The photograph I choose was by Matthew Pillsbury, captioned Sandcastle Competition 2, Coney Island. This is a photo taken of a Sandcastle on Coney Island’s beach. The photo captures this very well detailed sandcastle on top mountain of sand. I think that this photo has more than just one purpose. One purpose of this photo is to show excellent looking sand castle made at the beach. The other purpose of the photo was to show a passage of time. The blurry effect in the photo gives the illusion on movement since many camera blur when people move at a faster pace then the camera can capture. The mood of the photo seems to have to revolve around work or labor. Such a detailed sandcastle cannot be done in a few moments so it is evident that a lot of work went into a project of this size.
In a photo like this one rule that is very evident and is also what makes this photo very strong is Symmetry. Not only is the sandcastle the main focus of the photo, but it also splits the photo nearly evenly. Since the sandcastle is directly in the middle, a person’s eye would naturally go towards that focal point. Another rule that is used in this photo is a Contrast of Light and Dark. While the photo overall is quite bright, the focal point in which is the sand castle is mostly covered by a shadow. Because of this shadow it doesn’t blend smoothly with the background as nicely as other elements do. Lastly another rule that completes this photo is Patterns and Repetition. In this photo there are a bunch a people who are blurred out and this is consistently done throughout the photo. Another pattern found is the background components or the rides in Coney Island. Because there is some much repetition all over the photo, having a focal point directly in the middle as well as adding a shadow and lastly, letting this very detailed sandcastle break the pattern of the photo all comes together to make this photo as appealing and engaging as it is.
http://matthewpillsbury.com/photographs/sandcastle-competition-2-coney-island-2015/
I also like how Pillsbury juxtaposes the sand castle with the parachute jump inviting us to compare them.