IN PRACTICE: A Little Exposure Should Do You All Some Good

[THE DETAIL]

When I shot this, I didn't take notice of the stretching shadowy figure on the left hand side of the frame until I was editing and my independent study mentor, Mr. Von Wahlde, commented on how it contributes to the image. This simple component adds weight to the scene, what John Szarkowski might call an unseen meaning. Although the focus of this photograph is parimarily my mom's facial expression and concerning posture, the ambiguity and mystery of the left hand shadow brings in multiple components to this story. It starts a discussion between the two animate and human subjects (at lest in theory). In addition to this conversation, there is another one in the foreground between the inanimate birthday cake and neatly stacked plates. They are both about equal height on the table and are placed on either side of the main subject, as if posing an idea about present and future.

[SHADOW]

I came home late one night and as I walked through my garage, I noticed the shadows cast by the harsh indoor light on the stark, cracked wall and its hanging inhabitants. I pass this cross and shelf every day, but never saw them in such a striking view, with the right lighting; they either blend into the blur of my world at 7 in the morning when I leave the house or are imperceptable to my tired eyes when I finally return home at 9 in the evening. I think what made this shot a success was the high contrast between the background and the subjects (brown/black on white). There is a somewhat reverent aspect about the cross since it is closer to the light source. All its tiny details are thrown into clarity while the hanging platform is almost completely blacked out by shadow, which gives it a darker and sinister feel. The angular box is almost the complete opposite of the ornate cross which resides so complacently next to it.

[FOCUS]

This was really a test shot for my camera. These are my current photographic theory study books, and they were perched on my desk just so and at the spur of the moment I thought, "Oh, whatever, I just want something to show up on the display screen." As it turns out, the focal length of my lens, aperture, and aspect of the book I focused on happened to work in my favor. The corner of the book features the publisher, "Focal Press." How perfect. This image fades into a blur of confusion, giving depth to the image and importance to the prominent book corner.