Robin Michals | COMD 1340 Photography 1 DO97

Category: HW1_Composition (Page 3 of 3)

Jaaziah Cureton Exercise 1

The reason why I chose this image is because I believe it reminds me how I feel about my mother. Mothers go above and beyond for their kids, they give birth to you, raise you, and do what you need them to do. Not all the time parents reconnect with their children, some don’t have the luxury of reaching out to their parents.  But there are some that do, and those that do should be treated like queens. My mother has done many things for me, she helped me with high school, college  and despite me always driving her crazy she always pulled through.  This photograph helps remind me of that, and how all the other mothers do the same for their children. It’s rare for the child to show the same effort in being there for the parent, and when they do it’s a strong bond.

The name of the photograph is called “Mama I Love You”  This photograph was taken in Riegelmann, Boardwalk, Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. The subject matter of the photograph is to show affection to a mother through art.  Having two females, one that looks like a mother and the other that looks old enough to be a grandmother. The background is dark that makes the text pop. The text uses a san serif  and is spray painted on the wall. The intention of the image is to show appreciation for the material figures in his life. The mood of this photograph is sweet and appreciative.

Yunique Griffith HW#1

https://www.suzannesteinphoto.com/Sample/i-z2MhdNZ/A

The photograph that I personally chose was that by the amazing photographer, Suzanne Stein. The photograph that I chose doesn’t have a name to it, but I found that this photo is very prevalent amongst our society today. The photograph seems to focus on the man with his belongings and his dogs in which is set in New York City. I feel the intentions of the photographer is to highlight how the increase in rent throughout this country is displacing many people onto the streets with no job and little to no income. The text written across the boards gives the viewer the perception in which the increase of rent is gradually pushing people out their homes. The purpose of the image emulates once native inhabitants having to migrate to new territory due to fiscal constraints of what they once called home. Having to pack what they can and become transients with their beloved pets to a new home. It also shows the consistent struggles people have to deal with while losing their havens to increased rent and which could be also be a byproduct of gentrification. 

The mood of the image gives off a dreary, tiring, unstable and unsafe feeling. The reason in which I chose those words is because when people lose access to their homes, they are immediately cut off from their shelter, security, and protection. Surviving while living on the streets is dangerous and it can promote an unsafe lifestyle to become accustomed to. There are many compositional principles I see within the image I chose. The three that immediately comes to mind is Symmetry, Figure to Ground, and Fill the Frame. These three principles can be easily seen within the photo giving off the basis in which it’s set.

The first principle I see within the photo would be Symmetry. Symmetry can be easily be seen as pleasing to one’s eye and for my photo the subject, which is said to be the man, shows him as the focus of the image. He lines up exactly in the middle of the photograph capturing the viewers immediate attention. The second compositional principal within my photo would be Figure to Ground. There is a stark contrast between the subject of my image, the man and his dogs, and the background, the text displayed across the boards. It’s very distinct when it comes to the photograph showing how the subject can be something easily shown to the user’s eye as opposed to the background. The last compositional principle I see within my photo would be Fill to Frame. I chose fill to frame as a principle for this image because it shows the viewer the subject that needs to be focused within the photograph. The subject, the man and his dogs, shows what the viewer should see when first placing their eyes on the photograph.

Avar He Zapata HW#1

DSC01594.jpg

https://www.suzannesteinphoto.com/Paris/

 

This photograph has no name (not that I can find it), but it was taken by Suzanne Stein. This is the eighth piece that you’ll find on her portfolio home web page. It can also be found in the Paris street category of her website. I’m going to start off by saying that when I looked through her work on her website, I honestly felt a little bit uncomfortable on the type of photos she took, but this picture I thought was a bit easier to look at. There isn’t any information that I could find on this one image, but immediately I can tell that this photo was taken during the pandemic (which is when I am currently writing this). It’s set on a crowded subway train and all the passengers are wearing masks. Wearing a mask is a crucial part during these current times, most people would typically be working and attending school from their homes via a computer screen. How people would view society from yesterday has radically changed. It’s clear that this is a new era in human history.  For those who work in a job that requires physical labor, still need a transport to get to and from work. The purpose and intention of this picture could be that it’s meant to show what life is or was during the early 2020s. Everyone has to wear a mask and be socially distant, which is something that cannot be possibly achieved in a crowded place like this. I said Suzanne’s other works made me feel uncomfortable, but the mood I get from this picture is very gloomy, depressing. You don’t know what any of these people are going through in their personal lives, what challenges they are going through. Loved ones lost or in need of help, financial stress, having to work 9 to 5 jobs, maybe someone was laid off, typical stuff.

 

A formal element in photography that I can make out are patterns. If there’s any sense of pattern or repetition that I can go off by is that there are people in this crowded space who wear masks. What breaks this pattern are people who don’t wear a mask like the little girl on the bottom right corner of the image. Although there are multiple subjects, I can still use the rule the thirds to map out different sections of the image, which can also lead me to leading lines. The subway car has seatings on both sides in the interior. The photographer took the picture in the center of the car. There are people sitting on both sides of the car and a bigger crowd standing in the center. The passenger seats face parallel to each other while the passengers standing in the center of the car have their backs facing the viewer.

 

Emily Chen HW 1

https://www.thomasholton.com/work/thelamsofludlowstreet2

The photograph that stood out to me the most was “Bored” by the photographer Thomas Holton. This photograph was part of a series called “The Lams of Ludlow Street” which documents the lives of The Lams, a Chinese family living in NYC Chinatown. Thomas Holton takes a huge step and actually follows the Lams for many years and becomes part of their family. Throughout the series, we can see that all five have a different ambiance to them. Although I feel as if all of the photographs taken in this series were extremely breathtaking, my favorite one by far has to be “Bored” in the second portion. There is so much feeling in this one photo even if there seems as if there’s nothing going on. Cindy, the daughter of Shirley, seems to be almost emotionless but you can tell her eyes tell us so much more. The grandma in the background brings the photograph together because she’s staring at Cindy almost in concern. This picture makes me feel a little sad because the look on grandmas face almost convinces me that Cindy might be upset or feeling lost. After going through the split-up of their family it might be a possibility that she might have been feeling something negative. As an Asian American, I understand that family is very important in Chinese culture and I can only imagine what it must feel like to have your family split up like that.

In terms of elements used in the photograph, there many a few elements that stand out the most. These elements are dominant eye, figure to ground, and rule of thirds. The element that stood out to me the moment I saw this photograph was dominant eye. The daughter’s eye is right in the center of the photo, which makes the viewers focus on her immediately. Her eye attracts you to the photograph because she’s staring right at you. The next element that stood out to me was figure to ground. There was a big contrast between the young girl in the front focus compared to the grandma in the background. Both subjects are giving off a completely different emotion. This allows the viewer to think beyond what we’re seeing. This encourages viewers to want to understand the bigger picture. Lastly, the use of rule of thirds is present in this photo. The grandma is on the left side of the picture which is at an intersection of the photograph. This gives us a compelling look as we are encouraged to explore the image completely. All of these elements bring the picture together to make us want to learn more about the subjects.

Nathalie Quito HW

Suzanne Stein, New York Street One

https://www.suzannesteinphoto.com/New-York/i-xfHgq6q/A

This photograph is called “Two Women, New York City” by Suzanne Stein. It is part of her New York Street One body of work. Overall, the main focus would lie on the woman in red, and this is due to many techniques or meanings. On a conceptual note, I believe the position the woman is in gives a lot of power to her as the subject. Overall, this photograph could represent many empowering moments. What first comes to mind would be the strong contrast between a bold woman and the police car oddly parked in the middle of the street. This contrast feels like it could relate to all the protests that take place for women to stand up against stigmas, stereotypes fueled by society. This can include political issues, such as what is currently happening in the country. Although we have rightfully changed women’s rights throughout the years, it almost seems as though they will always be threatened, whether from the public or the government who serves us. Thus, the woman in red can symbolize many empowering emotions over the “society” this police car represents. 

On a more technical point of view, Stein’s use of photographic elements rightfully makes her pieces strong and impactful. Each element found in this photograph complements the other, whether in a contrasting or flowing manner. For example, the strongest elements observed here would be diagonals, symmetry, and rule of thirds. The clearest one would be the rule of thirds, in which the woman is standing on the side rather than the middle. This encourages the viewers to not only explore the photo, but to finish and bring focus on the woman as the subject matter. Another element that supports the subject would be all of the diagonals the cars and street lines create. These diagonals going against the horizon clearly  show the woman’s stance more parallel, thus outstanding. Finally, there is a strong contrast of symmetry with the buildings leading to a vanishing point and the police car and woman breaking that perfect symmetry. 

These elements of symmetry, diagonals, and rule of third all encourage and engage viewers to interpret their meanings behind the subject matters stance. There can be multiple directions towards who or what she represents in contrast to the setting she is placed in, and her overall relationship to it. 

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