Porch
My first picture to show place is that of a colorful front porch caught in the morning sun. The fun bright colors of the rockers really pop and give the picture a style and personality of its own. The bright colors are what the viewer will instantly notice and appreciate. But, the depth of field, lighting, and lines all work together to give this photo eye appeal. The depth of field works for this photo, as all of the chairs are in focus. I used a shutter speed of 60 and an aperture of 22 to create this depth of field. The porch floor and ceiling provide leading lines that work right along with the chairs and bring ones eye into the photograph. Lighting is a key factor in this photograph and provides one more element for the eye to engage in. The colors and the lighting give this photo a sense of warmth and home. One can tell that the person who lives here is one with passion and excitement in their life. I love this picture because of the strong feelings of home it evokes.
Pile of Food?
My next photograph of place seems to be almost surreal with the big fluffy clouds in the background. This picture is of a pile of feed for cows, covered with plastic and tires to keep the rain out. This picture catches the viewer’s attention through the use of colors and other photographic elements. The orange color of the feed pile complements the blue sky, the colors work together to give the photo an eye-appealing scene. Also, the repetition of the tire circles gives the photo a shape we are familiar with in an unfamiliar scene. I believe the viewer will be drawn to these shapes and the contrast of light and dark give the shape even more importance. The frame is divided with a horizon line and there are also great vertical lines in the pile, the tire rows, and just the edge of the pile and the ground that make this photo interesting. The huge pile of feed is displayed in the photo as a gestalt and one may wonder what is beyond. This place is grand, majestic, powerful, and even home to some. I think it tells a story of hard work and beauty.
Shadow Deer
Finally, I have taken a picture that describes place in a little different way. While my family was coming home from Easter celebrations we spotted three deer in the field close to our home. This is a common sight but somehow it looked so uncommon. The sunset in the background and the contrast of shape, color, texture, light were all so breathtaking. The ground, trees, road, sunset, and deer all were part of a scene I call home. When we slowed down the deer began to run and each shot I took was more interesting then the last! I kept snapping and felt a story was told in the beautiful picture of the deer in a silhouette running across the road. The horizon line on the lower half of the photo gives the picture a beautiful sunset to display the deer against. When first looking at the picture, one will only notice the sunset and what a beautiful picture it is of the clouds. Then they will see that there is more to the photo than just a beautiful sunset and will focus on the deer shapes. There are leading lines into the photo created by the road. Ones eye will follow these lines and be brought into the photo. One can feel this place and feel the darkness setting in the wide-open country spaces. The fact that this photo of place also has a shape of a recognizable form in it does not take away from the feeling of the photo but adds to its mystery and complexity.
