Patriot’s Dream #2
Bozeman, Montana
2010
A number of years ago I took a photo of an old American flag hanging in a cabin window in the ghost town of Cherry Creek Nevada (you can see it here). I called it Patriot’s Dream, a title which has generated a number of interpretations. Since then I’ve gradually been collecting other photos of real and painted American flags, generally derelict looking and/or in unusual locations. So, I’m starting a series using the Patriot’s Dream title and will post some of the more recent ones as POTDs over the next few days. Most if not all of the recent photos of flags I’ve converted to black and white images, although I’m not sure that’s the best way to present them since the colors of the flag are so important. Any comments on the pros and cons or the relative impact of black and white vs. color American flag photos are welcome.
So many people have turned the flag into a polarizing symbol that I think it only appropriate that black and white rule the day here!
I think you could go either way on the color/bw thing. Because (for Americans) the flag’s colors are so memorable, most viewers could substitute/imagine the colors even in a monochromatic image.
Or you could split the difference like in this photo a friend of mine did…though the colors were naturally faded.
http://elizabethstonephoto.blogspot.com/2010/11/acadia-postcard-number-11-election-day.html
What about B&W, but keeping the color of the flag? I don’t know how that would look, but just a thought.
I”ve thought about the idea of just having the flag in color. I’ve used that technique and have seen it used to good effect by others (not just for flags), but it is in danger of being overworked–if it is not already.