dip·tych: n. a work made up of two matching parts
A recent Digital Photography School post presented an interesting concept: using a diptych to tell a story. ”A diptych of two images, or parts of two images, is an impactful storytelling tool ” – the article includes wonderfully creative examples of this storytelling device.
Since reading this article, I have been on the look-out for photographic ideas that could work as a diptych. I found it to be a good exercise in slowing down - to seek the myriad ways that a given subject can be captured so that a story can be told. I had to fight against my desire to move on to the next thing – that “hurry, hurry” that oftentimes takes over my mind.
This patterned stone wall fronts an abandoned auto repair shop. The beautifully repetitive pattern was an immediate attraction. And then I noticed the reflection in a nearby window – there was the pattern again, this time in its negative form, overlaid on vertical venetian blinds – and you know how fond I am of blinds. Here we have the thing and its reflection – cause and effect – a pattern transformed. I think the two images are strengthened by their combination.
For me, this experiment was more difficult than I imagined and I may explore it further in a future Third Thursday Challenge. Improving my storytelling capabilities is a personal creative goal.
What about you? Have you tried the diptych approach to telling your story?
Linking with Texture Tuesday, Anything Goes Edition, hosted by Kim Klassen