Recently I have chosen five interesting pictures differing in style and device from a vast array of shots I have taken over the last few days.
The primary creative device for this shot to me seems to be Leading Lines. This is due to the middle wooden beam extending towards the wall, acting as a hypothetical (and literal) support for the other lines and aesthetically pleasing symmetry created by the rest of the structure, it’s respective shadows and openings for other aspects of the shot such as light and color. However, this wooden structure’s angle sort of split and highlight some areas. This adds other increasingly pleasing creative devices to the shot, including depth, due to the scale and perspective the lines in the beam contribute to the perceived distance and size of the plants in the shot. Some contrast is also present, the top part of the image featuring the greenhouse itself shrouded in light, reflecting and shining down, adding shadows to the central structure, and the bottom part with the vegetation.
This shot’s central device is focus as the attention of the shot is directed towards the three bulbs attached to the branch, with the green background less focused on and more blurred. The focus on the dark, plump bulbs attached to a proportionally very small structure, the branch, in addition to a mainly green background may also add a device of contrast to the shot, highlighting each aspect, the bulbs/branch, and lush green and various sources of light in the background.
This shot was sort of spur of the moment, taken when I was making breakfast and suddenly saw a creative device right in front of me; contrast. This is the first feature of the shot I noticed when the bright and varied color and texture of the two fried eggs seemed to pop against the deep black of my cast-iron pan, and to me at least, had an appearance reminiscent of an abstract painting. (I’m not sure if thats a good or bad statement about my cooking) Other prominent devices I noticed in this picture were texture, due to the varied colors, crevices and otherwise that one can see in the two fried eggs, and framing. This is because the shot is enveloped by the blackness of the pan, focusing and highlighting the food cooking within by restricting light
This image was one I took using early morning light in combination with the clouds, allowing for a silhouette for numerous bodies. The device I have found from this selected shot is balancing elements, due to the matching dark shadows of the telephone pole in the middle of the shot and the very thin power lines, other poles and various vegetation emphasized by the brightness of the sky behind it. The other device I noticed in this shot was the rule of thirds. I came to adopt this supportive device due to the positioning of the telephone poles in the shot, the clouds high up to the right, and the bright white clouds ignited by the sun on the left.
This shot was also a bit spur of the moment, as I went to my friends house and saw her huge tapestry on her wall, I knew immediately that this shot capturing the detail of the pattern and even material was a color creative device, as the tapestry supported an array of designs and symmetrical shapes bursting with life. Supporting devices most certainly include focus, as the shot becomes increasingly blurred as the tapestry extends from the lens.
This assignment at first, seemed relatively simple and interesting in terms of actually analyzing the shot and its various features and distinguishing attributes. But when it came down to capturing said images, it was almost like writers block, but not, a photographers block if you will. For example, even in the conservatory with the vast array of different scenes, plants, angles, and strange objects, I personally felt stumped when trying to capture shots that were unique and/or reminiscent of the necessary devices we were tasked with finding. However after much maddening analysis of the gallery of pictures I had taken in the green house and beyond, I found images that I found acceptable and pleasing for presentation on my blog. I do wish I had experimented more with certain variables such as light, shadows, and more abstract/experimental photography, in an attempt to invoke thought regarding various concepts, emotions and different perceptions.
Charles Ringley 