(A)symmetry/Balance

Symmetry

Asymmetry

Balance

Artist Statement

For this assignment, I had to take pictures of symmetrical, asymmetrical, and balanced objects. Symmetry is where the content on both sides of a vertical dividing line are the same. To capture images I looked for objects and made sure that the left half of the object could be folded over the right and match, then a made sure to position the camera so that the middle of the frame was aligned with the symmetry line. The concept of asymmetry is like symmetry in that there should be an object of focus on one side, but in this case it should not match anything on the other side. In order to capture asymmetrical objects, I found symmetrical objects and moved the camera so that the whole object only occupied one half of the frame or I found two similar objects that could not quite be reflected over the other and be equal. The third concept that I had to capture was balance. A balanced image consists of two similar objects, one on either side of a center dividing line, that have the same visual weight in the frame. I made balanced images by finding two objects that looked similar and that were mostly the same size and that had similar colors.

Lines

Arrangement of Lines

Decorative Lines

Lines Pointing to a Subject

Artist Statement

For this assignment, I had to make images that incorporated different elements of lines in three different ways: arrangement of lines, decorative lines, and lines that pointed to a subject. Images with an arrangement of lines uses lines as the prominent subject in the frame, this draws the attention to the lines. In order to capture images with arrangements of lines, I looked for main subjects that were comprised of lines. I knew that a subject would make a good line arrangement image because my eyes would first see either the lines or the line spaces between objects. Pictures with decorative lines has a main subject, with lines as the secondary part. The successfulness of a picture with decorative lines can be tested when the line element is removed. If the subject still keeps its prominence, then it is successful because the lines should be able to be removed without taking away from the prominence of the main subject. To take pictures with decorative lines, I found an interesting subject with lines that were present, but were secondary in prominence to the object of focus. Lastly, images with lines pointing to the subject, hence the name, uses prominent lines to draw the focus to the subject of the image. I took images like this by finding interesting subjects and then looking for lines that drew the focus to the subject. This assignment enabled me to learn about how lines can be used in images to add effects to the picture in different ways.

Depth

Depth Staging

Books in a library.

Two water fountains.

Recycling.

A tree on a sidewalk.

A coffee cup in a hallway.

Leading Lines

A telephone pole.

The street extends away towards the horizon.

A railing and stairs.

A sidewalk curb flanked by trees and parked cars.

A rug with tables and chairs in the background.

Repetition

A bench in the shade.

Keys on a keyboard.

Lockers.

Scaffolding.

Books in a library.

Artist's Statement

For this assignment, I had to take photos that illustrated depth by using three different methods: depth staging, leading lines, and repetition. The method of depth staging uses an object in the foreground and an object in the background and creates depth due to the differences between them. In order to capture images that use this method to show depth, I got close to an object and zoomed in on it. I made sure to also leave a part of the frame for other objects that were farther away, these two steps insured that an object would be in focus, while also having objects in the background. Leading lines creates depth by using a prominent line in the frame that starts near the camera and goes into the background. To make images that use leading lines, I first looked into the distance, and then found a long straight line that lead to it. I then positioned the camera to make the line prominent in the frame so that it extended into the background. The element of repetition gives images depth by using a similar shape that repeats as it goes into the background and appears to reduces in size. The image of the books on a shelf is an example of this. To take pictures that used repetition to illustrate depth, I first found similar objects and then pointed to lens in the same direction as the objects so that as they repeated, they got farther away from the lens.