Pleasing Pics

I spent the afternoon scouring my photo library as well as shooting around my backyard to find pictures which include the influences of the rule of thirds, the diagonal rule and vectors. Here is what I came up with... 

This is a photo of a utility pole behind my apartment. The area of greatest interest is on the top right intersection of the hypothetical grid of the lower thirds principle. The diagonal line created by the wood of the pole draws the eye through the photo up to the more complicated area of the power lines. The graphic vectors which draw interest and propose a strong sense of direction are the power lines branching out in various directions.  

Happy Halloween! I figured at least one of my pictures should be festive. : ) The pumpkin is the greatest area of interest in this photo. It lies on both left-side intersections of the lower thirds grid and looks pretty shnazzy if I do say so myself. The lines of the brick wall supporting the pumpkin, which continue toward the background of the picture, satisfy the diagonal rule. This might be a stretch but I think the stem of the pumpkin serves the role of an index vector as it draws the eye down to the ribs of the pumpkin then to the face (or greatest area of interest).

This pretty young lady is my niece Shannon. We took this photo a few months ago but I really love it so I decided to include it in this assignment. Shannon is located on both right intersections of the rule of thirds in this frame. Her elbow serves as an index vector as it inadvertently points to  the left edge of the frame. Her arm exemplifies the diagonal rule because it allows viewers to follow a path from the tip of her elbow, up to her hand then to her face.

 Here are some more pictures, just because...

Web Page Analysis

I decided to analyze web-designs and layouts for this assignment, for the sake of doing something that hits home for most people. If you're anything like me you spend a great deal of time online these days. As much web surfing as we do I'm sure we have all been drawn-in or pushed-away by good or bad web design at least once. Viewing these two images I hope it is obvious to onlookers which is designed well and which was vomited up by someone with no artistic eye whatsoever. 

The ugly, ineffective layout is a web page for a formal dress and tuxedo shop somewhere in Florida. I hope word of mouth serves them better than their web page or else they're long gone by now. The design in no way reflects positively on the business' contribution to their industry; a formal-wear shop catering to a higher-class clientele dressing for special occasions. It is counterproductive to this purpose of having a web site. This web page touts a lot of information... so much so that I am completely at a loss for direction, focus, interest or any type of order. The words are in no way organized, there is no continuity with colors, text or design, no spacial considerations were taken whatsoever, the main image is distracting and confusing and the entire page lacks any sense of balance. There was definitely a lot of contrast but not in a good way. The sporadic design satisfies zero of the Gestalt Principles and leaves the onlooker racing for the back button.   

Ahhhh, onto the good web page design. The "Feed Stitch" web page has a better feeling to it, doesn't it? That's because someone with sense created it. Not just sense, but knowledge of how to aesthetically please website visitors and potential clients. The first thing I notice about the page is that it feels balanced to me. It is designed with as much interesting detail on the left side as it has on the right side, although it's not symmetrical. It immediately puts me at easy to feel this, so I stay on the page to look for more. The next thing I notice is the text. The main text is written in a easy to read and beautiful font. The other text on the page is placed in front of a background, typed in a pop color and in all caps which contrasts with the light blue background color, making it easy for me to read and follow. The main blue colors all seem cohesive and tranquil, setting the perfect background for the pop colors of the artistic picture of thread woven through fabric. That brings me to my next point of interest which is texture. The colors vary in such a way that alludes to shadows and some type of texture to the page, along with the seemingly 3-dimensional picture of thread going in and out of the digital fabric. The Law of Proximity is also demonstrated here because upon first glance I naturally grouped the rows of boxes together because they were near each other and similar in appearance. The Law of Closure also applies to the picture of thread. Although I can't see it in the middle where it is supposedly on the backside of the fabric, it reemerges on the right side of the web page and continues outside the border of the screen. I know it is one continuous string even though it's not shown in its entirety. The entire design seems clean, contemporary and inviting to me.  

 http://racked.com/archives/2010/07/26/does-yvettes-wedding-dresses-have-the-ugliest-website-ever.php 

http://www.looks.gd/design/what-does-good-web-design-look-like

Feeling an image...

This picture is China in a nutshell in my opinion. Everything about it brings back very strong sensory-laden memories for me that will never leave my heart or mind. I had the opportunity to live in a city called Hefei for 4 months in 2008, teaching English to students of all ages. As a part of my experience I was given the chance to attend a home-visit with one of my students on a rare extended vacation we all had from school. I was walking with Laura and her mother through their hometown as the girls proudly showed me the best their neighborhood had to offer. Laura's family owns a flour factory so the family resides in a largely-impoverished neighborhood despite their obvious financial stability as business owners; also made obvious by the fact they can afford to send their 2 children to an upscale school across the country as well as bring them home for periodic visits. We were on our way to a Buddhist Temple and passed through a lonely market-street when I decided to capture the moment.

This was the first image that came to mind when parameters for this assignment were detailed, especially with the journalistic emphasis requirement. It strongly boasts strength in contrast, balance and harmony which I will explain in the following paragraphs.

Laura and her mother are stark contrasts to their environment in this photo. Both women are wearing more modern, clean, sophisticated clothing which stands out greatly in the dingy, smoky and run-down market they are passing through. Contrast in texture is very obvious! The street is covered in random spills and stains on the concrete, piles of garbage along the road's edges and a random fire burning among broken-down shacks somehow used as stores. This leaves me with feelings of passiveness, loneliness, filthiness and defeat. However, as the two females walk through their hometown they hold strong to one another, embracing lovingly as they peruse amid the ruin. Their body language shows no concern whatsoever for the shambles that surround them and seem to casually accept the defeat of their environment while maintaining strength and love between one another. Because they are the subjects closest to the lens of my point-and-shoot camera they seem to be in better focus than the rest of the items (Could just be my bad vision, who knows?) which adds to the feeling of separation and contrast between them and their environment as well. The framing and spacing of the photo places the women directly into the action and drama... We're not seeing them in the foreground as through we're experiencing this view with them, we are viewing them in this experience. They seem to be encompassed by their surroundings which compliments the aforementioned feelings of being IN the environment but not OF the environment.

Balance is obtained because the street scene seems to be pretty symmetrical as far as the 'weight' of the photo is concerned. An old set of tables and a fire sit just opposite of one another, and the walking females are on 2 intersections of the rule of thirds. Normally I would've edited this picture to bring the bottom border up so less negative space would've been present but I felt that doing so would've knocked off the sense of imbalance leaving the status-quo actually achieves, complementing the uneasy feeling of the atmosphere and environment as a whole.  The colors both Laura and her mom are wearing match some of the colors on business signs further down the road which makes me feel like the girls still fit into the neighborhood despite the great contrast that exists between them and their surroundings, as detailed previously.

This image was captured with a cheap camera by an amateur photographer in a moment's notice. Harmony wasn't achieved with a stylistic eye as much as it was through the contexts of the story, people, and culture. My psychological contextual understanding and social contextual experiences with this country, family and their lives make this much more meaningful to me, but obviously a random viewer would have few personal experiences to draw upon to gain meaning or emotion. This image shows the ruin that China tries so hard to hide, the happiness and comfort people have in such uncomfortable circumstances, the love between mother and daughter that exists despite many cultural difficulties as well as the optimism they have for moving forward despite present circumstances. It screams hope and improvement and serves as a source of inspiration for me as I experience hardships in my life. Their interaction somehow establishes a feeling of harmony because it typifies the struggles of life we each experience and how to move forward despite opposition, holding onto the things you hold most dear.

A New Approach - Gestalt Principles

Gestalt Principles have taught me to view images in a way I hadn't entertained before. I've never understood why one image was more visually pleasing than another or for what specific reasons I enjoyed or disliked a particular piece of art. Yet the Gestalt Principles introduce specific points of focus on the qualities and characteristics of art, which define and liven the objects. Applying this critical view to images and art forms gives me a  deeper appreciation for the details and helps make art forms more distinctive from one another.

This image was captured at a photo shoot I did a few months ago. I don't want to seem totally narcissistic by using a personal photo for this assignment but this was a direct example of how I'm learning to view things with a new critical outlook using the principles at hand. 

The first principle that stands out to me is the Law of Closure. I automatically recognize the subjects of this photo as being legs. Naturally, I assume outside of the camera's frame a body is connected to the legs although the image cuts me off a little above the hip, leaving my form incomplete. My mind is at ease because the framing my photographer chose to use cuts me off just north of an intersection point of the body, no paraplegic here thankfully! (knock on wood!) So, I can comfortably deduce what lies beyond the picture's edges even though it's not spelled out for me. 

Secondly, the Law of Continuity is ever present in this photo. The lighting helps to make both of the legs distinct from one another, however, the line of the legs is what leads the eyes through the picture. My supportive leg draws a strong, vertical line because it provides the stability for the rest of the image. It gives a tall, firm energy which contrasts with the line of my right leg. The slight curve at my knee draws a diagonal line and gives a feeling of movement to the subject. Because a definitive bottom to the subject is visible (my stiletto touching the floor), my eyesight is naturally drawn from the bottom to the top of the image in an upward movement.

The Law of Proximity is obvious in that the legs are grouped together as a pair due to obvious familiarity with the human anatomy so they're associated as being together. 

The Law of Similarity applies to the dress I'm wearing. There are several thousand individual beads on the dress, some of which are highlighted specifically due to the lighting, yet they all blend together to create one complete gown. The eye naturally groups them together rather than seeing the beads one by one. 

The Law of Proximity can be applied to the piece of jewelry on my left foot. A clear, elastic band is holding each of the groupings of beads together, however, the band isn't visible in most areas. Despite the absence of a continuous visual connection between the beads, viewers can safely assume the beads are together because of their close proximity.