Description: This photo was one that I was drawn to at Kendall College of Art and Design. It is a photograph of a blonde- haired woman in the middle of land surrounded by many leaves of trees. She looks as if she is enveloped and "at one" with nature. The color of this photo is sepia so it is unique from the usual green leaves that we see in many photographs of nature. I enjoy this picture because I am very drawn to nature and use it as the subject of the majority of my photos. I can also relate to the photograph because I love being outdoors and discovering new beautiful things in nature so in a way I feel like the woman in the picture.
Techniques: The photographer uses graphic weight to draw attention to the middle of the picture where the focus is on the woman. This is done by having her amongst soft leaves that fill up the rest of the frame and the woman brings something different to look at. Anti rule of thirds is used to bring focus to the subject which is right in the middle of the frame, making it obvious what subject is the focus. The leaves are used as a frame within a frame to box in the subject and further bring focus to the woman. Leaves are also used to create a different rough kind of texture in the photograph. The woman looks very soft in texture against the harsh edges and multitude of leaves around her creating a contrast in texture. Contrast in values are also used. Although there are no colors used in the photograph, the lightness of the woman's hair against the dark background of leaves bring more attention and focus to the woman. Plenty of head room is used in the photograph by taking the photo higher up than where the subject is. There is plenty of space between her head and where the the photo cuts off so there is not tension created in the photograph.
Interpretation: When I look at this picture, I see a woman who is conflicted or in despair. She looks like she is overwhelmed and has had too much happening at once and needs somewhere to get away. In order to escape from everything and everyone around her, she has slipped away to the woods near her house and found solace in the trees that surround her. Surrounded by nature and the tall ancient trees she feels like she is a part of a bigger picture. She doesn't want to return to real life yet so she lets the leaves envelop her and hold onto her in a kind of embrace.
Judgement: I can say that I really like this picture and I really enjoy looking at it. The nature aspect I am drawn to because it is what I am pulled to and what I take pictures of. I like that there is a person as the subject so it is not just a simple, boring picture of leaves and trees. The sepia brings a different kind of element to the picture creating a more interesting photograph to look at. However, if they plan of centering the subject in focus, I would make sure that it is in the very center. In the photo she is off a tiny bit to the side which would make sense if they were using rule of thirds, but since they are not I would be careful of making the woman exactly centered. There is not much else that I would change about the photo. I think the photographer did a great job of capturing an interesting and beautiful photograph.
In my recreation of the photo, I made it similar in the way that the woman in focus is surrounded and somewhat enveloped by the nature around her. She looks comfortable and at peace although there may be turmoil going on inside her. I used the same sepia tone in the photograph to create a mood that portrays serenity and a collected calmness instead of having busy colors all around her. I chose to follow the rule of thirds slightly by not centering my subject unlike the original photo. I also chose to have my subject more in focus by not completely surrounding her by leaves, but by having different types of plants around her so that she was not swallowed up.
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