More Emotional Impact

It appears my last blog entry on emotional impact in photography struck a cord with many of you out there. So in that same line, I have added two more images taken at the same time as the previous 3 images that take yet different approaches to the subject.

The first image is similar in feel to the third one in my previous blog, but is a bit different. For me it conveys the emotion of being left behind. How about you? Analysing the image:

1. Not really hi or low key - just average tonal range - maybe a touch on the dark side.
2. Wide angle lens - gives is that since of distance from the foreground leaf to the curve.
3. Road line is more straight up and down - less dynamic or exciting than a diagonal. This is in keeping with the more subdued (or negative) emotion.
4. Foreground object close to front frame edge (not at the classic 1/3 location). This reinforces the left behind or loneliness of the image.
5. Black and white image - again less vibrant and more subdued.

The second image was shot while zooming and panning using a long shutter exposure. The panning was to keep the end of the road as the zoom focal point. It has been blended in Photoshop with a "watercolor" version generated with Topaz Labs Simplify. What feelings does this rendition of the image illicit?

Photographing for Emotional Impact

Really good photographs not only present a technically fine image to the viewer, but they should have emotional impact. I have included in this blog three images shot within minutes of each other of the same subject, each designed and processed for a different emotional impact.

The first image is designed to covey the joy of a walk down a country road on a fall day. Lets look at some of the factors that create that impact:

1. Hi key image (somewhat) - highlights are allowed to blow out and the majority of the tones are on the lighter end of the scale. This creates an airy uplifting feeling.
2. Vertical lines - the vertical lines of the tree have positive impact (as compared to horizontal ones).
3. Diagonals - diagonal lines create energy and a sense of movement. The trees are at a slight diagonal in this image.
4. Vertical framing - a vertical frame like any vertical lines in the image reinforces the positive feel.

The second image has a more subdued, moody and mysterious feel. Analysing this image:

1. Low key image - most of the image is to the dark side - creating moodiness.
2. Horizontal frame - horizontal lines or framing can make an image more subdued and tranquil.
3. Post processed to emphasize the fog - fog adds mystery.
4. Monochromatic - eliminating the bright fall colors again creates a more subdued retrospective image.
5. Curved road - a path or road that disappears around a bend creates a sense of mystery. "What lies ahead?"

The third image conveys different emotions (shot again at the same time as the others). What do you feel when you look at it?

Fall Tapestries

I just thought I would share with you a set of images I created the past couple of weeks for a portfolio, "Fall Tapestries". Click on the opening image to see the full set of images.

A tapestry is "A heavy cloth woven with rich, often varicolored designs or scenes...". The earliest known Western tapestries were woven in the tranquil seclusion of monasteries by the devout seeking to beautify the house of God. Over time the art of tapestry making became one of the major visual art forms along side painting and sculpting. My tapestries seek to capture that finely woven design of color that permeates nature and reveals the infinitely artistic hand of the creator - from the intricate intermixing of the colors in the forest to the varicolored designs of the leaf.