Sunday, January 4, 2009

January 4, 2009



I couldn't decide which image I like best, so I am posting all three. These pictures are interesting variations on the use of repetition. The mannequins are the focal point of each story, and the fact that there are several of them is key. Grouping the mannequins gives them visual weight. The bars of the thrift store door also contribute a repeating element. What role does it play when you study the photographs that include it?

The pictures tell different stories, based on the juxtaposition of the key elements - the mannequins - and the stories are influenced by the other design elements in each image. The misted windows and soft colors suggest one atmosphere, which is quite different from the clarity and harder edges in the other two photos. I find the projection part of the equation fascinating. My mind automatically begins to develop a story line when I study the pictures. I don't even have to do it intentionally.

The top photo feels poignant, maybe trapped. The middle image doesn't have as much emotional content for me. I see it as an abstraction - primarily form. The bottom image feels inviting in a funny way. Are the headless bodies inviting me in? Is this some weird scene from a horror film? Or just a friendly invitation to take a look around?
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4 comments:

Jackie said...

The glass does interesting things too, doesn't it? The light, the reflection, the distance it places between you and the subject. Fun to have the variations and how differently they feel. Such small differences really matter.

January 4, 2009 at 1:05 PM
Clairan Ferrono said...

I too love the glass, especially in the first photo because images are superimposed, and you have to look hard to make out what they are!

January 4, 2009 at 2:26 PM
Ginny Gaskill said...

Jane,
I just want to thank you for the inspiration. I also have started an exercise in photo journaling. I go to your site each day to see what you have done.
Thanks,
Ginny

January 4, 2009 at 3:40 PM
Debbi said...

The first photo is serious - the lines of the window and the 3 mannequins are very formal. The middle photo is less formal, but still disciplined. The third really made me laugh. I could see mannequin's making a run for it...looks like the two leading are peering outside to see if the coast is clear. .

January 5, 2009 at 7:12 PM

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November 20, 2008

November 20, 2008

November 20, 2008

How does color set a mood? The soft gray and white of the carpet, the cat Marshall, and the sunlit window contribute to to the sense of calm repose. What does blue mean to you or me? We all have symbolic associations for colors; some based on personal experience and some instilled culturally. 

The cobalt blue of the vase provides a point and counterpoint to the composition, in addition to providing elements that balance.
Keeping the cat in the lower third of the composition weights the image and is another visual door into the picture world.

November 19, 2008

November 19, 2008

November 19, 2008

This picture tells several stories. It references the human desire to order the world around us - the lettering on the wall establishes the alley as a No Parking zone, and the broken glass-  jutting out at the top - is another message of fear and frailty. Whoever lives behind this wall wants to be left alone.

But there is beauty in the contrast of the rough brick surface and the smooth translucency of the broken glass bottles. A contrast of textures makes for an interesting composition. And the abstract nature of the printed letters against the structure of the bricks would be worth emulating in another sort of composition.

There is as much beauty in decay as there is in a bouquet of fresh flowers. And aren't decay and fresh growth just two different spots on the same continuum?



November 18, 2008

November 18, 2008

November 18, 2008

The Hydrangeas offer a lesson in the effective use of color. The pale blue and lavender are roughly the same value, so they balance each other beautifully. I am challenged to mimic that combination of analogous colors on silk Habotai!

This photograph would be considered beautiful even without the red-orange and yellow flowers at the bottom. But the addition of the complements to the blue and purple creates a focal point and generates some nice contrast because of the complementary pairing. And imagine how different this composition would be, were the red-orange and yellow at the top instead of at the bottom. The current placement adds important visual weight.

November 17, 2008

November 17, 2008

November 16, 2008

November 16, 2008
Being and Non-being

Substance and Light

November 16, 2008

We join spokes together in a wheel,
but it is the center hole
that makes the wagon move.

We shape clay into a pot,
but it is the emptiness inside 
that holds whatever we want.

We hammer wood for a house,
but it is the space inside
that holds whatever we want.

We work with being,
but non-being is what we use.

Tao te Ching; Verse 11
Stephen Mitchell translation