Roland Dale's Photoblog

ISO 2500, 24mm, f / 4.0, 1/160 sec

In the photo it seems as if the young man is truly devoted to his craft.  His lock that his eyes have on the ball show that he is truly in a focused state of mind.  His stance shows that he is ready to receive the ball and/or prevent it from getting into anyone else's hands.  I think the focus on the hoop and the fairly gloomy background create a feeling of intensity.  The determination from the boy plus the condensed background help the viewer get into the subject’s headspace.  One that is pure concentration and a love for the game.

The main subject of my photo is a young man that is going through a rut.  The persona I was trying to create was that of someone who was not truly living life.  Someone who has been complacent and has no will to be productive or even try to improve their situation.  To show this I had him be surrounded by ps4 games with a controller in his hand to show what he does with his free time.  And by doing this I think I effectively communicated that he uses video games to forget about the outside world.  I chose this topic/look to emphasize a very real issue with our country and our screen obsessed youth.

My subject is a young man who has gone to the cemetery to mourn.  When I was shooting this photo, I wasn’t trying as much to go for a story as I was trying to establish a mood of sadness and grief.  I do think that I accomplished this task.  Things that helped me achieve this goal were the fact that the photo is set in a cemetery, a place that is commonly associated with gloominess and melancholy.  I also think the rain really helps add to the story and it also establishes the darker atmosphere. 

The subject of my photo is my friend Jose.  I chose him because of the stoic nature he embodies in his body language and facial expressions.  He always seems to be at peace with himself.  I chose the colored wall because I thought it contrasted nicely with the more muted colors found on his clothes.  When it came to directing my subject, I told him to think of a bittersweet memory and to really contemplate that moment in his head.

I altered the landscape by arranging leaves surrounding the path into a smiley face. By arranging the leaves, I was able to take an abundant and overlooked object in the forest and turn it into a common symbol of positivity.

As for editing the image, it was a bit washed out in the original file so I tried to bring out more the the clouds and color in the image.  This meant that I had to slightly increase the vibrance and saturation while increasing the texture and clarity.

Texture:  I find that the picture has a strong sense of texture.  From the coarse merging of rocks in the beginning of the photo to the thousands of small prickly branches the photo just oozes with personality.  Every time I look at this photo, I truly get the sense of decay and neglect this environment gives off.

Light enhances this photo by giving it dimensions of exposure that weren’t initially there.  The light is able to flourish and is scatter throughout the snowy ground below due to opening in the trees above.  The shadows make it seem like the light is invading the space, as if it is violating the space.  I also like hoe the light seems to formed in a trail of sorts that spreads from the lower left corner to the upper right corner of the image.  

I took this photo at the La Grange forest preserve around 2 pm.  This was right after the snow melted and it was a bit gloomy and drab outside.  This made the light seem limited and a little hard to mold.  As for the focal point, that would be the road.  By following the lines of the road, you can feel like you are also walking through this side of the woods.

I used the backpack in the photo to help manipulate the light so that it would funnel only through the soda bottle.  I learned from this assignment that using a clear subject helps bring other elements in the picture out more,’

The two most prominent formal elements in my photo are line and color.  The line is present in the way the bottle leads your eyes down to the splatter at the bottom of the photo.  And the color is shown in the way the red liquid keeps your eyes focused on the subject because it is in such stark contrast to the white snow.

I purposely lined up the shot so it would look like the sewer was dividing the light.  I learned that the lighting and angles are one of the biggest factors in changing the tone and feeling of a photo.

The sewer assignment was an experiment in taking something that we take for granted and applying multiple creative angles to it.  By following this process I discovered that even the most mundane of objects can be captured in an intriguing light.  

https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/objects/98657/manuel-alvarez-bravo-striking-worker-murdered-mexican-1934/