Description

Photographic reviews and tips, this video will focus on how to create an abstract self portrait.

Transcript

Hi everybody, this is Craig Tanner for the Mindful Eye and the Daily Critique. Today’s image was submitted by Bill who is an inter media photographer both recently created this image on the Mindful Eye --in National Park workshop. In this image came out of an assignment and the assignment was for each photographer to create a self portrait working with the idea of reflection. We chose that as an assignment because an area of the park that we’re going to quite a bit on our workshop, so with the coarse of last 8 years. --had pretty much can filled up right in the middle of that valley with a lot of temporary lakes and shallows pools or water, there’s a big soaking rain in the park. A very rare soaking rain a few weeks ago. One of the things I love about this right away when I looked at it is just the simplicity of it ad we thought quite a bit in the workshop without the difference between formal symmetry and dynamic symmetry. We talked about that last week on the Daily Critique. In this image tome is a really good example of Bill working with square frame, is very close to the square here and in the context of the square frame working with formal symmetry in terms of subject placement. When you look at this image, Bill has chosen to place his reflection and this is a very, very shallow pool of water, right in the middle of the frame so that you can split this archetypal shape almost right down the middle and almost end up with two head that are perfectly symmetrical. And the other thing that’s interesting to me about the placement here is the top of Bill’s head is almost in the middle of the frame. So both of those ideas go along with the idea of formal symmetry were we’re going to take subjects and frame them in a way were we have almost a perfect reflection. A back and forth and that really works well in the context of the square because the square itself is a formally symmetrical framing device. So you can set a unity or harmony between the framing and subject placement. The other thing that I think is working really well here in terms of formal symmetry is just the way the corners of have been played. You can work great to what I called then the corners out in the square frame were all the same. Or depending out in a way whether the same from left to right, top to button or in a diagonal. In here, the corners are pent out in diagonals. This corners sort of continue this repeating pattern in the water that repeats Bill shape. So I’m moving on this diagonal. You sort to have a repetition of that movement of highlight and shadow. And then in this corners you had this quite areas that really flattened out and I’ll create this triangles in each corners so there pent out in the same way. And I think that works for a while in terms of working in the context of formal symmetry. I’d love the repetition of the settle pattern at the bottom of this place were the water has collected and the way that rhymes off of Bill shape because his reflecting in the pool. And something to me, this really fascinating about this image is so simple. It’s pretty abstract, there’s so many different things that causing the abstraction. It’s black and white. You also get a sense of shadow but we sort of no even if don’t physically communicate this to our selves. We know that shadow are not that sharp edge because you don’t get a sense of water. There’s something very --about the shadow that seems to have this definite edge. It rhymes with the gritty texture of the salt and gravel in the valley for here. Because the viewer can see water. There’s something that set up that makes us even more abstract and I think that’s really powerful. I think one of the most amazing things about this image for me is the viewer that has enormous amount of depth than terms on the psychological impact on me. Than terms that we talked about creating an illusion of design that port can physically move through the image there’s not much to that. And to me, the psychological depth just so much to do with the fact that it’s abstract and the fact that you have this archetypes, there going to have a big effect on the viewer. Obviously the archetypal suggestion of a human being but then all of this rhyming ideas back in here. It’s just sort of unreal when you start to look at these shapes. There is the suggestion of human figure almost the feeling in some places of pictographs of particles. You can think of a prehistoric sort of a graffiti you know, war lord. You can think of man and graffiti. There’s anchor shapes, there’s arrow shapes, there’s number shapes, there is lighter shapes and even if the viewer doesn’t recognize this, it’s still having a powerful psychological effect. So, just thinking about the idea of working with the archetypes, it can be real powerful design element. I think the other thing that works for a while here is with Bill including some things that are just breaking the formal symmetry. You know this side has a little bit different than this side. This comes in and breaks this up. The corner that I have already mentioned arenot all the same and there’s a little bit more way up to the top than the bottom and I think considering the psychological impact of. It being easier to move from top to bottom the idea of gravity and things up here and the frame having more weight than having the potential to create an illusion of pushing down on thing that ends up having a big psychological impact on the viewer. So the several things that I encourage you to think about in terms of take away’s from today’s critique. One is working with concept and assignment. Let’s do more creative, I mean this is the kind of area with all of this reflecting water were probably easier than ever right now depth valley to come and in a cotton ball basically and get literal shots so their very beautiful. But because that has been done quite a bit, it’s harder to do that in a way were people will take notice. And this is to show them some respects that could shot anywhere whether it’s just some mad and shallow water. So in other words, this is not at all what we would say as a very, very dramatic scenic place. And so, just the idea of going conceptual does really points to the just the fact that great pictures or absolutely everywhere. It also, you know, I just want to take a look swipe back at some people that are just not having been negative all the time. And you know one of the suggestions is that people go to this National Park workshop and every takes the same picture. Having taught about 150, those workshops I personally know the fantastic absurdity of that kind of generalization. It’s the opposite of what is true that’s why it’s so inspiring to go on a workshop and see all the different things that people do in the same space. So it’s another thing to think about, to let yourself be inspired by other people’s worth to let yourself become conceptual. To think about the abstract sometimes and go away from the literal. Think about self portrait. You’re always a character that you can put into the story over your pictures if your brave enough to that and there such a powerful tradition of self portrait and photography and to me, it’s such a powerful concept. And thinking about archetypes, thinking about the shapes and universal concept that you can suggest they will create psychological depth in the picture. I love this image. I want to say big thank you to Bill for creating it and big thank you to all people who participate in our depth valley National Park workshop. Look forward to seeing you again real soon on Mindful Eyes Daily C ritique.