Monday, May 28

Comfrust Madrid



Twin streams pierce the lingering darkness of Madrid's AM drive-time where the sun comes late but rains come early. The morning's metal muddle squirms from both directions - as if one flow is seduced to fill the hole the other's created. A sort of equilibrium of ballast. Pity that the soft stuff within those machines won't trade homesites so that the morning snarl goes flaccid. 

GEEK STUFF:  How'd I do it? Well I pointed my 7D Mark II's Canon EFS 17-85mm through a bus windshield to grab the scene. Then in PSCC-2018 the image was kneaded with an array of tools I created along with those from Topaz and Alien Skin so that each of its parts could be first plucked for independent attention then reassembled to highlight my question about commute-frustration (comfrust?).

How badly did the Apian Way clog from morning traffic into ancient Rome? Were the arteries of classical Athens clogged with squirming streams of carts, riders, and carriages? Did Egypt or Mesopotamia need traffic cops? Is congestion a symptom of civilization's  success or its curse. Certainly it is a tax that seizes hours/days/months/years of life. In a way, that's the harshest tax of all. 

2 comments:

Cedric said...

This is trippy. Not just because of the subject matter. Not just for the eclectic explosion of colour. But also for the fact that this is supposed to be morning!?! I keep looking at the picture, telling myself, "it's morning" and my brain answers back: "Yeah, right." Cognitive dissonance at work. If I didn't know you, I would feel compelled to argue and tell you that you got it wrong.
I shouldn't be so flummoxed because I did that once upon a time. Back when I lived in Europe. Commuting to work in the morning, in the dark. Coming home in the evening, in the dark. In the winter months at least. And oh my, what a depressing affair that was. Enough to make anything go flaccid.
But I do like this picture. It grabs me as much as your van Goth-esque van did.
Reading the "Geek Stuff" section reminded me that I had a conversation with someone recently who felt that digital paintings were a cheat, in that all that needed to be done was to take a photo and apply some painterly filter and voila! A digital painting. So I pointed him in your direction after telling him that what he'd described was for the lazy who were of the ignoramus persuasion rather than the artistic. He didn't get back to me. Not surprisingly. I don't think he knew shite about art.
Oh, and getting back to the commute, I would say for many people it would be a curse, and congestion an affliction on their psyche. I work mostly from home now and only travel to work on rare occasions. Usually out of peak hours. I have to say, that it does make a big difference to my general wellbeing. Despite spending more hours working.

Andreas said...

Ted, that's incredibly powerful, including the huge lobster attacking from above :)

Honestly, this is a masterpiece. It's one of those rare images where you can get lost in - and enjoy it!