HW1_COMPOSITION

Suzanne Stein- New York Street 3 https://photos.smugmug.com/New-York-Street-3/i-6d86GzJ/0/30da8e5f/X2/DSC02859-X2.jpg 

I chose an untitled image by Suzanne Stein from New York Street 3. The image is in the city along a sidewalk. The image depicts two female women, the first woman is wearing a black coat and is sitting in between two red pillars of a building on the street, the second woman is walking and wearing a suit and skirt. The intention of the photographer is to capture two subjects that appear to be of different financial statuses. I believe the purpose of the image is to show the two sides of the city, those who are in the upper class and those who are in the lower class. The mood of the image is somber as the woman on the floor appears to be gazing at those who are walking by and the photographer seems to show the viewer that she is looking at the second woman.

The three formal elements that are the most important are the Rule of Thirds, Diagonals and Figure to Ground. This photo shows the rule of thirds because both the subjects aren’t centered, one woman is to the lower left while the other is to the middle towards the right. They are both in the halves of the image so that the viewer knows to look at both subjects rather than just one. It also shows diagonal lines that are leading to the subject such as those of the red building and the sidewalk. Finally for the figure to ground, the subject of the image would be the woman on the ground who appears to be looking at the ongoing pedestrian. And in the foreground there is the reflection of a woman walking. It can also be argued that the woman on the ground is in the background and the other woman is the subject because the woman in a suit is taking up most of the photo vertically while the woman in black is at the bottom left of the photo.