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.

This photographer has placed the main subject off center and the photo has balance. It has balance because it has other things to look at instead of just focusing on one main thing, and they all balance along with the subject. I think this was the photographers intentions, they have other things to look at but the whole picture combines together very well.

This photographer has also placed the main subject off center but the photo has imbalance. It has many different types of photography going on, like still life and nature. There are many things to look at though so that the picture does not get boring. I think the photographers intention was just still life, but they have many different things going on.

Balance

Balance

Imbalance

Imbalance

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Activity 3

Rule of Thirds

These two photo's follow the rule of thirds because the subjects are in some type of corner. Also, if you added the grid it would be easy to take the picture apart and understand it better, there aren't many distraction throwing you all over the place. The pictures are very simple.

Not Rule of Thirds

These two photo's do not follow the rule of thirds because the subjects are in the center of the photo, and there are many distractions. If you put the grid on the photo they may be easy to look at but there are many things going on on the side. 

Activity 2

Blog Entry

‘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?
A. I think he means that photographers like to think out of the box with their photos. They want to be very different and unique, and want a lot of creativity. Some like the idea of crazy and all over the place, or calm and plain. All are different.

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.
A. It is very detailed. There's a lot of things going on and different emotions with the painting.

Many people probably were probably shocked from the detail and emotion and creativity.

Another Example of a painting influenced by photography:
The amount of detail is the exact same. The painting is very simple though, there isn't much emotion. But the creativity is still there.

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.

                                              Pati P's photography

This photo is really focused on the girls face. This is more of a portrait photo but she fills the frame with the subject which is the girl. She blurs out the backgrounds so there are no distractions and the focus is the girl.

                                                      Tessa Barton's photography

Tessa is filling the frame with the bouquet of flowers, she focuses on the flowers and the bride holding them and blurs out the background for less distraction. The subject is the bouquet and she does a good job of filing the frame with it.