5A : Reimagining Visual Framing

Original by Ben Goossen:

 My cropped version:

Ben Goossen’s photo of a photo of a blue sky on a clothesline on a stormy day really hit something with me. I enjoy clouds a lot and I especially like watching a storm come in and how the clouds change. So, beyond all of the other photos I chose this one. I saw how he contrasted the two by color but the subject (clouds) was affinitive. I understand my appeal now as the contrast between the two images and how they are combined. 

The use of the clothesline and the clothespin extenuates the Rule of thirds.  With the top horizontal line being the clothesline and the intersection between that and the far right vertical line being extenuated with the clothespin. In addition the two remaining edges of the picture fall near the two other intersection. Also, within the background picture and foreground picture beyond the contrast of color there is also one of shot type. The darker background shot is a wide shot and the close up shot of the clouds in the foreground helps the viewer realize the depth and wide-ness of the background image. 

I cropped the picture the way I did to show what the picture would look like without the light blue picture in the foreground and how it takes away any sort of visual intensity. It takes away form the whole background image that seems to be moving toward the viewer. It also doe not have anything that the line is drawing the eye to, its just a line, there is no subject.  I think the artist framed it the way that he did for somewhat obvious reasons, unlike mine it has a subject and it shows contrast and the clothesline directs your eye to the picture unlike my cropped version in which it leads your eye off of the drawing. I also think that by adding the light blue cloudy picture acts as a sort of release from the tension that is brought by the dark looming clouds in the background. That was not in my cropped photo leaving the viewer uncomfortable and unsatisfied with the picture. I also kept the line in the middle abiding by no rule of thirds. This was mostly so that I would not include any of the light blue photo but I found that it made the picture look amateur and less put together which emphasized to me how much rule of thirds must have been driven into my subconscious but I never knew. It just became something I was accustomed too.