Framing

For class last week we went to Philadelphia and took pictures in pairs. Associating our shots with one of John Szarkowski's 5 elements of photography (presented in his article The Photographers Eye).  Katy and I, decided to pick frame as our topic and thus set out to find interesting depth and contrast between objects and associations in everything we saw.  So continuing off of that interest in frame I will be commenting on a couple pictures with frame in mind.

  This picture quite literally has a frame created by the wooden statue in the foreground.  However, the point of analyzing frame isn't to look at the borders edges, but what has been chosen to fit within the borders of the picture.  From looking at the other statue we presume that the wooden legs we are viewing through is part of the other half of a western pistol duel.  It is very interesting that we can understand this without having to see what the actual statue looks like. The subject and detail of this picture thus creates and interesting frame where we become a candid viewer in this 'stoic' encounter.  Before moving on, I'd like to emphasize the care which the photographer took to capture the empty space between the legs of the opposing statue and the area around him.  This photograph could also be looked at for its vantage point as it catches this unique event from an otherwise unseen angle.

Where surfers are usually associated with the open sea, this framing allows us to associate the surfer with the extension of mankind into the ocean (via the boardwalk above).  The shadows that come off from the surfer and the wooden planks create a sense of depth and reality; the sunlight is peering under mans creation.  Another site of depth is seen in the extension of the boardwalk, tunneling us through. 

Cheers,
SPD

Time and Frame

After the class last week I found myself very interested in the concept of time.  As it was stated in the Photographers Eye the introduction of faster shutter speeds brought forth photos of unseen images, like two headed dogs, bending the way we see reality and blurring our sense of truth.

    This picture of a double-decker bus bursting through the streets pulls the viewer toward the destination of the red and white blur. The framing of the picture is interesting, capturing two streams of light from lamp posts further down the street and the mess of lights on the ground in the distance.  The people on the street also help to give us a idea of the speed the bus is going at.  The tail lights that stick out like two white magic marker lines capture a kind of tech light burst reminiscent of glow sticks and morphs the form of the bus into this "light speed" futuristic mesh.

The man without ties to the ground and the particles of water motionless in the air create a shot that couldn't have been taken a moment later, definitely a decisive moment.  The triangle of space made between the people "closest" to the viewer in the shot and the small space between the second girls hair and the man behind hers chest frames this photo in an impressive way.

Thanks for your time,
Sean

My Dog and an Island Monument

The pictures shown here are some photos that my sister and I took about 5 years ago while we lived in the Philippines.Welcome to my first Digital Photo blog post.
This picture above featuring my dog Spanky is impressive to me because of the angle of the shot and the elements that appear in the foreground and the background.  By having the chair and the edge of the table in the front we get a sense of the angle the space that exists between us and the floor.  the size of the cupboard and the plant behind Spank also defines her size in the photo.  The halo affect that comes from the window in its L shape also helps define the focal point of the picture.  The table and chair, and the two plants also help draw us towards the center of the picture where the aura of puzzled dog then stares back at us.

This picture was taken on a island in the Philippines that I have completely forgotten the name of.  The lighting is from directly over head and the focal point of the picture is the top of the monument.  The set of stairs that surround the picture add a bit of depth along and the bricks on the ground along with the angle of the shot makes the shot appear circular.  The kid on the bicycle allows us to place ourselves into the picture and makes the photo feel more novel.

thanks for your time,
SPD