DSLR Photography Forum

To quote out of context is the essence of the photographer's craft.
- John Szarkowski

Photographers go out of their way to tell a story, capture a scene, or save a moment. But for the next couple of weeks, try to create photos that are missing something, or that leave something unsaid. A subject without context, a reaction without a cause, an action without an object, a pause without a beginning or end: be creative and decide how you want to create a photograph that leaves something out.

The surrealist movement calls this "dépaysement", which roughly (?) translates into English as "disorientation". From a surrealist point of view all photographs exhibit this trait, because they are all small pieces taken from the larger world. We know that any lens, from a fisheye to an ultra telephoto, excludes parts of the scene. So for this assignment let's take that even farther, and make photos that strongly convey a sense of something being left out or missing. If you imagine a photograph of someone caught in the moment of throwing a ball, but without the ball included in the image, you'd have no choice but to supply your own explanation for the scene.

As always, I encourage new images that are taken with the specific assignment in mind. But sometimes images that have something missing can be significant favourites, and for this assignment I'd love to see your older picks as well. And because this is an assignment and not a competition, remember to post early and post often. There's no need to wait for a perfect photo. And don't overlook the creative possibilities of Photoshop if that's something you enjoy.

Well, I'm not sure if my concept of this assignment is what you intended, but when I read the assignment, I thought of this photo I took last fall.

Aine, I like very much your picture. The color of the dress goes so well with the rest of the picture... I am missing to see detail in the reflection...

It happened the same to me when I read this assignment I thought about this picture...

This picture is part of series I took the other day, with the rest of the pictures it has some meaning but as one picture it doesn't. It was a clear mistake from me. Because of the position I had to take the picture I didn't had the chance to take anything about the story. I didn't think about moving around, only when I saw the pictures I thought I had miss the story here.

aine-caitlin, I like your image, and it fits the assignment perfectly. Besides, I never want to be too clear or 'strict' about what should be included: time and again I've been astonished at the creativity and imagination that people bring to an assignment, far exceeding what I had expected to see.

Irma, your photo's a great example of needing the viewer to supply their own explanation for the scene. Seeing them makes me want to know more, but by not seeing more, I'm compelled to think of it myself instead of waiting for an answer to be handed to me. There's enough of the story to be the start of a great narrative.

Here's one that I took this weekend, as I was starting the thought process that brought me to this assignment:



Seeing me playing with my P&S for this composition made my nieces say that I just take photos at random. It's hard to argue with them, but this photo is exactly what I wanted, and I really like the feel of it. I'm sure there's a lot to hate about it, so I'll probably submit it to my club for judging.

Mathew, this is a briliant assignement - I am not sure that I can think of anything right now. I will think about it and post at some distant time. Pavel

Matthew
I like your picture a lot... I understand now what you said in the introduction about excluding parts of the scene. I haven't got the time to read about "dépaysement". I will try to get some writings to learn more about this style.

When I saw this scene on Corpus Christi Bay the other day, I thought of this assignment.

When I discovered Danni sleeping on the window sill yesterday (yes, she was asleep like this) I had to shoot it.
The geometric relationships and humour are what prompted me to take this shot, and it was only afterwards I thought it might be appropriate as a literal interpretation of "missing" as well.

Keith, very sweet picture I like it a lot!!

Kombi... Lovely... beautiful geometry in your picture, and the colors match nicely.

I saw this man in Eutin, and thinking about my assignment I took this picture.

It's nice to see so many great photos in this assignment, which is one of the odder ones we've done recently. Adrian, the photo of Danni is one of the most striking I've seen anywhere in many months. I might clone out the little smudge on the right side of the chair, but otherwise I'd say that it's absolutely perfect. It's also a great fit for this assignment. Thanks for including it here.

Another one from last weekend, filling some empty space: