Sphericality.org

One thing I like to try to use is existing surroundings to make a frame to my image.  This can be a really nice way to make an image turn out well.

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This is the cloister from (I think) Magdalen College at Oxford University in Oxford England.  If I were doing something with the image, I would probably darken the top to complete the frame of the cloister.  It is a stone archway, and works fairly well as a border to the rest of the image.

However, look at what happens when I change the angle slightly.

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It doesn’t work nearly as well.  It isn’t a terrible shot, but it isn’t quite up to the level of the first.  With this second one, I think I would have been better off not having the stone frame in the image.  Of course, one man’s trash is another’s treasure.  I’m sure the bottom image, to someone, is the greatest image ever made.

My personal opinion is that I like the first better, but it reflects my personality.  The top is a very still image, nice to look at, but somewhat cold overall.  Everything feels like it is frozen in place.  It may as well be a bunch of fruit.  While it is a good photo, it has no personality and very little character.  It would look nice on a wall, but there is no emotion.

The second one is very different.  By adjusting the framing, and blurring the stone a little, it almost makes you uncomfortable to look at.  The age of the buildings helps to make it feel old, and almost a memory.

This is part of the difference between being just a good photo and breaking into art.  Although the line is very blurry sometimes.  Some would call both of these images art, some would say only one is.  While I do not consider myself an artist, I have made some images that could be considered art.

Moving on.

You can do the same as this with natural objects, like trees and rocks.

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While not a great photo, this does work.  I was sitting under a tree and I found the framing of the Washington Monument to be quite nice.

However, it can also produce some, odd images.

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The branch, in my opinion, actually ruins this image.  It just sort of hangs there and looks awkward.

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This is kind of the reverse.  The branch is the subject, and everything else frames it.  It doesn’t work, just looks odd, and is not very good.

-sdo

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 9th, 2009 at 5:46 pm and is filed under Color, Photography. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.