Visual Synthesis - The Photographic Image

I like how you chose to balance the second photo diagonally, the laptop and the photo on the right really balance the photo. Also, I like how you incorporated all the papers in the photo, they are not distracting but draw viewer's eyes to the main person, and nice capture of her misery facial expression, I can really feel how misery she was at that time.

I like the second photo the best, it is very enchanting and compelling. There is a great contrast of light and shadow in the photo, everything in the photo point towards the middle. Looks like all the sculptures are looking at the chair. It creates a religious and forbidding ambiance. I also like how you put two photos together, the light in both photo are in the same direction and they look very harmonious. All your photos give me very strong feelings! Love them!

I really like the photo with the girl in front of CFA. I think it is interesting to me because of the contrast, and also her position. It looks like she's being devoured by CFA.

I think that the most compelling image you took here is of the hay rolls. There's a sense of motion because they're drifting off at angles, and their contrast (white over dark background) is also really striking.

Your photographs definitely give the same atmosphere as Uelsmann's works. I definitely agree with Kevin on the second and fourth photographs being your most successful. They both incite a very strong emotional reaction from the audience.
Although your last photograph did not focus much attention to the center, the way the light seamlessly flows along the picture definitely showed a skill in composition. The eyes are able to move along the key parts of the picture without any interruption in between.
You are very skilled in technique and if you worked on the other photographs a little bit more they could have the same effect as the second and fourth ones.
Overall, you did a great job and I loved these photographs.

I really like how you used the natural geometry to shape your images. I think that this was the strongest in the first image, and perhaps the second. You definitely focused on the clarity of the image, and used the negative space as a subject in and of itself. I would have liked to see the last image be a little bit more clear and precise like the others, because it looks like it would have had an interesting contrast and horizon line, but the blurriness blends the shapes in with the clear sky.

I really love what you done with your series of photographs. The merging seemed almost seamless for the later ones, and you preserved the mood as well. The lighting in the last one is especially amazing, as the door and the stairs share similar characteristics. Well done.

As you say, it would have helped you to have a buddy come with you to be your hand model, or to use a tripod. I think what you lose with some of these images is the sense that your hands are actually present in the same image, since it's clear (especially in the last image) that some of them are photoshopped. But it's good that you used a variety of different hand motions and gestures to create these photos. It looks like you got creative and had fun with it. Good job.

I think you captured the sparseness of Lee's photographs. The first image is especially strong, with a frame within the frame of the photo. As you acknowledge, some of the photos are a little blown out. If you want, I can show you in lab on Friday how to adjust the blacks and still preserve that bright negative space in the background.

Your second image is the most interesting to me. I like that her downturned gaze draws our attention to the small part of the image that is in sharp focus. I think you would have gotten more compelling actions in your other photographs (and stayed truer to Bresson's style of photographing) if you had gotten off of campus and hadn't relied on models. I know it feels weird to walk around with a camera snapping pictures of strangers, but most people never notice or care, so just go for it!

I'm crazy about that fourth image with all the plants in the classroom. It feels still and mysterious, maybe even a little bit sinister. You were clearly very thoughtful about combining scenes with similar lighting and shadows to help trick the eye into perceiving the composited images as existing in the same time and place. To that end, I find the second and fourth images the most successful. Fantastic job.

The fourth image down with the dark figure in the foreground silhouetted by the light shining through the trees outside the window is really striking. The blurred edges of the frame in that one are really nice. (Did you do that in Photoshop?) Your subjects look very natural and comfortable, especially in the first and last photos. It's often hard when photographing people to get an image that is a) flattering, b) interesting, and c) doesn't look stiff or overly staged, so kudos for nailing that in those two images. As you realized, timing and image selection is really important when taking portraits, and I think you did a great job with it.

We discussed these in class and looking at them again I like them even more. The second to last image is especially strong. I love how your blurred figure in the center of the frame interrupts the repetition of the squared off shapes and vertical lines. You balanced the composition on either side of the frame with these dark objects that keep us focused on you, but still encourage our eye to wander around the frame. I also love the environment you're in. The combination of all the cupboards and boxes, the children's toys, and that carpet-covered feels very suburban but also somehow alien. Love it :)

It's great that you used the assignment as an excuse to explore areas outside of the city. I think the two strongest photos are the one of the thistle and the one of the tree. In these two you got the exposure just right. The objects on the ground aren't too dark and the sky isn't blown out. They also (for me, at least) have the most impressive sense of depth. Isolating the thistle with a narrow depth of field places it in contrast to the expanse behind it, and the tree on top of the hill gives us a view of the surrounding landscape fading out into the distance. Both have a strong central composition, which I like very much. The photo from the top of the Cathedral has this same sense of depth, but the sky is a little blown out. You might consider fixing that in post-processing by darkening the areas around the edge of the frame so that our eyes are drawn to the bright center of the image at the horizon line. As a general rule (though certainly not always and everywhere) it's good to keep the edges slightly darker, even if in reality they are the brightest part in the picture plane. Great work!

This is excellent work Brian - a really succinct and clear review. Perhaps you could elaborate a little on the 'zone system' technique to give some indications of how you would go about replicating this for your own work. I like the quote you've included but I'm wondering if you have thought about this in relationship to process and the his development of photographic techniques like the zone system? Would you agree that there are no rules?