where the track ends...

Posted by DarkElf (Perth, Australia) on 13 November 2008 in Lifestyle & Culture.

another photo taken in the Birkenau concentration camp - this one is a reverse of the shot posted six days ago... this is what can be seen through one of the two little windows in the guard tower above the rail track leading into the camp...

this is the main ramp where all transports found their way from all over Europe... you can see the remains of the buildings in the reflection in the open glass... right towards the end of the tracks is where the crematoria used to be - they were destroyed at the end of the war... this is also where a memorial plaque is located...

i have gone ever more "creative" with my post processing here - i am contrasting the darker side and feeling with the colours of how the place looks like in reality... no matter how one looks at it, the concentration camp is not an easy place or subject to digest and take in...

thanks to everyone for visiting and commenting... please critique at will - i am looking to learn so any comments and tips are appreciated...

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Comments (28)

grouser from Ludlow, United Kingdom

Nice juxtaposition.
Bleak past - gentle present.
Good composition, though I would have burned in the ledge on the window. It's a little too bright and distracting.

13 Nov 2008 12:07pm

@grouser: good comment there - i was so pre-occupied with other details that this one just skipped my mind completely... something to remember in the future - thanks!

dobbino from Cape Town, South Africa

Really nice contrast between the colour and b/w. It's very well done.

13 Nov 2008 12:54pm

Calusarus from St Sorlin en Valloire, France

nice treatment : B&W, and the only colors are in the reflection…

13 Nov 2008 5:27pm

Betsy Barron from Glenmoore, United States

Very moving image - I love how you captured it

13 Nov 2008 8:01pm

Ronnie 2¢ from London, United Kingdom

Your presentation has increased the power of this image a hundredfold . . the green world of yesterday is reduced to a mere reflection. Amazing.

13 Nov 2008 11:12pm

Walter from Watkinsville, United States

Great post processing. The image of the tracks is dark and dismal just like the path of those who rode them. However, we must also see the beauty in the surrounding landscape which is so lush and colorful. Really nice work here.

14 Nov 2008 3:28am

Monique from Koh Samui, Thailand

Great capture and I love the framing and post processing, very good job!

14 Nov 2008 4:07am

Laurie from New Jersey, United States

Interesting treatment and good concept for this shot. It is another very powerful image in the series.

14 Nov 2008 5:42am

Steve Rice from Olympia, United States

Very nice use of selected color. This is another powerful image.

14 Nov 2008 7:26am

zOOm from Paris, France

A frame within the frame... great juxtaposition of b&w and colors here. It really adds power and strength to your subject. Well done.

14 Nov 2008 8:56am

martie from Rivendale, United States

I LOVE your processing here - where the only colour is reflected in the glass. Perfect!

14 Nov 2008 6:43pm

missparis from France

géniale !

14 Nov 2008 9:22pm

DON from shiraz, Iran

perfect shot!
i like it ;)

14 Nov 2008 9:44pm

Ana Lúcia from Leiria, Portugal

Excellent work on selective coloring...beautifully done.

14 Nov 2008 10:26pm

zanfifotos from La Garde, France

a dark historic place, but hope is in your pic thru the window opened, by the reflecting coloured lanscape, i love this contrast, i love those pictures with deep message

15 Nov 2008 8:33am

PeterFH from Gothenburg, Sweden

Great illustration on the fact that we have to look forward but we must never forget the past. If we remember the past. the chance of a bright future is so much better. Exelent shot and great afterwork.

15 Nov 2008 10:35am

shadebox from Budapest, Hungary

Really great idea! Composition and colors complement each other nicely.

15 Nov 2008 4:05pm

MontereyJohn from Salinas, California, United States

THAT is some nice processing. Well done.

15 Nov 2008 5:19pm

One from Açores, Portugal

Very nice graphics processing !!!

16 Nov 2008 7:07am

Sandrine from Cincinnati, United States

I love this shot! The color selection is excellent!

17 Nov 2008 4:13am

Sylvain from Trois Rivieres, Canada

Nice one !
And the partially colored idea is great. It's like two worlds.

17 Nov 2008 6:02pm

Earnest from Oklahoma, United States

Applause for this treatment, Elf... very different.

18 Nov 2008 12:18pm

Elisa from Massachusetts, United States

excellent composition!! great pp!

19 Nov 2008 2:42am

dj.tigersprout from San Bruno, CA, United States

simply an amazing composition mate -- and splendid coloring too!! brilliantly seen and presented!!

19 Nov 2008 4:20am

Sof from Neuchâtel, Switzerland

Superbe.. rien à redire

20 Nov 2008 6:48am

pedro alexandre from loures, Portugal

hum i like it, although the colors distract a bit, i like the lines.

24 Nov 2008 7:16pm

Eric Fry from Houston, TX, United States

I've been browsing through your photos, Maciek, and this series really caught my attention, especially this image. Although I like B&W for a lot of things, especially for dramatic impact, I agree with you completely about using color in these shots. I think one reason people are so passionate about B&W for photos depicting the legacy of WW2 is because the vast majority of images and film from then was in B&W; it's the way we remember seeing them as we grew up learning about these things. But, the world wasn't in B&W for the victims of these camps; as many were murdered on sunny days as on stormy days. Those who died there saw the color of the eyes of their friends and family contrasted against the paleness of their starving bodies. They saw the red and black of the Nazi flag, and the black, tan and gray uniforms of the Nazis. They saw the crimson and rust colors of the blood of their fellows. They saw the fear and terror ghastly, vivid color.

Perhaps it is hard for many of us to see these things in color because color brings it to reality, to the here and now; B&W lets us have some level of detachment as we can view it as "history." But whether in color or B&W, these photos are beautiful and ghastly, compelling and repulsive, and are a great reminder to us all to never forget the past, so that we may never repeat it.

This photo in particular is absolutely masterful.

Best Regards,
Eric

17 Dec 2008 4:27am

drum from carcavelos, Portugal

great strong work
super PP
congrats and thanks for sharing

14 Jan 2009 9:33pm

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