WAY OF SEEING POST

Greetings: Please post a VISUAL example of a photograph you find contains the framing properties we discussed in class today, re: the example from class:

Ways of Seeing

This photograph was taken by Musa Nor Azmi. It shows many examples of division and separation. The paths diverging would be the most obvious one to find as it divides the grassy areas, which could symbolize decision-making in life. The person walking in the photo shows segments of time passing by as each step is captured. The element of line is used very effectively here. We see the repetition of trees that create vertical lines as well as the leaves that are dangling from the top. There are also horizontal lines where the grass ends in the distance and where the branches are overlapping. The lines and repetition in this photograph seem to give us a sense of rhythm as this person takes a walk in the park.

Way of Seeing

This photograph is by Ansel Adams. This photograph is broken into 4 separate pictures. You have the left and right river banks that are separated by the river. The river is the third picture, and then the fourth picture is above the horrizon which is the mountains above the horizon. This picture is broken up by the sharp contrast of black land and the white river. The picture is also broken up by the rising landscape.

Ways of Seeing

In this photo, the numerous lines (from the window panes, bars, wire, and shattered glass) divide the picture into any number of isolated fragments. Each window pane could be taken as a whole, but the bars divide each pane into 2 or 3 segments, and within even that, the wire and glass shards divide the picture once again. All the lines, instead of clearly dividing the photo into individual segments, actually add to the chaos and disorder of the piece. Additionally, the lines prevent the viewer from easily seeing what is outside the window, making the window the focal point of the picture, instead of it merely being the frame in which to see the outside world.

Photo by John Shearer. http://www.life.com/image/53379340

Way of Seeing Post

This photograph definitely shows a very distinct divide between the left and right side of the photo. On the left side, complete chaos and darkness, and you can really see the anguish on the faces of the people. On the right side, you see lightness, calm, and order. Just as the picture we looked at in class, each half of this photo can be looked at as an individual photo, however it has the biggest impact when viewed as a whole. I love the contrast in this photo, not only between the light and dark, but also between the order and disorder. This picture tells a story, even without the viewer knowing any specific details about what is going on. I think this is what makes this such a strong photograph.

The dark borderline of the photograph draws one's attention to the center of the fainted background. The clarity of the borderline also draws the viewers eye to the less clear misty center. Depth of field is show in the photo as the cannon is more clear than the bridge. Plus the similarity between the colors of the water and sky, draw attention to the orange bridge.

Way of Seeing

This photograph was taken by Mike Wells. The framing of the photograph serves to highlight the different size of the hands. The out-of-focus background further serves to draw attention to the difference in size of the hands. The photograph is in color, which I think further compounds the difference in the size of the hands.

Way of Seeing Post

Author: Robert Frank. Title: "Robert Frank: London/Walse"

This photograph was also taken by Robert Frank. What immediately caught my eye was the vertical separation of the image. The black and white contrast is clearly and separately shown in the picture; the left side is dominated in black and the right side is dominated in white. Similar to the Trolly image, we can cut this photograph in half and have two separate, vibrant images. Like the Trolly photograph, this image shows the differences between two classes of people. The coal miner wears dirty cloth and is doing more physical work. The bankers wear nicer clothes, top hats, and do less physical work. What is similar though is that they are all moving and they are all working to support themselves.

Way of seeing

This photo by Arup Ghosh from India helped him win the Sony World Photography Award for Amateur Photographer of the Year in 2008

This photo is also separated into thirds, though a little more abstractly: the wall, the mirror, and the man himself, who is the subject. Like Frank’s photo, this picture moves your eye from left, where the subject is, to the right, where we can see what’s happening in the mirror. To me, the mirror manages to frame the whole picture, even though it is only enclosing the one scene. Each part of the picture sort of has its own section due to the mirror frame; similar to the windows of the bus of the photo we looked at.

Photo found at: http://www.studiolighting.net/arup-ghosh-of-india-wins-sony-amateur-photo-contest/

Way of Seeing

Dorethea Lange, Street Demonstration, San Francisco 1933

The bodies of the protesters break this image into (horizontal) thirds. For example, the first section is above their heads: the area where the signs are. The middle section is defined by their bodies and the bottom section is the ground beneath their feet. The photo is also spilt into thirds vertically by the police officer.

The subject is the police officer in the center. Being in the foreground makes him appear larger than those behind him--his face is also shaded where as those behind him are lit (except for the shadow created by their hats). While the demonstraters create the background, one stands out as he is staring directly at the camera--which is a pose the police officer might be expected to take as a way to create authority over the photograph.

An interesting element of this photograph is that it makes the view move from right to left, rather than left to right (as we discussed in class, this is the natural way for Westerners to view images or text). The faces (except the one staring at the camera) are looking towards the left which makes the eye move towards the left.