Photo Essay Project: A Mall Shopping Center

Palmares, #1, Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

“Today everything exists to end in a photograph.”
― Susan Sontag, On Photography

“…even shopping malls…”
― Anon

Try A Random Photo Project?

Why not assign yourself the task of creating a small collection of related images on a specific topic or subject? Most especially–for a challenge!–why not try it with a subject that, upon your first grudging glance, might appear banal and boring?

This could be a nice way to re-energize your photographic eye: to look for images where others only see sameness, randomness, or blandness… to see images where, before, even YOU saw only sameness, randomness and blandness.

A Shopping Center Essay

Thus the idea behind this little example project and the resultant collection of photographs.

First, I chose a subject/location that I normally would never consider as an exciting landscape for making photos–a local Mendoza, Argentina shopping mall. Malls are just not my cup o’ yerba mate. I don’t really like spending a lot of time in these places… “in and out” is my motto, if I have to go there at all.

But, in this mall, I had noticed one particular ceiling that might look interesting if presented in the right, faintly abstract, way. This initial mini-vision led me to start “seeing” other slightly abstract ceiling patterns… and this led me to go forth and lay down some parameters for a personal challenge:

–Find and create 12-20 images for this “essay”

–Images should all be related in basic subject matter, style, dimensions, and appearance

–Almost surely monochrome–and perhaps with extreme high key treatment in post?

–Use the iPhone camera

–Objective #1: Images should give me pleasure to create and to view

–Objective #2: Show that even a very common subject can yield interesting (different!?) photographs

–Objective #3: Ideally, the photos should give the viewer pause as they try to figure out scale and perspective (“What exactly is that? What am I looking at?”)

The Pictures

I have included 20 images here, but this should really be edited down to 10-12 max for any final presentation. I include the extras so you can see how I tried out different compositions and angles. As will be obvious, I went with high key as I “developed” the digital files in Adobe Photoshop Elements and Nik Silver Efex Pro, so don your sunglasses.

Here we have the same oval as above, but with the wider angle view I prefer in this case. We are looking straight up at a massive ceiling with a giant hanging cluster of plastic butterflies in the center. This is the ceiling that initially sparked this practice essay idea…

Palmares, #26 Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

Some geometry play at the mall entrance, and what could be the title photograph for this photo essay: “Palmares” (the name of the mall, due to the many palm trees about)…

Palmares, #9, Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

More geometry comes out in this skylight on a sunny day…

Palmares, #2, Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

The white light at the end of the tunnel beckons you forward with feelings of a deep, warm, reassuring, and total love (as you pull out your credit card)…

Palmares, #11, Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

The next three are obviously of the same ceiling and, I thought, a bit futuristic looking with the high key treatment. I was experimenting with different angles and compositions…

Palmares, #27 Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

Palmares, #28 Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

Palmares, #15, Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

Wavy, watery, liquid waves (on the way to the bathrooms, as it happens)…

Palmares, #29 Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

Again, with the following four, I’m trying out different compositions, including one that is anchored to earth with the Havanna sign (a cafe that offers alfajores and chocolates as well as the usual light fare). I shamelessly cloned out the ugly smoke detectors and sprinkler heads in search of image “purity” (HAL 9000 would probably like it!)…

Palmares, #12, Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

Palmares, #13, Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

Palmares, #14, Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

Palmares, #32 Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

The next four show different angles on the big celestial hole at mall epicenter… one composition is tethered to earth via a tea connection, another via palm fronds…

Palmares, #18 Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

Palmares, #24 Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

Palmares, #25 Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

Palmares, #34 Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

It’s raining butterflies–a closer look at the massive hanging collage…

Palmares, #19 Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

Palmares, #20 Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

Some final patterns…

Palmares, #22 Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

Palmares, #31 Godoy Cruz, Mendoza, Argentina, 2022

As sort of a post script, here are three images I liked but they did not work very well in high key, so I didn’t think they fit in the collection–but they certainly illustrate why this shopping mall is called “Palmares”…