Frame & Composition: Activity 4 Blog

Activity 4
Blog Entry

Collect one image where the photographer has placed the main subject off center and retained a sense of balance and one image where the photographer has placed the main subject off center and created a sense of imbalance.

Discuss the possible intentions of the photographer in creating each image.

Create four images, placing the focal point and/or visual weight in different areas of the frame. Discuss whether each image is balanced.

Visual Weight - by Shannon Kokosha 

The image above features a road sign as the main focus with a building in the background. It is able to retain a sense of balance because both sides of the image feature a point of interests, greatly reducing the noticeability of the empty space between the two subjects. Since their is only one website this image is featured on, I'm going to assume that this image was created with the purpose of showing people what off center balance looks like.

Unequal Brides and Groomesmen? - from WeddingBee.com

This image features some bridesmaids and groomsmen gathered together in front of some trees. This picture is unbalanced because the brightness (women in dresses and the background) outweighs the darkness (men in tuxedoes). Another point to be made in consideration to balance, there is more bridesmaids than groomsmen. I believe this picture was taken to capture an important moment in two people's lives that will last forever.

The following pictures were taken by me over the course of a couple of days.

BOARDom (Uno)

This image features a piece of wood placed in front of a basket. This image is unbalanced and I took it as a way to practice focusing my camera and utilizing the rule of thirds.

BOARDom (Dos)

Another image with a piece of wood as the model however, this piece is shorter and thicker than the other. I believe this image to be balanced since both sides of the image are weighted equally because the wood is in the center. I took this image for our abstract closeup project, but this one just barely missed the cut.

Frame & Composition: Activity 3 Blog

Activity 3:

Find two examples of Photographs that follow the Rule of Thirds and two examples that do not. Comment briefly on why and how you think the composition works.

River Tree - from Wikimedia.org

This composition works because the tree is in the lower right corner instead of directly in the center. I chose to use a GIF image to demonstrate the positioning of the tree, and because I liked the shift in color scale when the lines appear.

The Rule of Thirds - by Alaphoto

The composition in this picture features a sun in the upper left corner and a boat in the lower right corner. I chose this image because I liked the similarities between it and the picture above.

Center - by Jaxon S

This image is not rule of thirds because it just features the three plants in the center of the image. The background is just a plain blue sky and the plant is in the center, this image uses simplicity more than rule of thirds.

Seagull (Centered) - from Photo96.com

This image matches the same description as the one above, meaning the seagull is in the center of the image and features a blue background; using simplicity over rule of thirds. On the website their is an accompanying picture which features the seagull in a corner thus following the rule of thirds and explaining why the title of the picture is Seagull (Centered).

Frame & Composition: Activity 2 Blog

Activity 2

Blog Post
Read the following passage taken from the book The Photographer’s Eye by John Szarkowski and answer the questions below.

"To quote out of context is the essence of the photographer’s craft. His central problem is a simple one: what shall he include, what shall he reject? The line of decision between in and out is the picture’s edge. While the draughtsman starts with the middle of the sheet, the photographer starts with the frame. The photograph’s edge defines content. It isolates unexpected juxtapositions. By surrounding two facts, it creates a relationship. The edge of the photograph dissects familiar forms, and shows their unfamiliar fragment. It creates the shapes that surround objects. The photographer edits the meanings and the patterns of the world through an imaginary frame. This frame is the beginning of his picture’s geometry. It is to the photograph as the cushion is to the billiard table."

Q. What does John Szarkowski mean when he says that photographers are quoting ‘out of context’ when they make photographic pictures?

Q. The frame often ‘dissects familiar forms’. At the end of the last century photography was having a major impact on Art. Impressionist artists such as Degas were influenced by what they saw. Look at these examples of Degas work, which clearly shows the influence of Photography, and explain why the public might have been shocked to see such paintings.

Important: Find another example of a painting that you feel was influenced by photography and include it in you're posting!

Riot Painting - From ApacheClips.com

This painting depicts an officer trying to contain a riot (unsuccessfully i might add). The rioters have guns and have launched molotov cocktails at the officer, but he is somewhat protected because he has a riot shield. The painting might have been inspired by photographs of riots, such as the ones pictured below.

Licking The Flames - From SVLSTG.com

This photo depicts a squad of officers, and one of them is on fire. The painting features a single officer with a riot shield that is on fire. This incident occurred in Rome during the day, unlike the painting which happens in an unnamed city during the nighttime.

LA Riot Picture - From Wikimedia.org

This photo incorporates stop motion to capture a mid-air molotov cocktail during a riot in Los Angeles. The painting also has a mid-air molotov cocktail, but it changes the perspective from first person to third person.

Frame & Composition: Activity 1 Blog

Activity 1
Blog Post
Look through assorted photographic websites and observe how many photographers have moved in very close to their subjects. By employing this technique the photographer is said to ‘fill the frame’ and make their photographs more dramatic. Find two examples of how photographers seek simple backgrounds to remove unwanted detail and to help keep the emphasis or ‘focal point’ on the subject. Attach two images you find to your reply to this discussion.

Solitary Gull - by Keld Bach. This image presents a seagull mid-flight, over a body of water. 

Dandelion - by Andrew S. Gibson. Although the dandelion is not alone, the depth of field is so shallow that only the dandelion draws the viewer's attention.