What I love about the Weekly Photo Challenge is the ideas it gives me, often completely out of the blue. For instance, I thought I knew just which photos I was going to post for this week’s ‘Dialogue‘ theme until I read this:
‘Dialogue is an engaging conversational exchange.
When it comes to photography, dialogue can be perceived as a consensual interaction between two images.
Placed next to each other, each photograph opens up to meanings that weren’t there when viewed alone.
Each composition reveals the photographer’s specific sensitivity to certain content or visual elements.’
So I had a re-think and what came to mind almost immediately was a photograph I took while on board the Arcadia cruise ship back in 2006. This was our honeymoon you see, a two-week cruise around the Caribbean. Neither of us had ever been on a cruise ship before and we haven’t since. We are often asked if we will go again and although we never say definitely not, we also don’t say definitely yes.
If the opportunity (and finances) ever presented themselves again however, I’m sure we wouldn’t turn it down.
Neither of us had ever suffered from seasickness before the cruise, so we smugly assumed that we would be fine. During a rather rough crossing around the Bay of Biscay in early April (returning from the sultry climes of the Caribbean to sleet and snow back home is no joke), hubby and I, although no doubt looking a little green around the gills, were some of the few who were able to stick it out without being confined to our room.
I do wonder though that this might have been because I discovered, quite by chance, that a greasy burger and a pint of Stella are the perfect cure for seasickness. But that is another story which I will save for another time…
Meanwhile, back to that photograph. One of the several bars on-board Arcadia is named ‘Electra‘. There you can dance and drink the night away should you so wish. What we particularly loved about it was the way beams of neon lighting lit up every surface of the place. It was, well, electrifying.
One evening while there, we got the idea to try a glass each of Crème de Menthe. Daring weren’t we? I remember being fascinated by the way the fluorescent lighting bounced off the table and the way it caught the contrasting emerald liquid shimmering in our glasses, so of course I decided to play around with the camera. You know, have a little fun.
Then I remembered another photo of a glass ceiling taken from a different part of the ship. What do you think? Do you see any particular ‘dialogue’ going on here?
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Just as an aside, and for a little more fun, here are the photos I was going to post originally, illustrating as they do a bit of ‘dialogue’ in the literal sense. Well, almost…
If a picture paints a thousand words, then I wonder what these guys would have to say:
“Oh come on, I was only joking!”
(c) Sherri Matthews 2014
“Fine! Be that way, see if I care!!”
(c) Sherri Matthews 2014
* Frosty Silence*
(c) Sherri Matthews 2014
These three photographs were taken with my mobile phone camera at Budleigh Salterton in Devon, a most delightful little seaside town that we discovered last weekend. More photos to come soon.
A View From My Summerhouse 
I love these photos and your captions for them. Seagulls probably talk just like that, Sherri! I love the others also. You know, for some reason, WP is not letting me “like” anything on a lot of people’s blogs, including yours lately!
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Thanks Patsy, that’s what I thought!They captured my attention when I saw them close to one another like that and then I got the idea 🙂
I’ve had that problem with WP before and not sure why. Sometimes I find turning my laptop off or refreshing the page helps. Hopefully it is just a blip. If not, you could try going on WP’s support forums and look to see if any others are having the same problem…
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Wonderful take on, Sherri! 🙂 Great captures of these two seagulls. The a glass ceiling is beautiful.
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Thank you Amy! I’m glad the pics of the seagulls came out the way they did as I wanted to get them in the right position!!! 🙂
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I would never have thought seagulls would make such an expressive photo sequence. The green drinks and lights on the ship look fun.
I would have been in my cabin begging for anti sea sickness drugs at any hint of a roll – not good with motion, me. At least you and hubby got a taste of the action with your sea legs.
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Thanks Denise! Those seagulls made me laugh when I first saw them and it made me think about what they might have been saying to each other 😉 The strange thing is that I grew up going boating and was always fine as was hubby but we’ve since come to think that the vibration of the engine made things worse, in addition to the rolling which does feel very different on a big ship like that. A first experience for us both so who knew?! Not sure if we would do it again… !
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The ceiling photo has Close Encounters written all over it. Teehee. I guess the relationship between the two photos is shape = colored / colorful circles? 😮
The seagulls have reached stardom, I see. 😀
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Haha…yes Tess, you are spot on, I’m so glad you pointed that out! It could be a spaceship coming into land couldn’t it? I should have saved it for a trick shot 😛
The challenge this week seemed very ‘artsy’ to me so I tried to play along with the ‘dialogue’ between the two photos and wondering how differently others would interpret it. I love yours with the coloured circles in the glass. I was thinking too the way the light seemed to electrify both the glasses and the ceiling.
Ahh…yes, those seagulls. We should give them names lol 😀
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❤ 😛 Yes, name the seagulls but I would love to eavesdrop on them as well. Anyone have a spare iPhone of something to record these guys?
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Haha…what a great story that would make 😛 ❤
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Obviously the vibrant colours trying to outdo each other, then the lights: both the ‘flecks’ and the circular lights (seen as soft reflections on the right) and finally the swirling of liquid. In the left image the blues look as though they represent the movement of waves, and then you have the green liquid swirling in the glass. I think they compliment each other very well. Lot’s going on there 🙂
And as for your seagulls, I have a couple of similar images of pigeons in Malta! Such fun to watch.
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Ahh…I was looking forward to your interpretation in this one Jude and I am not disappointed! You picked out a lot, I love your idea of the blues in the ceiling representing the movement of waves, I didn’t think of that! I’m glad you liked the idea behind them both. I wanted to try and be a bit ‘artsy’ since the challenge seemed to be asking us to do that (that’s when I remembered the ‘green glasses’ shot) but of course I was also excited about sharing those silly seagulls! Haha…perhaps they were the same ones as yours in Malta 😉 Thanks for your great input 🙂
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The birds are more obvious examples of “dialogue” but I like the refection you caught in the first set.
janet
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Hello Janet! Many thanks for your great comment, I’m so glad you enjoyed the pics 🙂
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I love the definition of dialogues for photography. This will change the way I view two photographs together. I like the first pairing of photographs – the colors go well together and suggest a fun night out. And I like the second set of photographs too, the birds are definitely in dialogue too! How great that you gave us examples of different dialogues.
I took a cruise once as well and felt quite queazy the first day. I remember sitting in my mini tub, watching the water in the tub sway back and forth in keeping with the waves outside and thinking to myself,’I really need to get out of this tub!’
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Thanks so much Letizia, that’s great to know! I love your ‘electrifying;’ interpretation of the two photos together giving off those vibes of a great night out!
Ahh…yes, I can well imagine that scenario…in fact I feel a little queasy just thinking about it 😉 I felt that way at dinner sometimes as the dining hall was above the engines and the vibration really got to me. A shame because the food was delicious… !
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Wow, Sherri you’ve done it again! Fantastic post and some amazing photos!! 🙂
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Thanks so much Steve, your fantastic comment has me smiling big time 😀
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The neon light photos are beautiful Sherri! I love the dialogue between the two seagulls. And, an excellent job of capturing the two seagulls with a mobile phone camera.
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So glad you enjoyed them Theresa, thanks so much! I was glad to be able to capture those two cheeky birds. All the photos I took that day were with my phone, I’ll be sharing some more here and there and hope you like those too 🙂
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I love the two photographs side by side. I do think these “work,” possibly because of the slant of the glistening emerald color in the glasses. It pulled me into the other photograph that makes me think of being shot out into outer space. But back to the art of them. They work because of the united color intensity. And they work together because of the spiral effect the two have. The flow within the rectangle!
You were brave to drink creme de menthe when others were confined to their rooms. I crossed the English Channel by ferry a very long time ago and I felt smug because I have a strong stomach.
But others didn’t. The thought of creme de menthe is rough.
Lastly, I love your dialogue between the sea gulls. Perfect!
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Love your interpretation Hollis 🙂 It seems the glass ceiling definitely gives off a ‘space’ vibe. I thought that the way the neon lighting seemed to ‘electrify’ the glass in both photos helped set off the dialogue but I am fascinated by your thoughts about the way the glasses are slanted and so pulled you in to the thoughts of being shot into space. I’m thrilled at your interpretation of the art effect…’the flow within the triangle’. Wow!
Haha…yes, I feel a little queasy thinking of it but somehow we managed to keep from going over the edge, metaphorically and literally 😉 That’s good news for you not succumbing…I’ve crossed the English Channel a few times by both ferry and hovercraft (school trips, back in the day) and there were always a few kids who got sick…but I never did. So I guess you can say I was smug too 😉
Thanks so much for your great comment Hollis and taking the time to share your thoughts on art and I’m so glad you enjoyed those naughty seagulls too 🙂
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Crème de Menthe and a ship…I would have been hanging over the side, Sherri. Actually, Crème de Menthe without the ship might have the same result. Promise me, when we meet, we won’t toast over Crème de Menthe. 🙂
I love the photo of the sea gulls…your captions were spot on!
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Aaaarrrghhhh….sorry about that,it does sound rough doesn’t it on reflection
I know it’s not for everyone. The strange thing is, I don’t think I’ve drunk it since, haha!! Jill, you have my word, we will definitely not be toasting over Crème de Menthe, you can be sure of that my friend! Bring on the bubbly!!
Apart from the sickly green liquid thing going on, I’m so glad you enjoyed the seagulls, naughty little birds that they are…thanks so much Jill 😀
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Beautiful, Sherri! The bird dialogue is a hoot!
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Haha…glad you enjoyed it Luanne, thank you!!! 😀
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Love your take on this week’s challenge, Sherri, especially the three photos of the birds. It does look like they are having a bit of a hostile conversation with one another. I hope they made up in the end 🙂 Never knew a good burger and a good drink could cure sea sickness…they seem to be the cure for everything. Sounds like you walked all around the ship with your husband. I hope that the other passengers thing you were too weird taking photos of the ship 🙂
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I’m glad the photos came out with the different scenes of the seagulls as I had in my mind what they were saying to each other as I watched them. The really did look as if they were having a lover’s tiff, haha 😉 I do believe they made up in the end as when we walked back along the sea front they were much closer to one another again 🙂
We did walk around the ship plenty of times and I loved snapping away at random scenes that caught my attention. I was really pleased when the shot of the glasses came out the way they did although I have no idea how I did it…lol 🙂 I don’t think anyone really noticed, so many were seasick. At one point, hubby and I felt like we had the ship to ourselves! As for the burger and beer, it really did work. Great hangover food too…so I’m told you understand 😉
Thanks so much Mabel, always such a pleasure to ‘chat’ with you and so glad you enjoyed this post. I hope things are going well for you and you have a great weekend ahead 😀
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You’re always so gracious, generous and kind when you’re responding to your readers, Sherri. Hats off to you. You really do have an eye for photography alongside your brilliant writing skills. I am sure we’ll see more photos from you soon!
Haha, the ship to yourselves. In that case, I’m sure no one minded you snapping away photos. It’s not often that you get to go on a ship, and you definitely one to remember the experience 🙂
I’m not too bad, thanks for thinking of me. I hope your book is going well, I am eager to see what you come up with when you’re ready. You have a good weekend too 😀
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Ahh…what a sweet, lovely young woman you are dear Mabel. You really do always bring such wonderful smiles to my heart. I’m truly honoured that you show such interest in my book. I am trying to get disciplined to writing every day…and I will certainly keep you posted 🙂
I’m glad you are okay…and I do hope you have a lovely September week ahead 🙂
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The drinks were vividly colorful and stunning, Sherri, but the seagulls were fascinating. I’m still smiling at some of the possible conversations they seemed to be having…or the silent avoidance and stare downs.
When my husband got seasick on a cruise, he ordered spaghetti with meat sauce for dinner one night. The menu was seafood that night, but I think the chef took mercy on his greenish face and fixed him spaghetti. Amazingly, the seasickness disappeared!
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I’m glad they didn’t make you feel queasy looking at them Marylin! We thought that the mint would help settle us (it was mixed with soda water and lots of ice) and it must have helped somewhat but on reflection I do wonder how 😉
Thank you Marylin, so glad you enjoyed those silly seagulls…haha…I did have fun snapping those shots imagining what they were saying to one another.
Great story about your hubby – which proves that carbs really do help with seasickness. We found out later that it’s best to eat them and also that alcohol helps by the way it affects the brain…of course, that doesn’t mean going ‘overboard’…sorry, had to get that one in 😉 Your hubby was lucky to have such a nice chef…seafood on top of seasickness? Oooohh…that doesn’t sound good at all
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Great shots and dialogue for the gulls, Sherri. They are such characters, aren’t they? 🙂 Luckily I don’t suffer from seasickness, so I won’t have to try the greasy burger and pint of Stella remedy. Love your psychedelic images. They go together very well. 🙂 xx
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Thanks so much Sylvia! I was so pleased to get these shots of the seagulls as I was just imaging what they would be saying to one another! That’s great for you with not suffering from seasickness. We couldn’t believe how many went down with it, we were right on the ‘edge’ but okay…thanks to my cure, haha 😉
Have a great weekend, we are off to Brighton to celebrate an early birthday (mine, next week!) so really looking forward to that. See you next week 🙂 xx
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Have a wonderful early celebration, Sherri. Many happy returns. 🙂 *hugs*
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Thanks so much Sylvia, we had a wonderful time 🙂 *hugs* back 😀 xx
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I love the sea gulls. They really seem to communicate which made me laugh. 🙂
The other picture got my fantasy running wild. I guess that is allowed in Arts. The blue of the ceiling and the green of the drinks rotating gave me the idea of earth and sky rotating in their own speed; on a cruise which has its own different speed. All speeds are in a relationship to each other, relative to each other. So, for my little scientist brain, that is the ‘dialogue of the universe’.
You are allowed to laugh now 🙂
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Hi Ilka! How lovely to see you back here again, I have missed you very much my sweet friend! So glad you enjoyed this post, thank you very much and I adore your scientific mind and interpretation, love it in fact 🙂 I find your thoughts absolutely fascinating and I am not laughing but smiling from ear to ear in awe of the picture you have created in my mind of this amazing blue and green rotating ‘dialogue of the universe’. Just fabulous 🙂
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I haven’t been to a cruise ship my friend but so many of my co-workers had been and has been going back since then. After reading your electrifying adventure, I hope one day I get to go on a cruise too. Love the neon lights and brights colors of the beverage and the glass table’s reflections. It does depicts the joyful, exciting laid back feeling of traveling. I will keep the greasy burger in mind for motion sickness. As for the birds, don’t they remind us so much of humans? Great perspective of the theme. Have a wonderful weekend and all regards up your family.
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Ahh…thanks so much IT, so glad you enjoyed this post and that you caught the whole electrifying neon vibe thing going on 🙂 Yes, I do hope you get to experience a cruise one of these days. It is certainly an adventure, seasickness or not, but hopefully now that you know the cure you will be okay 😉 Oh those silly seagulls, I did love the way they kept walking back and forth, appearing to communicate and I had fun imagining what they were saying to each other! they are very much like us humans aren’t they?
Lovely to hear from you again and you have a wonderful weekend too…God bless you and regards to your lovely family too my friend 🙂
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Two great dialogues although like art my dialogue would probably be quite different to yours. I am going to an interesting writing workshop in a couple of weeks where we are shown a gallery of paintings all to do with one of our historic characters a female who was shipwrecked on Fraser Island. We all look at the works and then we are all to write the stories that the tell us and I bet we all have totally different stories and dialogues to tell. Unlike the dialogue between your sea gulls – just like an old married couple though hopefully the frosty silence doesn’t last too long. Have a great weekend Sherri. ❤ 🙂
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Yes, that’s what I love about these themes, always so open to different interpretation. How wonderful your writing workshop sounds. I’ve never done anything like that. Oh I can just imagine the way your creative juices will be flowing. What a lovely writing retreat. Wish I could come with you! As for the seagulls, I did notice that they got back together again so hopefully the frosty silence didn’t last too long and they made up 🙂
Thanks so much Irene as always for your great comment and I’ll see you soon…time for another walk most definitely 😀 ❤ 🙂
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Great story Sherri, and I must say that I love seagulls! 🙂 I love the dialogue you chose for those two fellas, sometimes, I wish animals could talk; I bet they would deride us at the way we seems to be spoiling our beautiful home aka our planet! Lovely post, I hope you go on another cruise soon! 🙂
Much love and blessings to you my friend!
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Thanks so much dear Seyi, so glad you enjoyed the silly seagulls. It would be great wouldn’t it if they could talk. Oh the things they could tell us…and yes, imagine what they could teach us? I don’t know if we will go on another cruise, but wouldn’t turn it down. We would love to go to the Norwegian Fjords. Who knows? Have a great weekend and much love and blessings to you…see you soon 🙂 ❤
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Great photos. I used to work for a cruise company and a stormy Bay of Biscay is legendary. You were lucky to get away without sickness.
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So you know what I’m talking about first hand then! We were on the edge but managed to keep it at bay…no pun intended 😉 Thanks Marie!
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Haha, love the seagull dialogue, great story in just three pictures 🙂 And then the pictures from the cruise are wonderful in a different way – abstracts. And you brought back more memories for me – I’ve never been on a ‘proper’ cruise, but we’ve regularly sailed to Norway and Amsterdam from the port just down the road (unfortunately they don’t do Norway anymore) and we love the actual sea crossing (though I do get seasick!). And another one – my Dad didn’t drink much but he would sometimes have a small glass of crème de menthe on New Year’s Eve 🙂
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I’m so glad you enjoyed the silly seagulls and so glad to bring back some happy memories! I would love to go to Norway, that is one cruise hubby and I hope to manage one of these days. How lovely you got to do those cruises (and I love Amsterdam!) and bravely too with your seasickness 😦 But what a sweet memory of your dad…thank you Andrea for sharing these with me 🙂
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Hi Sherri – great take on dialogue – and the frosty silence picture had me laughing in the sequence – what a capture –
the cruise sounds fun – and so the burger and beer did the trick eh? good to know…. 🙂 ❤
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Hi Y! Great to see you back again, I missed you! I hope you had a great summer with your boy 🙂 Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed the pics (I was so happy to be able to get those shots of those naughty seagulls!) and always happy to send on a great cure for seasickness…you never know when you might need it 😉 ❤
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Perfect photos for the challenge, Sherri. I found this particular challenge was not an easy one for me 🙂
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Thanks so much Michelle, really glad you enjoyed it! Sometimes I find that with the challenges too
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a pint of Stella should be available on the NHS as a cure for most things, I think waiting times would be down if there were a few bars about. I can honestly say I see no dialogue whatsoever (that would cast you in a respectable light) between the first two photos hehe.
The Seagull one makes me think of a chip fight at high noon, you can see them both looking for the oblivious tourist and they want to get a heads up on their rival…I’m rooting for the one on the left.
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Haha, I agree…and yes, I see what you mean about THAT dialogue. The less said the better, thank you for your discretion… 😉
You did have me laughing with the ‘chip fight at noon’..that’s a great dialogue right there. Yes, I think the one on the left is definitely the one to root for…haha. I’m still laughing.
What a great start to Monday, thanks Ste 🙂
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Your imagined conversation between the two seagulls is rib-ticklingly spot-on. For your dual photo dialog, the word “electrifying” stood out most clearly when gazing at them. The two pictures seem to indicate that your cruise experience ended up being a daring and “electrifying” one for both of you, despite (or because of?) being seasick.
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Thanks so much BT! Glad you liked it and love your take on the ‘electrifying’ theme. That’s what spoke the loudest to me in these two photos put together, I would never have thought to do so without this challenge. I think you nailed it on the head, we did feel quite daring (especially when that ship was rolling from side to side across that Bay of Biscay, yikes!) and yes, it was electrifying in it’s own way. We loved wiling the nights away at Electra and it was definitely despite the seasickness 😉
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Since I am very close to the beach, here in Maine, I love what you’ve done with the seagulls. They are fun to observe and you certainly captured them well. This little town sounds lovely by the way!
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Thanks so much Evelyne, so glad you enjoyed the seagulls, they were very comical to watch and I loved imagining what conversation they were having. Budleigh Salterton is a delightful town, more photos up on my recent post. We had a lovely day there, a very pleasant little discovery. Keep enjoying Maine 🙂
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Great dialog! I hadn’t realized that it was an actual term in photography. I think the greasy burger and Stella would make a great dialog! Sounds like rough return from balmy seas…or too much electrified creme de menthe? Have you ever had a “grasshopper”? Terrific color in both photos, electrifying like some artsy disco. Funny, the series of seagull shots!
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Hi Charli, glad you enjoyed it, thank you 🙂 I didn’t know about the dialogue term either until I read the challenge. I wanted to try and stick to the literal photographic interpretation and then do my own with the seagulls. Haha…yes, who knows what made things worse, although the Stella did help amazingly but not so sure about the sweet creme de menthe, although we did dilute it with soda water and lots of ice. But looking at it here it looks like mouthwash 😉 No, not had a grasshopper. Do tell…
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Mouthwash! It does look like that. You know, I’m so uncivilized as to never had a Stella? I drink micro-brews…I’ll have to give it a go! A grasshopper is creamy and decadent, more like a dessert: equal parts green creme de menthe, white creme de cacao and fresh cream, shaken with ice and strained into a chilled cocktail glass. Or…made into a milkshake with vanilla ice cream!
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Try it, you might like it! I don’t drink beer (or lager as we call it here) usually, I find it gassy, but sometimes on a hot day a nice cold glass goes down very nicely 😉 I prefer wine or a nice gin & tonic usually – or bubbly when the occasion calls for it! Ahh..yes, I see what you mean about a grasshopper, definitely quite decadant. I think as a dessert it sounds divine. Thanks for the recipe 🙂
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I see a dialogue in the cruise ship photos: drink the liquor and see the ceiling whirl above you. 🙂
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Haha….that’s great Imelda, and just the kind of dialogue that speaks the loudest here I would definitely agree…and that’s without the seasickness 😉
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