Thomas Holton is graduated from the School of Visual Art, and got the master in MFA photography, video, and related media. One of his famous photography works is called āThe Lams of Ludlow Streetā. In this photography work, Thomas Holton used his camera to record the life of one Chinese family who live in the neighborhood of New York Cityās Chinatown. The idea of Thomas Holton shooting these photos is that he wants to show the real life of Chinese immigrants and Chinese culture to people, so they gain a deep understanding of Chinese immigrantās daily life in the today.
Based on the photo that I choose from Thomas Holtonās āThe Lams of Ludlow Streetā, I can realize some composition tips that he used in this photo. At first, Thomas utilizes the composition tips of āRule of Thirdā to place the positions of the red carnation, clothes hangers especially red clothes hanger, and red rubber gloves to make a connection between wall and ground. Secondly, I think Thomas Holton also uses āFigure to Groundā through the color of the carnation, rubber gloves, and clothes hangers which is red to create a contrast with white wall, clothes hangers, and the bathtub. It makes me feel isolated and helplessness, which is similar to the condition of Chinese immigrants because of cultural diversity and language communication barrier. At last, Thomas Holton uses symmetry in this photo; for instance, the line of blue sponge mat and the soap holder is like the symmetric vertical axis. The subjects of the left side of this axis are towels and clothes, and the objects of right side of the axis are some plastic and metal bottles and jars. Ā In addition the crack of wall also creates a symmetric horizontal axis, so the white and red clothes hangers are like the inverted reflection of the red carnation and bathtub.
http://www.thomasholton.com/
I love the photo you choose. It tells me so much about the life of the Lams but in particular how they use every inch of space and how crowded their life is. That said the most interesting thing about the photo is that the center is fairly empty and the sides are crowded, kind of the opposite of a traditional composition.
For all the virtues of this image, it is not a good example of the rule of thirds. Take a look again at the example given in the video I showed on the first day.