The swimmer's nightmare by Ana Carloto O'Shea

Ana Carloto O'Shea | all galleries >> OLD WORK >> Looking at Myself >> Self Portraits > The swimmer's nightmare


25-MAY-2005	Ana Carloto

The swimmer's nightmare

No more glory, time has finally won...

Kodak DX7630
1/60s f/3.4 at 10.7mm iso100 with Flash full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto

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Ann...		03-Mar-2011 13:22
Moving and thought provoking work.

Guest		26-Aug-2007 15:59
oi ana tcl?966032935.

Zeev Parush		30-Jul-2007 17:55
"No more glory, time has finally won..." you relay touched me with this photo - great work.

Robyco		23-Jul-2007 12:08
This is no longer a picture or statement.... THIS IS REAL ART !!!! (big Vote)

Roe..		04-Feb-2007 04:11
Ana this image tugs at my heart..signed..once a dancer ;) v

Guest		28-Jun-2006 19:05
My favorite among your many amazing ones. Powerful and touching. Makes me realize we are all going in the same direction, something we cannot avoid. Yet, we can face it with glory or resign and do nothing about it. Images that can change people's perspective in life, I've seen one and this is it. Gil

ruthemily		17-Jun-2006 18:37
still my favourite photo of yours, Ana...

Guest		05-Jun-2006 23:38
agree with most of comments. creative, well done.

ruthemily		08-May-2006 18:53
i meant to add earlier about the peter pan tatoo on your arm. i only just noticed it when i looked at the picture today. i find it so symbolic in this image.

ruthemily		08-May-2006 11:19
Ana, i can't believe i have never commented on this picture!! every time i come to your galleries i look at it and i think about it at other times too. the concept of being defeated is such an interesting one. we push ourselves so much and always strive for better than our best. sometimes the competitive streak takes over, and we become competitive against ourselves and our true desires. we feel defeated when we can't do it any more, yet i am starting to believe that actually we become UNdefeated and victorious when we accept our achievements for what they are and give up fighting ourselves. i've said it before, but it still rings very true - you're amazing! i love your stuff.

Bernd Koenemann		29-Dec-2005 05:13
Ana, what exactly is the purpose of that black bar in the middle of the picture? I've been wrecking my brain but can't figure it out. Your not on American television, are you?

Guest		17-Dec-2005 06:08
Hadn't seen this one before. Fantastic mixture of photography and graphic processing. You should've been an actress!

type		17-Nov-2005 17:31
Still the fxxking BOMB, girl.

Guest		16-Nov-2005 16:05
excellence

Manfred Bachmann		11-Oct-2005 06:24
Absolutely fantastic & expressive image!

fotabug		08-Oct-2005 00:26
Wow, this would make a wonderful poster. It would be a good seller. So well done.

shatterbug		02-Oct-2005 08:01
Amazing image! Love the use of flash, contrast to enhance the stark reality you are facing. You are swimming in deeper waters now. :-) Vote.

Cesar Fernandez		28-Sep-2005 23:19
Hi Ana: This is possibly one of the most "powerfull" pictures in your galleries and possibly that I have seen on pBase so far. Every part of the picture goes with the title. You can read the resignation in her expresion. It is a picture in which every body, in one way or another, will identify with the cruel reality of time and its consequenses in out lifes; in this case the one of a young athlete, which although still very young in years, not so for swimming at competition level. Still, I hope you do not give it up. It is a great exercise and therapy to relieve daily stress. Keep the great job. LOVE YOUR WORK. Cesar Fernandez.

Guest		15-Sep-2005 22:43
beautiful and thought provoking work..

Pepe Zyman		10-Sep-2005 04:52
What an image! BIG VOTE

Gilles Navet		09-Sep-2005 10:39
Je découvre cette image avec un grand plaisir Provocation intelligente et aesthétique, un montage trés "tendance" Une posture intime Superbe, j'aime le style et l'audace Ana Vote gilles

PauloCGama		22-Aug-2005 11:54
forte e poderosa! beleza de foto, Ana. parabéns!! abraço.

Rob Oele		17-Aug-2005 20:41
This is great; it directly caught my eyes having a great impact only powerful images have. Greetings from Rob, and thanks for the nice comments you gave on my galleries

Chris		16-Aug-2005 19:19
The comments are well deserved. Very graphic imagery with an emotional charge.

Chris Sofopoulos		11-Aug-2005 05:07
Unconventional and realistic shot! Great idea and great effect. My congratulations. Definitely -v-

type		01-Aug-2005 14:15
This is an incredibly arresting image. It has that feral, punk attitude and a raw, "take me as I am" unflinching sexuality. The captions and bands across it make it into an idea-photo, straddling the line between art and canny commercialism. This would be brilliant as an album cover. I could also see it as the cover page for I:D magazine or some such 'too cool for school' publication for people 'in the know'.

Guest		23-Jun-2005 09:56
Oh WOW! I didn't realise this image is yours... this has been in the popular photos for ages... no wonder because it has so much impact & very original. Great work Ana!

Kal Khogali		20-Jun-2005 05:34
A powerful image, because it is original and unexpected. It hits hard at what all people fear most, the certainty of time. The flash adds to the harshness, no soft treatment of the body here, only reality, blemishes and all. I think flash was a key here, with daylight, we may have been fooled in to a soft sense of sensuality. This image would stop every pedestrian on the street in their tracks, and that is a measure of a truly expressive photograph. Well done Ana.

Guest		11-Jun-2005 03:50
Very nice self portrait, being that you are a good swimmer, consider taking up Scuba Diving. When you dive it feels alot like flying, sort of like Peter Pan....Take Care, Scubalex.

Guest		09-Jun-2005 14:30
A powerful image, very well composed and arranged, plus deep in meaning. Pro!

Guest		08-Jun-2005 23:22
A very creative SP, Congratulations to the model and Photographer as well Iannis

scott clarke		02-Jun-2005 20:25
Ana with or with out meaning, this is a lovely photo. And I know women half your age that would give anything for your toned body. There are other ways to compete Ana, looks like photography is going to be your new pool. Regards Ana.

JazzyJess		30-May-2005 02:13
A bold and beautiful picture !

Guest		27-May-2005 14:39
Both confronting and beautiful. Bravo!

Guest		26-May-2005 23:57
oh Ana..... what can i say? i'm so proud of you!!!!! i think this nurturing of your creativity you've found here on PBase is unleashing a self-portrait expert!! :-)) wow... other than being incredibly brave and self challenging (although with such a great body you don't have to worry at all about exposing it!) this is truly great photographically and just looks fantastic... time is such an 'apponant' for all of us that we seem to battle forever.. one day we're a teenager desperately trying to be older and the next we wonder where the time has gone and find ourselves thinking how was this possible... and of course for athletes it's all very intensified... oh i could write so much about this shot.. i'm so glad i came and checked out your recent uploads! i've been feeling so burned out and haven't been able even to think of photography much.. and i guess i thought as i wasn't seeing your posts on TL that maybe you weren't too active either.. but just look what you've been up to girl!! like i said... i'm really really proud of you and you are ever blossoming as an artist :-))) big hugs and congratulations! Ayda

Phil Douglis		25-May-2005 23:30
Marisa's comments ring loud and true here, Ana. This is a huge step forward. You have done the unthinkable and flourished! The human body is an affirmation of life. As Marisa says, it is your most original substance. I also love her reference to you as stripping off bandages. One by one, the wounds heal, and you won't need them any more! You stirred our souls, today, Ana, and we are very proud of you.

Guest		25-May-2005 22:58
Knowing from where you're coming, I can only said to you that this ons is an amazing composition!! The body expression and pose represents so well the frustration and sorrow of had been defeted by time.. almost showing that there's no other chance to live a good life. Time has gone and life has gone with it, too. You're looking at your own body as trying to undersand how did you -and your body- finished there... how is that time has arrived so fast? But in taking out your swimmer cloth you can find a new meaning. If you do not have to beat time, then time can become your friend instead of your enemy. Now you can live with the time and not against it. Now you become a human being -no masks, no external customs-, just you in your original substance: your skin. The banned parts -for the viewers- and the still covered parts of your body maybe are related to a process in which you're slowly stripping off the bandages... Congratulations... this is a very big step!!

Phil Douglis		25-May-2005 18:58
What a powerful, thought provoking poster this is, Ana. It is by far the most substantive image you have made to date. You abstract the body with a black bar emblazoned with unsuitable timings and hair hanging down almost to your waist . The incongruity comes through the placement of bar over the chest area -- it as if you are hiding behind your competitive accomplishments, but they are no longer what they once were. Your emotions provide context, and the overwhelming human value you express is frustration. The finality of stripping off your bathing suit before us is very powerful. There is a finality to it -- the race is over, and as you say, time has won. Stripping yourself naked also carries erotic overtones -- you make your viewers imagine those parts of the body that you can look at, but we can not see. It is a finely sculpted, physically fit body, yet one that obviously no longer can respond to the competitive challenge as it once did. A compellingly expressive self portrait, Ana. You don't have to be a competitive athlete to relate to it. Time will catch up to all of us, particularly those who would measure their self-image by time.

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