This photo represents what high contrast can do to a photo. The top of the stool is so bright that it overpowers everything else in the background, making the background really dark. From a first glance, an individual wouldn’t be able to tell what the object is in the picture. A good photo in my opinion keeps the audience guessing whats in it.
I like this picture because it expresses tranquility , loneliness , and peace. At my first look at the image, these are the words that came to mind. It uses low contrast, which is one way my group used to create loneliness. The symmetrical use of the subject in the middle creates balance which creates a feeling of stillness and peace.
I chose this photo because of the strong curved line and the texture of the subject of the composition. It also depicts relatively strong shallow depth of field as well as high contrast between the subject and the background.
This is a good picture due to the fact that not only is the chair at an oblique angle, the camera is as well. The photo also give this dizzy feel because your eyes don’t really know at which angle to look at. There is also a bit of high contrast here from the windows down to the carpet.
I chose this photo because it was very dramatic. The horizontal lines really give this photo power. The shallow depth of field, is amazing as well as the subject . The contrast is amazing too also the range of colors was really profound and it was executed perfectly.
Kiev Sea, Study 2, Vishgorod, Ukraine. 2013
http://www.michaelkenna.net/gallery2.php?id=11
Michael Kenna
This photo intrigues me because of the delicateness a simple dead flower can have. The flower on a a table and a white background gives it a holy mood. Ironic how the flower is dead but it also makes you wonder how something so delicate can make you think of something holy and purified.
In this photograph Michael Kenna uses the the flower as a line or a sense of direction on this composition. The backlight gives makes the flower black. The depth of field is making the flower closer in which the flower is far away. Focusing on the flower, it shows the detailed parts (pedals). The table frames this flower in the photograph it helps you realize what it is, by letting you see the reflection vaguely on the table. The photograph having the midtones on the top of and in the middle it gives it a pattern (grey,white,black,white,grey) having the darkest part of the photo in the middle. Having the flower the darkest part of the photograph it helps you see the object clearly. This composition is highly contrasted, the black is really noticeable and the high exposured light completes the photo. By taking this picture as if the camera was placed on the table it makes you focus more on the vantage point and the depth of field.
http://michaelkenna.net/gallery.php?id=14
Michael Kenna’s photograph Winter Morning is the image that stuck out to me the most in his gallery. The subject of this photo is emphasizing the emptiness in the park during a winter morning. There is not a single human like figure in this photograph which gives more to the emptiness and distance.
There is a focus point on the statue in the center of the photograph but the symmetry of the photograph doesn’t limit the viewer. It allows the viewer to stray away from the focus and search for another subject in the photograph. The photographer took his shot on the same height on the rim of statue to show the viewer that the statue isn’t obscuring anything. In the photograph there is a great amount of contrast between the foreground and background and creates a large viewing distance for the viewer. These element show the viewer there isn’t anyone around this park or anywhere near and gives the photograph an alone feeling. Making this area feel both empty and secluded from everyone in the city. I feel very drawn to this photo because sometimes feeling secluded in this city isn’t bad at all. Especially is a beautiful place like this park.
http://www.michaelkenna.net/gallery_images/b4008e8.jpg
The image that caught my eye was a photograph by Michael Kenna; the photograph is called Winter Road, Lewis Pass, Orange Range, New Zealand. The photograph is an image of a road with trees around it and theres snow on the trees and ground while the road is clear of snow. The mood that I get from looking at the photograph is expect the unexpected from the road in front of you. I feel this way because in the photograph the road is only visible for only while then it turns left and it is not visible.
Michael Kenna’s use of line in his photograph is pretty obvious. His main use of line is the road, but the road is not a straight light but a curvy one; also the divider on the road also serves as lines also almost as dotted lines since they break up. The framing in the photo mainly focuses on the road and trees around the road to give it more of a closed environment but since the road is in the middle of the photo, the road is the main focus. There really isn’t that much of a pattern in the photograph, but one that i would consider a pattern would be the snow on both sides of the ground but non on the asphalt road. There is a certain depth of field to the image also as you can see the beginning of the road and then the road gets blurry as it gets further from the camera. The contrast of light and dark in the photograph is how the top of the photo starts off light and as you descend to the road the image gets darker.
This is the Brooklyn Bridge, study 4, New York, USA, 2000 by Michael Kenna. Here Kenna takes personal view of the empty Brooklyn Bridge in black and white. The mood of the photograph is very eerie as if there is a mystery within in the bridge. What i like about this image is that the way the path on the bridge gives the believe of someone walking to the gates of another world. it also feel as if this bridge transports you to the after life. The photograph is very unsettling but it is also very amazing when it comes to how impact full the bridge from that angle.
Kenna’s use of line is very strong when all the lines of the photograph point to the structure of the bridge. Not only that, but some wires are shown going in the diagonal direction towards the bridge structure. The Framing in this photograph can be considered the walkway and the wires supporting the bridge. The are many patterns in this picture, the biggest pattern is the wires. they all repeat in the direction of the structure of the bridge. Making the structure that more interesting. the focus is clearly more concentrated to the front of the picture, giving the impression that the end of this road is unknown or mystery. The contrast of light and dark is what gives the image its dark and eerie feel. i feel that this was Kenna’s decisive moment because the time he choose to take this image the background is gradually changing form from light to dark, signifying the end of the day when the sun settles. Almost every thing is gradually dark, but what stands out is this dark, intimidating yet magnificent structure that stand in the middle of everything making hard to miss. This was shot from a point of view angle, making it very personal and easy to experience. It is also slanted so as if this person or thing is slowly losing consciousness. All and all this truly an amazing image.
Post a small (in terms of file size) image of the best photograph that you took today. Describe which compositional principles you used to make the photograph visually engaging.
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