Activity 3

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

Photography by: Anton Lyalin

This picture is  a rule of thirds because it has the lion in the right most side of the photograph. This is successful because it conveys the power of the pride. I like this picture especially because this is my last year in the pride and I feel like this picture with the black and white color scheme creates a dramatic feel. 

Photography by: Rachel Felling

This picture is another example of rule of thirds because the visual focus is directed upon the old screw which is located on the right hand side of the photograph. I love the colors in this picture and how the details on the screw and the chipping paint make the picture complete. 

Photography by: Rachel Felling

This photo is not an example of rule of thirds because it is instead a leading lines picture. The Lines of the guitar string direct focus to the knobs on the bridge. This is not a rule of thirds because the subject is not lines up with one of the points on the rule of thirds grid.

Photography by: Rachel Felling

This photo is an example of both leading lines and symmetry because the pieces of the foozeball direct your attention to the  center of the piece. this is not a rule of thirds because there is an equal amount of subjects on the opposite side of the composition.

Activity 2

Activity 2

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

              When John Szarkowski says that the photographers are quoting"out of context", he means that 

the photographers can take the picture and create a new one by framing or choosing to take a out pieces of the             artists original work much like a person would do taking a quote from a book out of context for an essay.

    The audience might have been shocked that the paintings of Degas had a sense of realism that wasn't there before. and also the paintings would capture a sense of motion that wasn't there before because they could paint from photographs rather than a still model. This is something that would have been very difficult and almost impossible to achieve before photography came along. 

Painting by: Gustave Caillebotte 

 I chose this picture as an example of a painting with photographic influence because there is a certain understanding of light and value that could only be captured in a photograph, as well as capturing the couple walking down the road by capturing their motion.Which wouldn't have been seen as much when photographs didn't exist.

Activity 1

Activity 1

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.

Photo by: Michael Jenkins

I chose this picture as a "fill the frame picture" because i feel this picture perfectly accentuates this quality, and much like the assignments in photo class, this photo focuses directly on the subject in a close up technique perfected with a macro lens (proved in photographer's notes). I also Loved this photo in its complex simplicity. The close up technique forces the background to be blurred and not as demanding to the eye. While the macro lens makes the detail of the dandelion more attention grabbing and appealing to the eye. 

Photo by: Tinto Alencherry

I chose this picture because of its surrealism, it almost doesn't look like a photograph, but a pastel work of art. Many people would not know why this picture is so obscure and the ink that it is a photoshopped picture, but to give some background, this is a close up photograph of a person participating in the Holi Festival where they throw colored dust and have their entire person turned into a rainbow. I love the beauty of the colors and the close up detail of the eye lashes and crinkles. And the Closeup effect makes you think what the subject actually is.  But by absolute favorite part is how the colors fill up every last inch of the picture without making it seem to cluttered,this is a perfect representation of "filling the frame". This is simple beauty and I love it.