Photographer: Suzanne Stein
Photograph: New York Street Two
The subject of the photograph seems to be the bird. The bird is placed in this man’s hand. Cradled gently in the palm of his hand. The location is not clear, we are zoomed in on the big and there is no visible background to set up a location. I’m not sure of the photographer’s purpose for taking this picture. But, the mood I get from this photo is dark and grungy. Coming across the photo it made me feel sentimental for the bird. The mood of the photo makes me feel like the bird is hurt. It gives a fragile and vulnerable feeling.
The three compositional principles that I see in this photograph are Fill the Frame, Dominant Eye, and Symmetry. I chose Fill the Frame because in this photo we are close to the subject which also fills the photo frame. We can tell because of the details that are seen on the hands of the man and the feathers from the bird. I chose Dominant Eye as the second principal for this photo because the subject is centered in the frame. Although there is no human subject or an actual eye. The center holds my focus the most, the background of the image is blurry and not as clear as the center of the photograph giving me detail to the subject. The third principle I chose is Symmetry because as the photo subject lies in the center there is an even tone that goes all around the photo. Therefore implying if the image was split into two it would hold equal weight to one another.
These elements help convey the mood of the photograph because by filing in the frame it gives a mood of vulnerability and being more personal. Being in the center gives a straightforward focus. Our eyes won’t immediately travel as we are programmed to straight ahead in the first place. By using symmetry it keeps the mood of the photo consistent.
I think we do feel sad for the bird when we look at this photo but I also feel for the person. I for one would not pick up a dead or sick bird. I would be afraid of it making me sick. So tis is a person who is living without the basics of hygiene that I would consider normal.
Dominant eye is something that applies to portraits. In this case, I would say the most important formal principal in this photo is one we did not talk about directly in class and that would be the contrast of light and dark..