weekly photo challenge: illusions

Earlier this week, while watching the forever changing clouds that journey pass my home, I remembered the fascination, during an undergraduate psych class,  I had with the Rorschach Test.  This projective psychological test, commonly known as the ink block test, was developed in 1921.   In 1943 the US military implemented the Harrow-Erickon Multiple Choice Rorschach Test for the large scale screening of U.S. military personnel.  While the first outcomes reported impressive predictive power, later work showed that the test had very limited value.

What do you see in this image of clouds?

cloudsbirdsweb8218

Image submitted in response to Jenn’s,  Traveling at Wits End, challenge to “get out of the box” and create an image that looks like something else or looks different than it really is.

a photo study: story photography

A series of photographs has the ability to convey a story through the inclusion of emotion, mood, ideas, and visual narrative.

Five basic elements of story photography are:

  1. Mood can be created by experimenting with blurring the background and ensuring the background has a relationship with the main subject(s).
  2. Illustrate an idea through abstraction, symbolism, or a close up of a particular detail.
  3. Emotions are conveyed through facial expressions or body language.
  4. Narrative begin with an established photograph of what occurs before the story begins.
  5. Message is created through an object, location, colors, style or a combination that leaves clues that encourages the viewer to formulate ideas.

The introduction – an image that identifies the important characters while giving information about the context of the story and introducing the theme.  The first image should also be compelling and invite curiosity so that your viewer is drawn into the story.

horsetooth-13story

the gaze

The Plot – introduces ideas, feelings, experiences while exploring themes. Do not forget to  follow the “rule of thirds” as this will definitely isolate and immediately draw the viewer’s attention to your subject.

swimmerswebstory

elsewhere

Varying characters’ perspective – photograph closer to your subject(s) or further away. Photograph from multiple angles to find which angle best communicates your story.

horsetooth-9story

watching

Stages – show images taken at different times/stages of the photo session.  Explore which subject needs to be included or excluded in an image.

horsetoothstoryweb

connecting

horsetoothstoryweb2

looking away

Focus on detail – you can also tell a story by paying attention to detail.  When photographing outdoors, make sure the sun is behind you or off to the side.

horsetooth-10photostory

disconnected

horsetoothstory4web

exclusion

Photo editing – ensure there is variety among the images to create interest while at the same time link them together by processing them in a similar manner (black and white, lightening).

horsetooth-storyweb3

distancing

If you chose to caption your photos be sure to take note of what the subject(s) are doing without giving it away.  Cations should be short, clear, and simple.

Projects such as story telling, variations, and photo series are excellent learning experiences because they help explore creativity, encourage you to compare your work with earlier photographs and allow you to see how your ideas and techniques evolve over time.

I love a great story…do you have one to share?  Let’s tag with #aphotostudy.

clouds II

clouds4aweb

“Before the cloud appeared in the sky she was not nothing. She was the water in the ocean. She was the heat generated by the sun. She was the water vapor rising up to the sky. And when we can no longer see the cloud in the sky, she hasn’t died; she has just transformed into rain or snow. The notion of death is also created by our mind. It is impossible for something to become nothing. The cloud hasn’t died; it is manifesting in its new form as rain, as hail, as snow, as the river, and as the cup of tea in my two hands. So the true nature of the cloud is no-birth and no-death.

clouds2aweb

“… we can start to see the countless umbilical cords that link us to life all around us. There is an umbilical cord that exists between us and the river. The water we drink every day flows down from mountain springs and streams, right into our kitchen. So the river is also a mother and there is an invisible umbilical cord between us. If we cannot see it yet, it’s because we haven’t looked deeply enough. There is another umbilical cord between us and the clouds, between us and the forests, and another between us and the sun. The sun is like a parent to us. Without our link to the sun we could not live, and neither could anything else. We are nourished and sustained by countless parents. The river, the wild animals, the plants, the soil and all its minerals are our mothers and fathers, and are mothers and fathers to all phenomena on planet Earth. That is why in the sutras it is said that living beings have been our parents through countless lifetimes.

clouds1bweb

“There are umbilical cords linking us to all that is in the universe and in the entire cosmos. Can you see the link between you and me? If you are not there, I am not here; that is certain. If you do not yet see it, look more deeply and I am sure you will see”

Excerpt: Thich Nhát Hanh, The Other Shore 

clouds

“I have found that the use of clouds in my photographs has made people less aware of clouds as clouds in the pictures than when I have portrayed trees or houses or wood or any other objects.

clouds4web

 

“In looking at my photographs of clouds, people seem freer to think about the relationships in the pictures than about the subject-matter for its own sake.

clouds2web

“My photographs are a picture of chaos in the world, and of my relationship to that chaos. My prints show the world’s constant upsetting of man’s equilibrium, and his eternal battle to reestablish it.”*

clouds5web

*Cited: Alfred Stieglitz, Master of Photographs: Aperture.

a photo study: street variations

toystorebnwweb

Sometimes I wonder if life is just a series of links that takes us on journeys of multiple “turned corners” until we suddenly find ourselves in some unimagined place. This week’s photo study is such a journey undertaken to research the genre of street photography.

 

I found four amazing street photographers (David Geffin, Jasper Tejano, Fan Ho, Dotan Saguy).  Each of them inspired me to explore new ways of seeing the life around me through variations of  light, shadow, shapes, colors, and tones.  I invite you to wander about their online galleries.

“You don’t need to be on ‘a street.’ Street photography is more about capturing candid and often fleeting moments. If you think of street photography in that way, you will always be ‘out on the street,’ looking to make photographs.”  ~David Geffin

“Though I admire many street photographers who present their work in black and white, color street photography, to me, presents life with much more realism and dynamism. Especially with my work on silhouettes, the darkness of my subjects will just drown in the different shades of gray. I need color to make my subjects emerge from the frame.” ~Jasper Tejano

“I always had an instinct for light, shadow, lines and form but the second important thing is the subject matter; the character that will create empathy.” ~ Fan Ho (1931-2016)

Ted Forbes, The Art of Photography Remembering Fan Ho

“For me street photography is above all about people and moments. … it’s just a question of being present with all my senses. The best I can describe myself in that state is as a meditative hunter.” ~Dotan Saguy

I do hope you enjoyed your linked journey through these amazing images.  Do you have a street photographer that awes you?  If so, please share and tag with #aphotostudy.