wouldn't have asked if you were not prepared to submit the answer! ;<)

      Delete
  3. Think small! It's a Fiat Cinquecento (500), manufactured some time before 1975.

    ReplyDelete
  4. The quiz hangs on the first question, won't work for me. I did look at the overview, and I know a fair number of the answers, but certainly not 25/25!

    ReplyDelete

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