Connecting Essay Five

I took this picture on the second walk we did. A sense of journey is shown very clearly here along with the element of depth. The angle at which this picture was taken emphasises the idea of journey, making the path look longer than it really is, this adds a sense of adventure to the picture. The wet pavement and the leaves along the path confirms the theme of Autumn in the picture. It also adds a cool tone and gives us the impression that it's cold. There is no one present in this picture -  this shows isolation and further shows journey because it exaggerates on the length of this path.

I found this picture on the internet by typing in 'journey'. This picture shows colour, depth and a sense of journey. The yellow coloured lines contrast to the road, making it stand out and displaying journey very clearly. The blue sky also contrasts to the yellow lines once again making them stand out so the viewer can concentrate on them and figure out the theme straight away. The yellow lines can also be leading lines, guiding the viewer eyes' through the picture. 

In both pictures, we can see a sense of journey being portrayed clearly by using the same techniques. Both pictures were taken at a low angle to make the path/road look longer. The element of depth has been used to guide the viewer through the picture and it's almost as if they are being invited on a journey; the lines go from the bottom of the picture to the middle or all the way through, forcing the viewer to move their eyes along. However, the picture from the internet has included the sky because it helps to bring out the yellow lines; the blue colour of the sky contrasts with the yellow and automatically makes the picture more colourful. My picture does not have the sky, I did not include it because it was a dark rainy day so it would have ruined the picture by blending in with the white line along the path. 

Connecting Essay Four

This is one of my pictures from the Mapplethorpe work we did. This picture is simple but the strong use of facial expression tells us a lot about what is going on. The black background has two functions; to create a mysterious atmosphere, capturing the viewer's attention and provoking a sense of curiosity and to make sure the viewer's attention is directed to the main focus, which is the person. The use of facial expression shows intimacy and triggers a bond between the viewer and the subject - the viewer will be able to connect with the subject. Despite his eyes being closed, it's like my main subject is sharing an intimate time with the viewer. This is unusual because although there is no direct contact between the person in the picture and the viewer, somehow there is still a connection between the two. The lighting was manipulated so that the face of the my main subject will be the main part of the picture; the light was concentrated right on the face, making it the brightest part of the whole picture, contrasting immensely with the black background, forcing the viewer to focus on the face of my main subject.

This is an example of Mapplethorpe's work. In this picture, make up has been used to enhance the facial features of Robert's main subject. This encourages the viewer to concentrate on the face and become familiar with the main subject. The facial expression used is very simple, it's very neutral but it still has a strong effect on the viewer. Although it is quite soft and innocent, it gives out a sexual atmosphere and may show vulnerability. Lighting has been used to show form as we can only see the front bit of the subject's hair. This works together with the black background to add secrecy to the picture, attracting the viewer's attention and keeping it as they focus on the picture and try to figure it out.

Both of these pictures have used black backgrounds to achieve the same aim - to make sure the viewer focuses only on the main subjects. Moreover, I have used inspiration from Mapplethorpe's picture and tried to express the same facial expression on my subject. This shows intimacy in both pictures and thus creating a bond between the viewer and the main subjects as the viewer may feel close to the subject, sharing a personal moment with them. The lighting used in both pictures are very similar; both pictures use soft lighting focusing on the face of the main subjects. This has been done to emphasise the facial features and to ensure it is the first thing that the viewer looks at in the pictures.

Connecting Essay Three

This is a picture I took when during the first walk. As the theme was Autumn, I tried to capture the colour of the leaves contrasting with the green grass. The Sun really brings out the yellowy colour of Autumn, emphasising the theme of the walk. The element of tone is also shown as we can see the different shades of yellow and brown between the leaves. I like how the leaves do not cover all of the grass, this makes the leaves stand out even more and it doesn't overdo the picture. We can also see shadows around the photograph from the grass, portraying form and showing off the 3-dimensional element of the picture. The shadows also emphasise on the presence of the Sun but at the same time give out a cool atmosphere.

I found this picture on the internet by typing in 'autumn leaves'. Similarly to mine, a few elements are being shown such as colour, tone, contrast and the theme of Autumn is being portrayed. The grass allows us to see the leaves clearly, highlighting the theme. The orangey and yellowy colours found across the photograph emphasise the season and give off a warm tone. The bright green grass contrasts with the yellow/orange leaves, showing off the element of colour as well as contrast.

There are a few similarities between the two pictures. For example, both pictures have the same theme and are both trying to achieve the same aim. The colours used in my picture is very similar to those in the picture from the internet as they both show Autumn, giving off the same tone. However, the colour of the leaves in my picture are slightly darker than those in the picture from the internet; this makes my picture appear less warm. Also, both pictures contain grass instead of having the leaves cover the whole frame - this gives the photographs a calm atmosphere and makes sure the leaves are the main focus of the pictures.

Connecting Essay Two

This picture was one I took when we were focusing on the element of lines. This element is shown through the lines made by the shadow of the tree as it is very clear and sharp, making it easy for us to picture what the tree really looks like in our heads. We were lucky as it was extremely sunny when we shot lines so the Sun has made the shadow more opaque; this helped me to emphasise the tree on the wall. If you look closely, you are able to see shadows of other trees surrounding the main tree but the shadow of the main tree is bigger and bolder than the others, making the tree look majestic. The theme of Autumn is portrayed in this picture as we can see that the leaves on the tree has fallen off. This gives out a cooler atmosphere and weakens the presence of the Sun.

This is a similar picture I found on the internet showing a shadow of another tree. In this picture, the tree in the shadow is made to look powerful and bigger than the other trees included in the picture. Also, the photographer prevents us from seeing the tree in the shadow even though he has photographed surrounding trees. This has been done deliberately by the photographer so that the importance of this particular tree is emphasised. No other trees are found near this one, they are all quite far away. This gives out the impression that this tree is looking over the over ones - almost as if its the 'leader'. 

These pictures are immensely alike; in both pictures, both trees have been photographed to look big and powerful, underestimating the other trees found in the pictures as they look smaller and unimportant. The photographer and I have both picked a sunny spot to make it look as if the Sun was directly shining on those two particular trees, highlighting their importance. On the other hand, the tree in the picture I found on the internet has no leaves, whereas the tree in my picture has a few but because the leaves have started falling off the tree in my picture, the theme of Autumn is present similarly to the picture off the internet, where a wintery theme is also portrayed. Although the angles at which the pictures were taken are different, both pictures still show the whole tree with all of its branches. This once again, shows how important and majestic the trees are compared to the surrounding ones as they have all been cut off.

Connecting Essay One

I took this picture to illustrate the element of reflection. We can see here that the windows are reflected on the table. Although we can see what's on the other side of the window, the bars seem as if they have put a limit on this, not allowing us to see everything. Furthermore, the reflection does not let us see what's on the outside neither as it is quite blurry and unclear. This creates some sort of mystery as we become curious and start to wonder what could be on the outside. 

I found this picture on the internet. Similarly to mine, it's a picture showing the element of reflection. In this photograph, we can see that it's a big boardroom and the angle of the camera makes the table look massive, showing its importance. The room is empty but yet, there is a laptop and a cup of tea present; this might have been done to depict the lives of business individuals and just how busy they are. This is done because we might think that someone has left their cup of tea as they may have been urgently called for something else concerning their work. Also, the other chairs are empty and pushed in under the table, suggesting no one has been there recently. This contradicts with the use of the laptop and the cup of tea as it suggest that the room was being used and no chair is present for the person with the laptop, implying that he/she was standing up and speaking to a group of people. The room looks quite cold, mostly due to the lack of colour - this suggests that the cup of tea is also cold, telling us that this room has been deserted for long while, almost abandoned because of other important matters the workers must have had to attend to.

A few connections can be found between these two pictures; for example, both pictures have placed a limit on what we are allowed to see on the other side of the window. My picture has done this by having the bars on the window and a big section of the wall in between the two windows. The picture from the internet on the other hand has a big block of a white building of some sort blocking the outside view. Although, different ways have been used to do this, both pictures hide their location and makes us wonder if they've got something to hide. The angle that the pictures were taken at are almost identical; the cameras were placed close to the table to capture both the reflection and the window, making the table look bigger that it actually is, creating an illusion.