Monday 27 April 2015

Connecting Essay 3


This is an image I had found online. It shows abstract and colourful form of light. The first thing I notice about this image is how the vivid blue and green colours significantly contrast against the plain black background. As well as this, the blue and green colours contrast against each other. I like how two colours of light have been used rather then just one as it makes the image more interesting as we can see how the colours intertwine with each other Elongated beams of light are created due to the long exposure technique used when taking this photo. There is quite a lot of empty space in the frame. In a lot of cases this would be a negative aspect of a photo, but because the lights are so bright and vivid, and because the background is completely black, I think the empty space works effectively. 



This is an image I had taken myself. It shows both the movement of a beam of light and a portrait of a girl. Firstly, the beam elongated line of light, which was achieved by decreasing my shutter speed, contrasts significantly against the girls dark jacket which allows the shape of it to be clearly seen. The fact the girl is wearing all black works well in this situation as it means we can see the light clearly, and bright colours on clothing would distract attention away from this. I used flash when taking this image as I knew that I wanted the girl to be seen, in order to fill more of the frame and make the image more interesting. I like the composition of this image, and the position of the light in it as it does not cover the girls face. Texture is shown in the girls jacket as the highlights and tones in it create form. Shadows in the girls face for example at the side of the nose show form in the face. I like the angle this photo has been taken from, as the high angle shot allows depth to be shown, and for the girls face to be shown closer up so that more detail can be seen. The background is plain and dark which again helps the beam of light stand out. You can also clearly see the source of light in this image and that the girl is holding it.

Both of these images include elongated beams of light in order to show movement, which has been achieved by long exposure. These lights create abstract and interesting lines and shapes that are appealing for the eye in both images. In both situations, the light is significantly contrasted against the background so that it can be clearly seen. 

One obvious difference between these two images is that in one of them you can see the source of light and the person controlling it, but in the other you cant. In the image I had found, only the light itself is visible, however I think this is effective as it creates a sense of mystery for the viewer and creates enigmas, while also keeping the content of the frame very minimalistic and appealing. In the photo I had taken, you can very clearly see the person who is holding the source of light. I did this on purpose in order to fill the frame and to make the image more interesting, including both a portrait and the movement of light. The light in both images is different colours. The top image uses two different colours of light, blue and green, however in my image the light is white and plain. Because I had decided to also show a portrait in my image, I think using coloured light may have distracted the eye away from the girl, and I feel that plain light fits the picture better as there is a lack of colour in it overall. The other image uses two vivid colours to make the image more interesting as there is nothing else visible in the frame, and the background is plain black. In the image I had found, the light takes up a relativity large amount of the frame, and is central. This allows the light to stand out even more. On the other hand in my image, the light only takes up about a quarter of the frame and is located in one corner, rather than in the middle. I think this works well as the light does not cover the models face, yet it is still very visible due to contrasting against the black jacket. Lastly, the two images have been taken in two very different places, one in a studio and one on location. The studio works well to create a completely black and plain background for the light to contrast against in the image I had found. This guarantees that there will be no extraneous features that could distract the eye away from the light, and makes the image very bold overall. I decided to shoot my image on location rather than in a studio, however I think that in this case it works well. There is nothing in the background that is distracting the eye away from the girl or the light, but the textured ground adds the the image. 

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