Robin Michals | COMD 1340 Photography 1

HW 1 – Composition – Mirline Jean

https://www.suzannesteinphoto.com/New-York/i-7PWJVsr/A

The photograph that stood out to me the most was Suzanne Stein New York Street One “Image DSC08195.jpg”. Based on the scenery of the picture, it looks like this was taken at the Labor Day Parade on Parkway. For those who don’t know what this is, it’s a West Indian Day Parade where all the Carribean islands come together to represent their island and celebrate their culture, music, and dance. Every year it’s held along Eastern Parkway, a street in Brooklyn. You will see people marching on the Parkway in colorful costumes, their country flag wrapped around somewhere on their body and just simply enjoying themselves. Suzanne’s intention for the photograph is to show that even if it’s raining, that doesn’t stop anyone from having fun. They risk the chance of possibly getting sick rather than just going home. The purpose is to capture 2 young black adults dancing together since they are what we see first. Mood of the photo is kind of confusing a bit because both subjects look like they are having a dance together but the girl’s face doesn’t match the vibe. I don’t want to assume that she’s mad or sad but idk the relationship she has with the guy. Maybe she could’ve been smiling before changing her facial expression. 

Fill the frame, diagonals and dominant eye are the 3 elements portrayed in Stein’s photo. She utilizes the “fill the frame” to draw more attention to the subjects in the front of the picture. The yellow lines on the floor would be considered for “diagonals” not only because it’s very bold in color but it leads into what else is going on in the background. You can see that it’s raining and some people do or don’t have an umbrella. “Dominant eye” although the girl’s eye isn’t facing the camera, but you can tell how someone feels by looking at their eyes. You can interpret her feelings in various ways. 

1 Comment

  1. rmichals

    I have looked at this photo many times and never noticed the woman’s expression. She doesn’t look too happy. It is contradiction in the photo that it seems to be about the celebration and letting go even in the rain and yet she does look a bit irritated. And of course photography lies. It can catch someone with an expression that doesn’t match the moment or it could be that she feels irritated that the guy is taking a bit of advantage. thanks for pointing that out.

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