The photograph that visually engages my curiosity and interest was the “Voice Tunnel” by Matthew Pillsbury on his website, http://matthewpillsbury.com. This photograph was taken at the Opry City Stages in New York which shows the appearance of people disappearing or moving really fast. I believe that the purpose of this image is to hide unwanted details such as faces, clothing, etc. in order to connect with people’s blurry memories and dreams as a way of reliving the past. The mood is calm and intense in a black and white aspect but stormy at the same time, which made me wonder what is the story behind the photo.
Above all else, what makes this photograph attract my attention is the most important three formal elements from Steve McCurry’s video. One of the elements is “Leading Lines” because it forces the eyes to be attracted to lines that lead to the main subject. The photographer used this element as a useful method to obtain powerful images by creating depth by the thick painted lines of the floor going towards the exit of the Tunnel. Another formal element is “Patterns and Repetition” because it has a way to grab people’s attention by making the subject to have a deeper aspect. Pillsbury captured the repetition element in this photo by showing blurry people moving in and out of the tunnel, which creates a sense of motion to strengthen the image. We can see the ceiling and the floor of the tunnel has a consistent pattern that is pleasant to the eyes. The last formal element is “Frame within a frame” because this provides the photo a sense of dimensions, foregrounds and depth that leads the eyes to the main subject. The photographer used this element to draw attention to the focal point of the image and making it more appealing to the eyes. All these elements helped to create the mood of this photograph by making the viewer feel a sense of motion in the tunnel.
I agree that the motion blur hids detail about the individual people and makes it more about how people move through a space. The photo is symmetrical and uses perspective to create a feeling of deep space. it can be said to have leading lies as the converging lines of the perspective lead to the middle with the central figure. The pattern of the lines on the ceiling really does grab our attention!
Frame with frame is not an element here however. the light at the end of the tunnel does create a kind of shape in the middle of the image but it is empty. it does not frame anything.