Frame & Composition: Activity 4

    The photographer who took this picture successfully managed to balance the girl while leaving the image to be off center. The eye flows from the left, down towards the left wheel, curves around to the other wheel, and then curves around to land the final focus on the girl.
The possible intentions of the photographer in creating this image is to create a fluidity within the image while not allowing the girl to be centered in the frame. This imbalance allows the eye to flow through the scene and also notice the other details presented.
Image found on photoinf.com

    This image is also off center but it, however, is not balanced in any way. It is difficult to discern which part of the ceiling or wall is the focal point of the image and the clashing point of the two circles distract the eye from the other parts of the image. While the picture is beautiful and crisp, it is unclear what the audience is supposed to focus on.
The possible intentions of this photographer were to showcase the beauty of the architecture as well as the grandeur.

          

     These two images are not balanced. The first is placed too far into the right corner of the frame which creates the need to shift it down towards the center or simply down a bit. The second is centered but is still not quite balanced; the frame either needs to be shifted up or downwards slightly for the image to feel balanced.

Images by Megan Arnold (me).

       

    The two images above are balanced. The first is centered so that it is clearly the focus of the image and doesn't have an entirely plain background. The second is placed off to the bottom left corner of the frame and this creates the space and motion for the eye to wander the piece more than it would otherwise.

Images by Megan Arnold (me).

Frame & Composition: Activity 3

Images that Follow the Rule of Thirds:

The tree exemplefies the Rule of Thirds in that it falls along the rightmost line and the branches also fall along the two rightmost power points. It allows for the eye to focus on the tree and then flows into the background.

Image found on photographymad.com

The ship in this picture is also following the rule of thirds in that it is sailing off the frame and into the distance. It is aligned on the bottom horizontal line and also on the rightmost vertical line.

Image found on 1webdesign.com

Images that Do Not Follow the Rule of Thirds:

This statue is not following the rule of thirds because it is centered, rather than moved off to the left side to allow the picture to have more balance.

Image found on iffies.com

 

The shell is also not following the rule of thirds in that it is centered in the frame as well. If it were to be shifted to either the left or to the right it would have the proper balance this rule requires.

Image by Deirdre Malfatto

Frame & Composition: Activity 2

"What does John Szarkowski mean when he says that photographers are quoting ‘out of context’ when they make photographic pictures?"

A: When John Szarkowski says photographers are quoting "out of context" when they make photographic pictures he means that the photographers are explicitly deciding what will be seen by their audience once the picture is complete. They are cutting and cropping and formatting their image exactly to their liking and they will thus decide how the image will be perceived by others. Also, they are allowing their audience to, somewhat, decide for themselves how the image will be seen, what is happening, and how they interpret the tone of the image to be.


"The frame often ‘dissects familiar forms’. At the end of the last century photography was having a major impact on Art. Impressionist artists such as Degas were influenced by what they saw. Look at these examples of Degas work, which clearly shows the influence of Photography, and explain why the public might have been shocked to see such paintings."

A: The public might have been shocked to see such paintings because they had never experienced art in a form that was so realistic to that of what they saw with their own eyes. People were growing accustomed to seeing images through photography that enabled light and movement and details to be captured permanently, and now artists such as Degas were developing skills in which they were able to closely imitate photography and the natural perspective of life. They were more realistic and less abstract, less traditional, than art had been previously.

This painting by Edgar Degas is called Waiting c.1882 and is clearly influenced by photography. As Degas practiced photography himself, he was aware of the importance of lighting and of certain features and focal points in a piece of art. Here, Degas balances clarity and confusion as well as the expressions of the two women in the painting. He allows fluidity to be present and this enables the audience to be guided through the piece.

Frame & Composition: Activity 1

This image "fills the frame" by allowing the flower to take up the entirety of the screen. It is the focal point and allows no room for distractions by other objects. Also, it has a superb contrast between the background and the orange of the flower itself; no other object in the background is given room to obtain any attention from the audience.

The lion also fills the frame because its face and mane are in focus and there is no room for distraction from the background. Also, the mane consumes the majority of the frame and it is clear that the lion is the subject of the image.
Image by Jonathan Griffiths