Monday
I walk along this path on my way to school every day, and this faint dirt line cutting through the grass is frequently trod upon by students, who most often stop at this point under the tree. I took this shot to point out the apparent abnormality on this lawn and its convenient place by the tree. I wanted to portray this spot with a sense of being a busy spot or common place for rest under shelter. This made me think of the general rule that stepping on grass for too long makes it die, and this dirt patch must mean many students stand or sit here for some forms of gathering. I don't think this would have been as successful compared to if people were standing on that spot in the frame.
Tuesday
BYU campus several planters with this kind of bush (if only I knew what kind it was!), and they sometimes have spider's webs attached to their branches, forming canopies partway into the bush. I thought this must be quite a safe place for spiders, though it's very distanced from the open air, where bugs are more likely to be caught. I wanted to show how the webs do more of defeating their purpose if tucked away from the outside of the bush, similar to how people shouldn't shut themselves inside their house, hoping something fantastic and exciting would happen one day. I don't think the different parts of the photo are easy enough to tell apart; if I could do this again, I would give a bigger margin around the webs on the bottom and the bright skyline, helping the different elements contrast better.
Wednesday
I was walking home across a large parking lot, when I came to this crack in the pavement, and a single cigarette butt stood out to me, even as it seemingly blended evenly with the small fallen leaves around it. I do know that despite this area being heavily active-LDS, this is a reminder of some who nevertheless smoke, and try blending in themselves. The same image tells of how some people, beyond their control, still stand out from the crowd. I wanted this photo to show the reality that no large group of people can share the same attributes. I think I did this one very well, because of the center framing on the cigarette and the side-to-side placement of the crack showing uniformity.
Thursday
I walk a hillside trail on the way from my apartment to work, and part of the way shows a dip between two hills, and a small gazebo in the dip. I thought this looked quaint, reminiscent of old-fashioned homesteads, but sitting there right in front of me. That's why I decided to manipulate the photo to be both black-and-white and full color, to show a place this gazebo holds in time. My intent was to inspire modern-day travelers to old sites like this to be thoughtful of how long it may have been there and how many people or events it may have held. I think this was successfully done, since it doesn't take much to make a photo of a natural hillside look vintage.
Friday
In the damp dirt just off the sidewalk, there are several different kinds of tracks that have crossed that same spot only hours earlier, from a pair of shoes, to a car tire, to what looks like horse hooves (I could be wrong). The leaf resting in the shoe print was naturally sitting there when I found it, and that's what really caught my eye when I approached. I took this photo in another attempt to inspire thoughts about all the different travelers that have crossed a single spot, even some off-beat ones that you wouldn't expect. To me, this says to enjoy the random things in life just because they can make you smile, or even laugh. I don't think enough different tracks are visible to fully communicate that to others, but it was enough to open my imagination.
Hey Spencer! You've got some cool photos here. I like the overarching theme of nature evidencing the existence of other living beings, like humans or insects. You've got some cool stuff here.
ReplyDelete1. I think your description for this first photo is really interesting - it tells me that you thought a lot about why this patch of dirt even exists. It also makes me think about why people stand in front of this tree. There's a whole story there, only made more apparent by the fact that the grass all around the dirt patch is healthy and green. Your framing is good, too. It keeps the tree and dirt patch in focus. My only suggestion would be to straighten out the horizon line, since I'm getting the feeling that you wanted to achieve a symmetrical look for this photo.
2. I love the use of foreground and background in this photo! It's particularly interesting and unique because you're photographing just one object - a bush - but managed to make it deep and dynamic with how you photographed it. I love the blurred-out greenery in the foreground. I also think it adds to the hidden nature of the spiderwebs, almost as if we're peeking in as outside observers. My suggestion for improvement would be to re-frame the spiderwebs using the rule of thirds.
3. This is a cool photo! I didn't even see the cigarette butt at first, but your description and story helped me see greater meaning in this image. I love the horizontal line being a bit variable, a bit curvy in some places, but overall it's quite uniform. It keeps the eye interested in what's going on. I don't know if you intended to make the cigarette butt hard to see, but my suggestion would be to get closer to this little subject of the image, just to make it more obvious. It's an interesting picture without seeing the cigarette, but seeing it really enhances the meaning of the image.
4. The effect you overlayed on this photo is fantastic! I was confused as to why you did it when I first looked at the image, but your description cleared things up. It really is like taking a step back in time. There's even a modern house and bench on the right side, where things are in color and look more modern. I like that the split between black and white also happens right on the gazebo, which can fit in both modern-day images and older images. Your framing is great here too, except next time I might include the full bench since it looks a little odd being cut off like that.
5. The story of you discovering this subject is great! The first thing that caught my eye about this photo is actually the lines. You have a 90-degree corner of grass in the bottom left, and a slightly more obtuse angle of both grass and cement in the upper right. Both are interesting, both are on thirds of the frame, and both lead the eye directly to the leaf, which is in the center of the frame (a good choice). Overall, this is a great photo! Maybe next time, try photographing it not directly from above, but at an angle that gives the textures here more depth.
- Brenna Empey