Rileigh's Photos: July 2020

Wednesday, July 29, 2020

Project 6: First Progress Review

Monday, July 27, 2020

Image Research

Image Research & Critique

What first drew my eye to this photograph was the way the multiple instances of horizontal movement break up the space in contrasting ways. The barge in the middle ground appears to stoic, long, and dark. The small boats in the foreground, however, create horizontal movement through a softer, lighter movement. The structures in the distance create another line cutting across the composition, gently retreating in space.

The reflections in the water offer a grainy softness that contrast the harsher angles of the large barge. The water’s surface appears pretty textured, and the ripples extending from the sailboats break it up quite nicely by offering larger streams and greater movement. There is a lot left up to the imagination with this photograph, which I like. I get to wonder where the boats are coming from and where they are going. The sky and water meet with almost the exact same shade of grey, which lets me guess what the weather was like that. Though there are no people in the shot, I know that people are operating the various boats, so I also wonder who is in them and what they are thinking about.

Overall, the photograph employs many successful compositional techniques. It captured this scene in a way that is exciting to explore with the eyes. It is not difficult to stare at it for several moments, as there are so many shapes, textures, and lines to discover. I especially love all of the detail in the barge that I can see, the intricacies of the various elements that make it work. It was only on my second or third inspection of the image that I noticed the small, dark rocks in the bottom righthand corner, that balance out the sailboats traveling to the left. As I look at this image, I feel peace thinking about what it feels like to be on a boat on the water.

I choose the image because I am an absolute sucker for well-captured architecture. If I look closely at the image, I can see some people milling about. Though this photo is a faraway look at life in some town I have never been to, in a time that I did not experience, I get to enjoy this small slice of it. I can see that the town extends backwards into the hills. I bet it bustled with life being so close to water.

The trees to the right of the line of buildings offer an elegant break from the manmade, geometric structures with their organic shapes. I like that the tower creates a clear focal point and it, along with its reflection, divides the pages vertically, while the street cuts across it the other way. I love looking at the light buildings, the dark windows, the tower that completely disrupts the space. The line that divides the structures and the water threatens to be centered but extends diagonally just enough to create interest. The reflection in the water is so crisp and only slightly ripples the mirrored image- showcasing the stillness of the water that day. The almost white sky and its reflection down below creates contrast from the busy and detailed center of the photograph, giving the eyes rest.

The windows create repetition, and their various shades maintain interest and depth in the image, breaking up the space with darks and lights. The image captures a beautiful balance between man-made and nature, sharp and soft, dark and light. The incredible combination of these elements drew my eye and compelled me to just keep looking. After looking at the image for so long, I felt like I had been there. I think a successful photograph is a place is able to give the viewer a fleeting moment of believing they are there.

Project 6 Proposal

Rileigh Smyth

Project 6 Proposal

1. Last Sunday, I was dumped pretty out of the blue by the boy that I had every intention of marrying. I have spent this past week experiencing every emotion under the sun. I know a lot of art throughout history has been a direct response to suffering and trauma, and I would like to transform some of the raw emotion I have been feeling into something tangible. I have thought about writing my thoughts and shredding or burning them, putting his clothes and photographs in a box and storing them somewhere out of sight, screaming in the woods, and various other activities as a way to work through these unpleasant emotions that demand to be felt. I would like to document my experience to look back on when I am in a better place. I also think it would help break down the stigma a bit, that this sort of thing needs to happen in secret or dealt with on its own. I hope that by sharing my experience and attempting to capture the beauty in its vulnerability, it might be able to help someone else as well.

Shot list: shredding or burning papers with my thoughts on them- closeups, dramatic angles, shallow DOF of the pages and shredded remains on the ground, various shots from the ground looking at the scattered pages. Disposing of his clothing in different shots- angles from below as they are placed in a box, freeze motions of them being tossed away. Me dealing with my emotions as a mature adult and screaming into the void in the empty field next to my home. My filled journal with scratched out, dirty notes as my pen struggles to keep up with my kaleidoscope of emotions and thoughts.

Test shots:

2. In the case that the first idea is rejected due to its intangibility, I will document the process of living in an in-between state. As I have all of my belongings in boxes, have stuff at my parents’ house, at my old apartment, and at my new one, I am forced to live in a kind of limbo between each of these places. It is a chaotic, necessary reality of being in college and co-oping every other semester. I have not been stationary in 4 years and often move every four months. That has led to me being very comfortable living with very little control over my environment and belongings. My dad has moved my sister, brother, and me at least seven times each throughout college and often across states. I think it would be very fascinating to capture the experience of living in boxes and transitioning from place to place.

Shot List: captured motion with flash of boxes being filled and moved, stacking and un-stacking, items being organized and scattered. Capturing the haphazardly stuffed car trunks, the maze of my living room, the unholiness of the mess in my childhood bedroom, and the paths I have managed to carve out to access my bed. I can also imagine taking images of my dad as he lifts furniture on top of his car and doing a closeup of his face and arms, tossing the bungee cords over the car to secure it.

Test Shots: