I came across retrospectiv a few days ago. I know nothing about them, but the concept seems cool. The Flash site bogs down for me, but I care less about the interface and more about the photos. They’re not all great, but the few that are good are really good.
I’ve been thinking about the "low" vantage point ever since I saw the site, and I have to say I’m intrigued. In fact, the past few mornings this week, I’ve been walking a slightly different route to the train – crossing North Avenue halfway between Wood and Milwaukee. What this means is that, instead of crossing at the light, I sorta just walk right across the street when traffic’s died down enough.
The past few days, I’ve noticed that there typically comes a moment (a rather prolonged moment) where the traffic from both directions ceases and the road is clear for a solid 20, 25 seconds. Yesterday, I decided to run out and place the camera right on the street:
I’m not sure how I feel about this one. I like it, but it’s not terribly compelling to me. I played around with the idea of submitting to retrospectiv, but I may try to take a few more and then see.
I guess what’s exciting is that this is a bit like formal poetry. Instead of a rhyme scheme constraint, or a set number of syllables per line… I have this angle (30 cm. above ground or lower) restriction that gives me something to work with/against.
A quotation that almost every aspiring poet knows is the one by Robert Frost, comparing "free verse" (poetry without formal restrictions / constraints) to playing tennis without a net.
A favorite quotation from Goethe that I like is: No mastery without boundaries.
