Assignment #2: Illustrate a Word Wednesday, Feb 3 2010

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My group was chosen to illustrate the word “love” in a photo essay. My photograph is the fifth in the series. Love is a broad term that has many different implications to different people. There is maternal and paternal love. There is friendship. There is romantic love. The different interpretations of love are what my group hoped to convey in our photo essay. I considered these different interpretations when taking pictures. I first sought to shoot literal interpretations and took pictures of hearts, flowers, etc. However, I wanted to convey the passionate and organic element of romance so I choose an actual couple as my subject.

When setting up my shot, I kept in mind the aspect of positioning. Many people (including myself) tend to center their subject in the middle of the viewfinder when taking a picture. However, when setting up this particular shot, I kept in mind the natural positioning of my subjects. They are two people engaged in an embrace and their stance against the wall of the hallway is natural and not posed. I was ten feet away from my subjects and stood in the middle of the hallway and titled the camera slightly to the right. I also did not use the on-camera flash for this particular photograph, as it initially eliminated the natural occurring shadows from the florescent lighting in the hallway. In terms of color, I edited the photograph so that it had a black and white effect. The shadows then became more noticeable.

An aesthetically pleasing element of the photographic is the juxtaposition of the textured, patterned, and colorful carpet of the hallway and the plain white walls. Another photographic principle I took advantage of was shadows. The shadow of the couple against the wall gives the picture an aesthetic boost by adding visual texture to an otherwise plain white wall. The shadow also adds dramatic darkness and draws the viewer’s eyes to the couple. The shot’s composition also provides a dramatic element. I strived for unequal space between my main subject (the couple) and the hallway. Because I was so close to the subject in comparison to the rest of the long hallway, there is a sense of intimacy that the couple is alone in such a large space. I was hoping to achieve a level of intimacy, as if the viewer walked in on a private moment. Because of this, I think the photo illustrates romance and passion and in turn, enables the entire photo essay to illustrate “love”.

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Assignment #1: Single Picture Review Wednesday, Jan 27 2010

In 1985, photographer Steve McCurry took a photograph of an Afghan girl in a refugee camp in Pakistan. The girl’s name was Sharbat Gula and the photo made the cover of National Geographic magazine and thus became one of the most recognizable images of all time. According to National Geographic, Gula, the photographer’s subject, was orphaned when the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan. The image conveys a sense of loss and lonliness.

The girl’s eyes in the photo immediately grab the viewer’s attention. This is due in part to the element of color. According to Jim Krause in his book Photo Idea Index, color has the ability to attract and compel viewers through visual and emotional channels. The palette in the photo is built around the complementary hues of red and green, as they are opposite from each other on the color wheel. The girl’s pupils are bright green and stand out in stark contrast to the whites of her eyes. The red head scarf is a warm color that is visible against a cool green background. The green hues are vibrant and evoke a sense of realism, making the viewer feel as if they are seeing the girl face-to-face.

Another element that makes this photo successful in conveying a message of loss, lonliness, and despair is the positioning of the girl in the image. The girl is not centered in the middle of the shot, which might make the image look unnatural and posed and would sacrifice the human experience expressed by what appears to be a candid shot. Instead, the photographer photographed the girl who is turned at a slight angle, which makes the shot look natural. The girl’s body language is gesturing to the camera and the photo becomes almost conversational, as if the girl were looking directly at the viewer.

The photographer employed a shallow depth of field in this photo. By using this technique he blurred the diminishing perspective of the background, thus placing the focus more strongly on the girl’s face. As a result, the viewer attention is immediately drawn to the girl’s face and in a figurative sense, anything that may be happening in the background becomes irrelevant.

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