Marele Colector
The Grand Collector
This is a photo taken into the grand Bucharest
collector sewage pipe.
The image consists of a visibility area where the
object photo character is located (the collection
counts three images taken in the canal, all showing
human presences) and of two shadowy areas framing
it. The photographer is supposed to have been
standing in the shadow area preceding the visibility
space. The character from the collecting canal is
seen from one side and he communicates through his
look with the surface (from where we see a bucket
going down). Although it seems impossible, the man
from the canal behaves as if he were not aware of
the photographer’s presence.
The visibility area is assured by two light sources:
a natural light source (the day light is filtered
through the vent) and a second artificial source
(the light of the lantern). The first one spreads
out in a diffuse way, while the second one creates a
spot of maximum light intensity that relates to its
deformed projection on the water surface.
The image ranges among the series of photos that
suggest a certain type of framing (we have seen it
in the series of the religious buildings and it
functions based on certain metonymical
relationships: an architectonic element, as part of
the composition, becomes its frame. In this photo,
the frame is provided by the walls of the canal and
by the water surface which is not as visible as to
allow a reflection of the character. The water does
not become a mirror. Nevertheless, the scarcity of
visibility renders the shadows extremely visible.
