Submitter's name:	Steve Goss
Title:	Le processus de la vie avec des choix dans la vie LXX
Gear used:	My wife's Stylus zoom, hand held
Diaphragm:	Unknown
Shutter speed:	Unknown
Film used:	Agfa HDC 400
Technical information:	The flash was turned off, since it was not working. The camera has since been repaired by Photoshpere in Dallas. (Abstracts take a heavy toll on equipment).
Subject information:	Following is only a brief of synopsis of the actual subject information: This is an allegorical reference to che choices one makes and their effects on one's life. One may chose to open the door and pass through, or pass on by. Simply examining the door will not elucidate the effects of your life's choice. Only the process of actually opening the door and stepping through will provide the didactic experience of gaining the knowledge only found by making the choice. The darkness between the door and the floor is another symbol that one cannot know the future until it is experienced. Consider the sign by the door. It is a reference to others who have gone before and have left markers to either guide your way, or to guide you into perdition. The paralellism of the sign to the door is an indication, but only an indication of the care with which the predecessors have marked the way. The frame around the door contrasts with the surrounding wall, indicating that choices have boundaries. One cannot chose and also not chose. Consider also the power outlet. This is symbolic of the power you have to make your choice. Further, you have a choice of outlets from which to draw your power, although the power ultimately comes from the same source. Additionally, the light fall off toward the edges of the picture is symbolic of the limited amount of information one has when faced with a decision. The carpeting is indicative of how choices have a tendency to sneak up quietly, unannounced. Or, could it be that the choices are not sneaking up on us, but we on the choices? The door handle is symbolic of the mechanical aspects of choices. In the making of a choice, something happens, a lever is pushed/ not pushed, a word spoken/ held back. symbolism is extended to the shadow of the handle itself; ephemeral, yet real and indicative of the shape of the handle. The symbolism shown by the rubber base molding is left as an exercize for the viewer.
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Comment left by: Olaf Greve (no e-mail specified)

Oooohhh, you've really outdone yourself this time. :) The symbolism behind the rubber? I'll have a shot at it: How about that it symbolises the flexibility one encounters when actually taking a decision (i.e. passing through the door)? Naaaah...;)

Comment left by: bbbean (bbbean@beancotton.com)

You can't fool me. I know that this is really a picture of teh electrical outlet, and the door is only there to fool us. Clearly the message of this photograph is that we can't take the obvious choice. Going through the door would only take us to another passive situation. On the other hand, bringing something of our own and plugging into the outlet would allow us to truly create and change the universe. Very tricky, my friend!

Comment left by: Hans van Veluwen (no e-mail specified)

The problem with doors is that there is only *another* side, never *this* side. Sometimes you may think you are on *this* side of the door, but when you step through and look back, you'll see that you were wrong...

Comment left by: Bill B (no e-mail specified)

Ahhh, This handle needs to be pulled, not pushed eh?

Comment left by: Lex (lexjenkins@hotmail.com)

Hmm...somebody missed their medication today... %^)

Comment left by: Ken N (image66@yahoo.com)

Guys, I think you've really missed it. The florescent lighting is representative of the dimming of our culture to the point where we are reading things into this photograph that aren't really there. Makes me want to knock on the door and quickly run around the corner.

Comment left by: Mickey (no e-mail specified)

I can't believe you all have missed it. The 'exhaust'ive (ing?) description is actually symbolized by the apparant projection imaging ON the door of bubbles rising through to the water's surface while out of focus fish school about in the background. Outstanding misdirection and bokeh!

Comment left by: siddiq (no e-mail specified)

oh my god...i'm sure the photog is having a good chuckle of this one & will do so for a long time. rorschact (sp?) test anyone?

Comment left by: Gregg Iverson (giverson@webkorner.com)

The photographer needed a TOPE entry and was not having success. This one was a reject from a former shoot. By using it and misdirecting us with the long discription, we are led to believe it is something it is not.

Comment left by: siddiq (no e-mail specified)

...or maybe we're just not on the same "elevated" level ;)

Comment left by: Hans van Veluwen (no e-mail specified)

Actually this picture has most elements that could make it a world class (L)OMograph: 1) boring subject 2) unsharpness 3) pincushion distortion 4) so-so exposure. However, the (L)OMographer made one serious mistake: he looked through the viewfinder, framing the subject and holding the camera straight. Tsk, tsk, what a shame! What a waste! *Real* (L)OMographers shoot from the hip...

Comment left by: Ira (irakahn@netvision.net.il)

Leave it at the thumbnail It's just a hardboiled egg with past& future cooked out Mayonaise might help.

Comment left by: The photog (no e-mail specified)

Some notes: To Greg Iverson: No, this was not from a previous shoot. It was done within the TOPE time frame. To Hans van Veluwen: You mean I spent all that time rotating the image after I scanned it and all I did was mess it up? Well, I won't make that mistake again.

Comment left by: Daan Kalmeijer (no e-mail specified)

I think we found a new Dadaist here ...

Comment left by: Ian Nichols (iann@argonet.co.uk)

Never mind the picture, any ideas as to what symbolism should be attached to the photographer's repeated use of the past participle "chose" when the context would indicate that the infinitive "choose" is more appropriate. Was Cartier-Bresson wrong? - is the decisive moment so ephemeral as to be impossible to truly capture?

Comment left by: The photog again (no e-mail specified)

I need a grammar checker.

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