Shape I took this photo at Piedmont Park in Midtown. The modern playground provided multiple opportunities to find colorful and geometric shapes. This structure was built with various inorganic shapes including squares and rectangles. The shape immediately made me think of a stair case, but also slightly triggered memories of playing Tetris on my Gameboy on long road trips.
Value I took this photo in the affluent Ansley neighborhood in midtown. This beautiful building was made entirely of red brick with squares of white brick to create a contrasting design. The gradation in color from the light brick to the dark brick captured a strong sense of value in this photograph. The white rectangle, along with the pattern, creates a strong composition and contrast.
Color These yellow flowers grow around my neighborhood and always evoke a sense of happiness in me. I love to see them grow in the summer and appreciate their bright yellow color, especially on rainy summer days. The primary color of the yellow petals sits against the secondary color of the green leaves to create a pleasing aesthetic. The green of the leaves also cools down the warm color of yellow, offering a nice balance.
Line There is a random palm tree outside of our bedroom window that always gets my attention. I found this picture to be the perfect example of a line element because of the multiple lines of the palm leaves and how they intersect with each other. The lines are straight, as well as diagonal, creating a flow and movement that points the eye in an upward direction.
Principles of Design
Focal Point/Emphasis I chose this picture of the top of a swing set in Piedmont Park to represent the principle of focal point/emphasis. The bright orange color as well as the inorganic triangular shape draws the eye in immediately, creating the focal point. This picture also demonstrates the rule of thirds. The point of the triangle falls directly in the upper right corner of the imaginary 3 x 3 gridline, creating an asymmetrical design within the photograph.
Rhythm/Pattern I chose this picture to represent the principle of rhythm/pattern because of the intricate design of the tiles. This is a photograph taken of a tiled table near my neighborhood pool. The repeating shapes of squares, rectangles and triangles create a circular pattern, mimicking a rhythmic movement throughout the design. The repeating colors of browns, whites and greys also help to create a constant flow in the design.
Contrast This picture was taken of the mid-day sky at Piedmont park. It almost looks like a black and white photograph, but it's actually in full color. The dark green leaves against the bright white clouds create a powerful contrast between the two colors, creating a black and white effect. The dark and light colors of the clouds versus the trees creates the distinct contrast.
Movement This picture captures the action of kids swinging on a swing set in Piedmont Park. I was able to catch them mid-air, at the peak of their swinging motion. The movement is shown by the position of the children, but also by the diagonal position of the swings' metal chains connecting them to the swing set. These diagonal lines add to the excitement of the picture and moves the eye diagonally across the picture, from right to left. The emotion felt is not only the excitement of swinging, but pangs of childhood nostalgia.
Combinations of Elements/Principles
Texture/Balance This is a picture of a mural in my media center. The artist (a parent) used oil paints on canvas to create two beautiful murals for the library. The paint creates the actual texture seen in the photograph. The oranges throughout the picture create an asymmetrical balance - 3 on the left and 2 on the right. I think the asymmetry of the oranges/circles along with the texture seen in the paints makes this an aesthetically pleasing photograph.
Value/Pattern This is a picture of a rug in my bedroom. It represents value because of the tones of light and dark. The darker triangles are in gray scale, while the lighter triangles are white. These repeated triangles and their values create a contrasting pattern in the rug. The pattern encourages the eye to move in a circular motion, resulting in a strong visual rhythm.
Line/Movement I took this picture at one of Piedmont Park's playgrounds. I was drawn to the interesting shape and colors of the slide. I thought it was a good example of how the line element and movement principle can work well together. There are two lines in this picture: the blue curvy line and the white vertical line of the slide structure. The movement of the picture is created by the blue, curvy diagonal line intersecting with the vertical, white line. The eye moves downward across the picture from left to right creating an interesting perspective.
Shape/Contrast This is a close up shot of the new towels in our baby boy's bathroom. The different patterns of the circles and the stripes/lines contrast nicely. I also see a contrast between the colors (light and dark) and the different textures within the towels. The inorganic shapes of the circles and the rectangles/lines, along with the contrast of colors, textures and patterns come together to represent several design elements and principles in this picture.
Examples of Gestalt Theory
Proximity This grouping of fake pears is used as decoration on my kitchen table. In applying Gestalt Theory in relation to proximity, the arrangement of these pears in a bowl gives a perfect example of grouping, or clumping. The pears are almost the exact same in shape and color, and are immediately perceived as being a part of the same group. The two rows and three columns adds to the very simple layout.
Continuity This picture was taken on a side street in West Midtown in Atlanta. I chose it to represent Gestalt's law of continuity because the angle of the power lines and the street allow our eyes to see beyond the picture. We can assume the street and power lines continue, even though we can not physically see them doing so. These elements add direction and movement to the photo.
Closure This picture was taken at everyone's favorite store! Target! I noticed that this particular Target's logo was a great example of Gestalt's law of closure. Target's logo is a target with a red ring surrounding a white ring with a red circle directly in the middle. This particular target uses only the red ring and red circle to create the logo. Thus, the viewer assumes that the white ring is there, although it is just made up of negative space. There is not physical material (other than the actual building) making up that part of the logo.
Similarity This photo of apples was taken at Whole Foods. These apples represent Gestalt's theory of similarity because the apples are pretty similar in shape, but grouped by type and color. Because the apples are grouped by type, and therefore color, a sense of organization and unity are detected when viewing the photograph.
Reflection
I really enjoyed this assignment. I love photography, and I was happy to take my camera with me to take pictures of the elements, principles and theories I learned about while reading our textbook, White Space is Not Your Enemy. I constantly take pictures, but never really understood their composition or why I may like a certain picture better than another. It's interesting to see how shapes, contrast, color, focal points, lines and unity (to name a few) create movement throughout a picture, making it visually pleasing.
Visual media is such an important part of our existence as well as our education. As teachers, it's imperative to teach our students how to decode the images they come across every day, whether at home or at school. In the media center, images are used all of the time - in books, videos, and technology. Media specialists can use images to create lessons that encourage analytical thinking. Using pictures from picture books and asking them to analyze how these pictures make them feel, would be a great way to introduce design elements and principles. Our book spoke a lot about pictures evoking emotion. Using an online database such as Galileo would be a great tool for students to search for pictures that make them sad, happy, confused, or angry. This activity would not only teach them how to properly find an image (by using an educational database, not Google), but also how to critically think about an image they see. Or, you can take your class outside, give them an iPad and ask them to take pictures of different colors, shapes and textures. There are endless possibilities in creating interactive and engaging lessons that incorporate information literacy standards while fostering a proper visual media education.
References: Golombisky, K., & Hagen, R. (2013). White space is not your enemy: A beginner's guide to communicating visually through graphic, web & multimedia design. Amsterdam: Focal Press/Elsevier.