divine by richard ashe

8 Responses to “divine by richard ashe”

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• Patricia Lay-Dorsey

  December 25, 2008 at 7:15 pm

  An iconic ageless portrait that speaks without words. The blown-out light & dense grain add to its power.
• erik

  December 25, 2008 at 11:05 pm

  the blown out light comes from HIM HIMself… seriously, i could say a “touching” pic, but i´m so agnostic i prefer to say perfectly captured moment.
• Damon Coulter

  December 26, 2008 at 8:29 am

  Wow that is an amazing pic! The fact that pastor is half hidden behind the shapes to the side and seems almost to have ambushed the bald man below, who is none-the-less ectastic at his capture, gives it a spooky, slightly malevolent quality. Pretty much how I see organised religion. Great moment great image.
  Wow again!!
  Damon
• bobblack

  December 26, 2008 at 10:41 am

  ” ‘Praise the Lord,’ said his father. He did not move to touch him, did not kiss him, did not smile. They stood before each other in silence, while the saints rejoiced; and John struggled to speak the authoritative, the living word that would conquer the great division between his father and himself. But it did not come, the living word; in the silence something died in John, and something came alive.” –Go Tell It On The Mountain, James Baldwin…

  absolutely reminds me of Baldwin’s great novel of Harlem and the live of the division of family and light….besides all the dividing and haunting grain (always a slave of grain myself ;)) ), but i love is the power of the light to divide and to encase simultaneously…an example of how the properly of photography is used metaphorically to show the essence of what spiritual relinquishment, baptism feels like….a burst of light cascading amid the waterfall of shadow that drenches and saves or divides….that is the fidelity to place and light…

  great to see the pic…

  cheers
  bob
• david bowen

  December 26, 2008 at 7:13 pm

  richard

  i really like the photo for it’s strong diagonal and the paradox in expression fo the subjects.. teh priest with forehead screwed up in concentration against the ‘saved’ with the kind of face i have just after..erm.. yes.

  the pantomime which religion is sometimes made into is kind of saved by this photo, with the real effort and real relief illustrated here.. which makes me think.. lucky snap or can we see more of your work online, please? google is fruitless.. fruitless..

  at this time of celebrating the new year with a new baby i’m often asked about his christening.. to which i say he’ll not be christened.. to which people say he must for ‘tradition’.. to which i say ‘PAH’.

  this photo, if any, lends an indication of a good reason to be involved with organized religion..

  .. happy birthday jesus .. sorry it’s a few months late.
• Kyunghee Lee

  December 29, 2008 at 9:15 am

  I feel very constitutive line and nice blown out light…

  Thank you, Richard.
  Kyunghee Lee
• Richard Ashe

  December 30, 2008 at 10:07 pm

  David, I appreciate your comments and insight. Both the men in this picture are deacons. The younger man is being ordained and the man above him is an established deacon. Laying on of hands is a part of the tradition of deacon ordination. I shot the entire ordination and have posted a selection of photos from this project, which is still in progress. I’m mostly self taught and new to showing my work and again truly appreciate all of the support and criticism I’ve received.

  Thanks

  Richard

  P.S.

  I just checked my site and it’s down because I’m broke and need to pay my mobile me bill. I’ll fix it tomorrow so give me till the evening and you can access my photo’s. I have prints if you are in NYC.

  R.
• Paul Treacy

  January 4, 2009 at 2:48 am

  I agree with Damon. Spooky. Well seen.