Even though i know that the focus of the assignment was supposed to be landmarks and famous buildings , i found myself inevitably turning to the human figure. Portraiture fascinates me and, i am afraid, there might be even more unfortunate and thoughtless cliches in that sub genre of photography. In these two images above i have tried to recreate a typical dead centre composition that had been created purely to make the subject look cool, yet failing because of how posed and meaningless the work is. On the right, however, i find that focusing on the subjects calm, fearless and dignified face with the hint of the machine in the background, transforms a young girl into a mystical creature that rises hundreds of questions: Who is she? Is that her motorcycle? It is the ability of her to meet your gaze with such coolness that truly gives the image an edge.
In my experience during this project i have discovered that the asymmetrical photos look a bit more intriguing. No doubt there is certain beauty in a perfectly centred image , however i find that displacing the object with the use of Rule of Thirds makes the viewers eye travel more, and thus appreciate the work more. After taking a year of photography, it actually was quite hard for me to shoot with the objecting right in the middle, it has almost become a habit to stick to asymmetrical compositions. I understand that in certain cases the use of symmetry may be quite pleasing to the eye, for instance, when shooting architecture, however when shooting smaller objects i find that the photographer has to put in a bit more work in order to really get the viewer to pay attention to the intended object.
This year's summer had been filled with trying the new things for me. For the first time in my life I have gotten a job, which became a huge chunk of my summer activities. However, because I was always in the city, I was able to dedicate much of my time to my friends and family and enjoying the last days of the carelessness before the most important year of high school. As a present for my 18th birthday my parents have decided (with a little hint from me, of course) that a three day pass to a Squamish Valley Music Festival, that i have always dreamed of going to but never have, would be perfect. And naturally it was. Seeing one of my favourite bands of all time, Mumford and Sons, on my birthday was like a dream come true. I have not been exactly artistic during the chaos of my summer, but rather recording the events via snapshots on my cellphone. My goal for this year is approaching my life in a more imaginative way, which i hope i can incorporate into this years Photography class. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. Archives
November 2015
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