#jared fowler

Comparing my recent shoot conducted on Dartmoor, to the work of Jared Fowler, there are some key elements that I have perfected, with a combination of looking at the work of Fowler and a series of experiments that I have conducted. One major part that I was able to capture was tints of colours in the sky; In Fowlers series ‘Moreton Bay’ the sky is a mixture of blues, yellow and hints of green. In both my photo, and Fowlers, the sky is the main focal point, taking up the vast majority of the image. Furthermore, objects sitting on the horizon, draw the viewers attention to the sky. In Fowlers image, the mountains act as a focal point, leading the viewer from the foreground and the river to the sky. This principle also stands in my image; the telegraph mast is completing the same job as the mountains, drawing the viewers from the moorland in the foreground to the soft hues of red that feature in the sky.

My photograph, ‘Dartmoor’ 2016

Jared Fowler ‘Moreton Bay’ 2013

Compositional wise, using key photographic rules such as the rule of thirds instantly helps the viewer read the message the photographer is portraying through his or her photographic work. The rule of this is evident in a lot of Fowlers images, with Fowler focusing the main feature of the image in the central third. In a photograph from his Maria Island series, the rule of thirds is particularly evident.  As demonstrated below, the vertical third lines cut directly down the middle of the two trees, meanwhile the horizontal lines cut the sky in half and run across the edge of the land, where is meets the sea. Through these lines, Fowler is able to guide the viewer. Their eyes instantly view the harmonious trees being featured as the main focal point within the image. The image is also enhanced by the asymmetrical balance the sky and the land. The sky controls two thirds of the image, meanwhile the ground only occupies the single third. The asymmetrical balance give the image a harmonious feel due to the small but concentrated area of green in the bottom third, which is counter balanced by the wider pale hues of white and light blue which control the sky. Space is important with Fowlers image, as the small area of green is being pushed the the lower part of the images, due to the larger portion of sky which is controlling two thirds of the image.

Jared Fowler ‘Maria Island’ 2013

Asymmetrical balance, doesn’t only relate to the use of space within a piece of art, it has links with many other formal elements including colour, shape and line. Again looking at my image, it is clear to see that asymmetrical balance doesn’t feature in the use of space, due to the ridgeline of the hill bisecting the middle of the image, however it does feature in the use of line. Running through my image there is a strong line that features heavily due to the dark colour in contrast to the rest of the hill. In the image below it is represented by the large cyan line running horizontally across the image. Even though this line is a cutting across the whole of the image, it is counter balanced by the smaller telegraph mast which is running perpendicular to the horizontal line. This is evidence of an asymmetric balance within an image using line.