terça-feira, 21 de abril de 2009

About this photograph


There is this photograph, published by My_Innocent_Dreams.
At the first look it may seam a bad photograph:
It is over and under exposed, the skyline is just cutting the picture into two equals sections, the second lady have to much space above her head, her eyes are over the skyline and her head is almost at the center of the framing. Everything against rules and conventions!
But, who says that photography as to follow rules or conventions?

First of all, I do like the out of focus. It makes the foreground lady apart from everything else, creating an isolation feeling.
Then, I do like that backlight touch, on her face and on the head and shoulder of the other figure, allowing the separation between each element and the next one.
I do like the melancholic look of the first and the almost imperceptible smile of the second.
I do like the triangle created by the first one eyes, the lines on the clothes on the second one, which are pointing to her eyes and those close it by looking to the nearest face.
The second figure and the foreground are some how chaotic, being all almost centered, out of focus, difficult to “read”. All that creates a huge contrast with the face, well focus, defined and framed, which is looking down, into an intimacy position.
This corrected and pleasant foreground and the chaos of everything else give isolation and wondering feelings to the portrayed figure. Maybe a truth portrait of this person.
Further more, and since they are both young, those moments of feeling lost in life are common, through they are looking for a place in the world and, some times, is not easy to find it.

If I had to make this picture, I would change its perspective, having the camera a bit higher so that the skyline wouldn’t be on the center.
Since the sky is already “burned”, maybe I would give a little bit more on exposition, having the faces brighter.
Maybe I would close a bit the lens, so that those branches on the top right would disappear and the second lady’s face would be less centered.
But, then, I would have a conventional picture, pleasant and “readable” by everybody. And I wouldn’t get those feelings I can find here!

Photography is not just the light (from the Greek “Photo”) and perspective, linear and imposing perspective created by lens.
Is also, and mainly, a way of self expression and communication.
And this photograph got its goal on both ways. Even if in a non conventional framing and enlightened way.
But, once more, who says that photography as to follow rules or conventions?



Texto: by me
Imagem: by My_Inocent_Dreams

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