Period 4 -- Critical Analysis #9

11/16/2017

Today you will be writing about this photograph made by artist Heather Evans Smith.

Your analysis must be 5 paragraphs, 5 sentences minimum per paragraph. Remember to post your analysis as a comment to the blog post that corresponds to your class. If you post your analysis to the wrong class's post, it will not be graded.

If you do not complete your analysis in class, you must finish it for homework before your next class on FRIDAY, 11/17/17.

Refer to your "How to See" handout for analyzing a photograph--

Describe specifics.
Describe form.
Describe the content.
Evaluate the image

Your analyses will be graded on:

meeting minimum length requirements
depth of organization
evaluation of the content
grammar/punctuation

melody umsted

11/16/2017 09:24:41 am

This picture is of a girl laying on the floor. Only her legs are visible because some sort of yellow fabric, curtains or a tablecloth maybe, hide the rest of her body. The girl is wearing blue knee-high socks with hearts on them. Her shoes are tan. The floor that she is laying on is an old, dark, hardwood floor.

There are tassels on the edge of the yellow fabric. The fabric looks like corduroy material. The floor has different color tones throughout the wood. There are dark and light pieces of wood. The girl’s legs are pale and skinny.

The picture is nice to look at because it is balanced. The two pieces of fabric are even on both sides and the girl’s legs are in the middle. The picture is taken from an angle standing over the girl, looking down at her legs. The colors are nice. The blue contrasts the yellow and the tan shoes stand out on the dark floor. There is extra space in the image around the girl’s legs. There is a shallow depth of field because only a small part of the image is focused. The top part of the fabric is blurry.

This image reminds me of The Wizard of Oz. In the movie and book, the witch gets stuck under the house and all you can see are her legs with the shoes. In this image, all you can see under the fabric are the girl’s legs and her shoes. The story behind this image might be that the girl is scared and is hiding from something. This image is interesting because it is so simple yet so confusing. I want to know what is going on in the image.

I don't like this picture. I don't like the shoes, or the yellow of the fabric. I don't like that there is really nothing happening in the picture. I am sure that there is some story that the artist has behind this image, but I cannot see it. Also, I cannot tell if the photo is successful because I don't know anything about the image. In a literal way, it is successful because it is a good image, for example, it is balanced and has a sharp focus.

Leon Toursarkissian link

11/16/2017 09:28:10 am

This image is of a girl’s legs sticking out from under a table with a yellow, while laying down on a wooden floor. The image is using both bright and dark colors perhaps as a way to give contrast to the image. The lighting in the image is pretty neutral and appears to be natural; the image does not seem overexposed or underexposed. The objects in the image include the legs, blue socks, white shoes, a wooden square pattern floor, and a yellow tablecloth. In the image the girl is simply lying down under the table with her feet poking out from underneath.

I think that the artist made the image by having a girl lay down underneath a table and standing over her and snapping the image. It appears to have been a studio setup mostly because of how well framed the image is and the good lighting. It appears that the artist may or may not have used a tripod, and if she did it was without a timer. The artist probably had to dress the girl up so that she would work with the rest with the image. Chances are that this was taken in a room with many windows on a well lit day to give it good lighting.

The composition of the image functions well because it is well balanced in the essence of lighting and the angle and frame of the picture. The rule of thirds is not being used as the subject is not situated on the thirds lines. The photographer took this image from a bird's eye view standing above the subject. The depth of field can not really be seen in the image but it appears to be deep. The focal point of the image is the girl’s feet and it isn’t framed by anything. The lines in the image are along the floor and tablecloth and seem to direct your eyes toward the subject. The image is not symmetrical as each side is different. The subject does not fill the frame and there is quite a lot of extra space left. At the edges of the image are wood and cloth and it crops off at no specific point. The negative space is the egs and the negative space is everything else.

The theme of the image is that there is a girl sitting underneath a table with just her legs popping out. I don’t think there is a story being told in the image because it doesn’t seem to give hints as to what that story may be in the image. The artist may have made the image to portray this girl from a bird’s eye view without exposing her face. The image does not question any beliefs in any way, shape, or form. I would say the image is very neutral because of its lighting and very innocent feel.

I personally do not like the image mainly because it lacks a purpose and or story. I think an image with a story is much more powerful than one that lacks one and that is the case here. I also do not like how bland the image seems because there are some places in the image where there is just one solid color occupying a large portion in the frame and to me that makes it less interesting. I do not think that this photograph is successful once again because of a lack of a story being told. The most popular images are those that have a purpose and story and in this one that may have affected it.

Dylan Pegg

11/16/2017 09:32:35 am

In this picture by Heather Evans Smith, we se a girls laying on the floor, with curtains covering her from the knees up. She is wearing long blue socks and white shoes. The square wooden tiles of the floor and the yellow curtains take up the majority of the photo. It looks to be sun-lit from a window, but there could likely be another lightsource too. The curtains look to be hanging from an off-screen window, perpendicular to the girl.

The photo is nicely exposed and doesn’t appear to clip anywhere. The overlap of the two curtains creates a line that leads to the girl’s knee. The rule of thirds is used since her feet are at the bottom left intersection on the grid. Most of the floor and curtains serve as negative space and take up all the edges, along with being the only things cut off. The part of the curtain nearest the camera looks slightly out of focus, but other than that, there are few clues that tell what depth of field it was using.

The image is a bit vague if it is attempting to tell a story as relatively little is given. It may symbolize covering up one’s true self and replacing it with a “perfect” version, since the curtains seem to be in amazing condition and cover the majority of the girl. However, I still relate to the photo since it reminds me of hide and seek games from when I was young and would hid in the window curtains. It’s vagueness could allow for more individual interpretations, but from my view it doesn’t seem to have a very clear message. Still, I think the image is noteworthy since I haven’t seen anything like it before.

Under deeper inspection, I believe you can make a greater claim to it challenging societal standards, but it takes a careful eye. For instance, the wooden tiles go against each other’s grain, kind of like a checkerboard pattern, which could imply the earlier message of being unique. Another small detail includes the heart pattern on the girl’s socks, possibly saying that girls are expected to be obsessed with love. I feel like this might be reaching a bit further than intended, but maybe this was the artist’s intention, and either way I need an extra paragraph. Despite these miniscule details though, my favorite part about this image is its simplicity.

Unlike many other photos, this picture doesn’t try to force a message in your face, nor does it include a bunch of meaningless set pieces. It gets to its point and allows the viewer to create their own idea of meaning. In this regard, the picture is successful in its intention. Still, I don’t care for this image too much because I personally find it hard to relate to and under-satisfying due to it almost having too little going on in it. I might sound a bit contradictory, but I personally am not completely in love with this photograph.

Andi Feik

11/16/2017 09:33:58 am

This image is by Heather Evan Smith. This image is what seems to be this little girl’s legs. Hanging over her legs are two yellow curtains. This image is mainly brown, yellow, blue, skin color, and grey. This image is well lit I think by natural window light. In this, she is lying on the floor wearing blue socks and grey shoes.

This image is pleasing to look at because it has very bold colors but they look nice together. The rule of thirds is being used because her legs are in the center of the image. This image was taken from bird's eye view. So the photographer was probably standing up on top of something. The depth of field being used is a very deep depth of field. On the edge of the image are the wood and the yellow curtain.

The lines in this image are the curtain directing your eye down towards the floor to where the girl’s legs are. There are also some lines in the wood that are interesting but they don’t lead your eyes. This image is balanced because you almost have the same amount of edge on each side of the image. The extra space is also on the sides the only thing there are the curtains and the wood. There is kind of a frame by the bottom of the curtain and the edge of the image that frame the legs more.

This image reminds me a fairytale or mystery. I think there is a story being told by the artist but I don’t know what it is. I think the artist made this image to try to make you think what is going on in this image. I feel like this image could be in a storybook. I think this an interesting story because there could be a story behind it.

Overall I like this image. It’s not one of my favorites because I think it’s a little boring. I think that she made this image because everyone can interpret it a different way. Anyone could make up a different story behind it. The image is successful because it is a nice image with good lighting and other qualities you need to make a good image. I also think it’s unsuccessful because it’s kind of plain.

Chase Blackwell link

11/16/2017 09:35:27 am

Smith’s Photo is of a girl hiding under a bed, only her knees and below are visible. Along her dark blue knee high socks are lace hearts. The picture has a large golden drape hiding her upper body, and a brown floor; contrasted with the white of her skin/socks and the blue of her shoes. The image has a very neutral temperature, despite what would be normally very warm colors. The lighting of the image is very dull, with the image being a tad bit under exposed overall.
The piece forgoes the rule of thirds, and instead cuts the image in half with the golden drape. The image is taken from a bird’s eye view, looking directly down at the floor. The picture looks to be taken from a height taller than the average human, due to how small her legs are in. if it was taken from head height, her legs would be much larger in comparison to the floor.The depth of field for the image is deep, with the distant floor, and the up-close drape both in full focus.
The focal point of the image is the her white legs, sticking out from under the drape, due to how much brighter they are than all of the surrounding. The image is full of lines, leading your eye to her legs. The biggest of the lines is the fold in the middle of the drape, that gives it it’s { shape. The second biggest is the edge of the drape, ending in fray, that cuts the top half of the picture off, leaving only half the image for use by the subject. The smallest of the lines are the woodgrain, the tile edges, and the lines of fabric in the drape. These lines all combine to spin your head around the image.

The image reminds me of Alice in Wonderland, as she falls down the rabbit hole. On the woman’s socks are hearts, who is the main villain in the story., and the colors of her socks and shoes are the inverse of the Alice’s, who wear white socks with blue shoes. The drape hiding part of the image reminds me of a theatre curtain, due to it’s ornate coloration, it’s frayed edge style, and the split down the middle.The last reason is the lines. As i said earlier, they spin your head around the image, giving me the feeling of falling.

I personally love the image. Smith was able to create an interesting image, using only half of the photo itself, which is something I applaud her for. I also admire how she was able to take a photo that should have been very warm, due to the colors in it, and take away it’s temperature, leaving it in neutral. She probably did this by dulling the floor or taking the vibrance out of the image, but either way, It’s a technique i’d like to try. I personally feel the image was successful, as the image was able to capture my attention and send me down the rabbit hole as I analyzed it.

Adriana Vazquez link

11/16/2017 09:36:28 am

The image is of a girl’s legs and blankets covering the rest of her body. The background is a wooden floor. The colors that are being used are very warm, the main color in the image is yellow and brown. They might have used natural light, there are some dark shades at the corners of the picture. The girl is wearing high-knee socks and light brown shoes, she might be wearing uniform. The girl is laying on the floor and there are some blankets or curtains hanging that are covering her body.

When you first look at it, it's a little confusing because the blankets take a big part of the image. The rule of thirds is being used, the knees of the girl are in the main square. The point of view is from a bird point of view except that it's looking down. There is a close depth of field, the legs of the girl and the floor are being focused but the blankets aren't. The blankets fills up the majority of the image, while the legs fill the other part. The edges of the image are cropping of the wooden floor and the blankets.

I think that the story being told in the image is that the girl just came back from school and she is very tired and so she lays down to relax. The theme of the image is just of a girl in an ordinary day. This image reminds me of cartoons movies or books about kid stories. It also reminds me of movies from Disney or like a scary movie. The image is interesting to know what was the intention or meaning of the image, because it’s very hard to tell.

The image is very interesting to look at, the because the colors and the meaning. I like this picture, it gives me a feeling that something is about to happen in the image. I think the photograph is successful because it makes me have a lot of questions about it.

Catherine Clausewitz

11/16/2017 09:40:38 am

This is a photo of a pair of legs. The legs have on navy knee high socks that have a heart pattern on them. They also have on beige shoes that are almost a cream color and have two buckles on the outside of the shoes. The shoes has a little bit of a heel that is a chocolate brown color. The legs themselves look to be very thin, but not to the point where they look sick, but it’s close. The legs are pale, but not a sickly pale color. They have some red and yellow undertones to them that make the skin on the legs look very healthy.

There is almost what looks likes a curtain to be covering up the rest of the person besides their legs. The curtain looks like it is velvet or something similar to velvet. There is fringe at the bottom of the fabric and the fabric itself is almost a golden yellow or squash color. The background of this image is a wood floor but the wood is cut into the shape of tile and it doesn’t line up the way wood usually does. The grains of the wood are rotation ninety degrees for every square. The wood grains face horizontally and then they face vertically. The wood itself looks like it has boards in each square that lie up together. The color of the wood varies from a deep brown, a neutral brown and a light brown.

The colors that stick out to me most in this image are the navy and the gold. With the gold covering the top of the image it makes my eyes look directly at the navy because of the contrast. I can’t tell where the light source is coming from but it almost looks like it's coming from the top right. The brightness doesn’t have an intense spot. It does however goes from being brighter to a little bit darker going from left to right, but it isn’t very noticeable. There is definitely more of a shadow on the right side of the photo and it is a subtle shadow, but it’s there and almost looks like it’s diagonal.

The image was taken at an angle where the photographer was almost right above the legs but they’re tilted down a little bit to where it’s almost like the angle of a roof on a house. The image seems to be in focus and it has a wide aperture to it. The image has both warm and cool tones to it. The golden fabric is definitely a warm tones in this image. The cool tones come from the wood a little bit, but mainly comes from the navy socks. There are also lighter and darker tones in the image. The fabric, the shoes and the legs themselves are all lighter tones. The socks and the wood are the darker tones.

This image has a very mystical and magical feel to it. I think the artists made the image this way because it feel like there is a mystery behind the image. The image definitely has a story to tell and I feel like it’s a very strange story. The yellow fabric reminds me of Belle’s dress from Beauty and the Beast. The legs sticking out from under the fabric remind me of the Wizard of Oz. The colors have a very royal feel to them. I like the image because it does have a somewhat positive feel to it because of the contrast and colors of the image. In all I like the image and would hang it in a house.It would have to be in a very simple room, but I like it a lot.

Estefan Zorrilla link

11/16/2017 09:46:47 am

This image is about a girl under some curtains but only her legs are showing. She is wearing long blue socks with some grey shoes. The grounds are made up of tiles that are brown. The colors in this picture are a lot of yellow and brown with a bit of blue and some light grey. I think they are using these colors to make the image blend nicely because brown and yellow go together. The lighting is i believe studio set up because i don't see any windows and they are not outside. There are no faces in this image. There is only a pair of legs, some curtains and the floor. I think what happened in this image is that the girl fell in some type of house that has curtains.
The photo is pleasing to look at because the image is mainly composed of 2 colors brown and yellow which go well together. The legs are in the middle which aligns the subject nicely. The photographer took this picture from a bird's eye view looking down onto the girl. There is a shallow depth field being used here. There is no focal point and the picture is not framed by anything. The rule of thirds also does not apply here .

The lines in this picture could be the ends of the curtains which direct the subject well. The floor tiles also have lines in them which could also act as lines pointing the viewer to the subject which is the legs. The image is balanced and symmetrical because the image is not crooked and not steady. The subject does not fill the space there is a extra space that helps add to the picture. The image cuts off some of the picture like the floor tiles and part of the yellow curtain. The negative space is the space around the subject, the negative space is the yellow curtain and the brown floor tiles. The positive space are the legs which is the subject.

I think some of the ideas in this photograph is the feeling of abandonment and getting left behind. Some more ideas in this image are the idea of being vulnerable and helpless. I think the story in this image is that that a group of friends are going to a friends house that is very stylish and has a lot of cloth and silk. The friends go to a part of a house and see legs under a curtain but don't see anything else but the legs and the curtain. I think the artist intention was to just take this unique image so people can interpret it in any way the want.

This image reminds me of a horror game called “The evil within”. This image also reminds me of a dream someone would have to realize something like a journey in a dream.
This does challenge and question some ethical things like how to treat people and what way is the correct way of how to treat another human being. It is a question that we don't know the answer too but that is why we have free thought to come up with moral law and come up with a moral law on how to treat human beings. I think this image is beautiful and deserves recognition. I like this picture because you can imagine so much with it and with the material this picture gives us we can come up with very interesting conclusions and things. This photograph is very successful because it does what it was meant to do, which is to question and goes beyond that by making us think about new concepts and ideas.

Julieta Vazquez Martinez

11/16/2017 10:12:30 am

This image by Heather Evans Smith is about a girl laying in a brown floor, and an orange curtain covering her body except her legs. She is using some warm colors, I would define them as fall colors. The lighting is coming from above and front of the set up, but it seems to be a natural light. The top of the image is all covered by the yellow curtains already mentioned, then in about the middle center of the image are the girl’s legs wearing high dark blue school socks and very light grey shoes, and then everything else that you can see is the brown floor. The girl is slightly crossing her legs and they are being covered by the curtains from the top part of them.

The composition that Evans Smith arranged here in very pleasent to look at because it is well balanced in every aspect. The rule of thirds is not being used since the subject, the girl’s legs are in the center of the image. The angle of this image is a high one known as bird's-eye view. A shallow depth of field is being used, only the legs and the floor around it is in the depths of field. The composition is very successful because Evans well-balanced the colors in the space in this asymmetrical image.

There are multiple themes that this image could be about, for starters we have childhood, autumn maybe even winter, girls and more; but these are the ones that are more evident, of course it would depend in the person and his or her perspective. I mention perspective because mine is about childhood, this image reminds me of my grandmother and her house and how me and all my cousins used to play hide and seek during the holidays in winter. This also reminds me of the Wizard of Oz with the witch and her shoes. The artist, Heather Evans Smith, like in most of her other works was probably trying to photograph a familiar relationship with this particular girl. I feel like the story behind this image is Heather just being at a family reunion and just seeing the kids playing, and just coming up with the idea of this image.

As you can tell from the recent paragraphs, I like the way the colors were arranged. I enjoy looking at the composition with the calm way that the legs are posing and the still curtains on the top. The lighting was well arranged too, there is not apparent black or white clipping anywhere. Also the old-style floors and the shoes contribute to the perspective of family reunion. By looking at this image you can sense warmth and peace, feeling related to family.

As already said, I do like this image. It might be because I will soon see my family and they are in my mind, but this image reminds me a lot of my grandma. Her house has very similar tiles and curtains. When I was younger, I would play with my twenty cousins hide and seek at her house. Not only because of what it reminds me of, but also because of the arrangement I like and enjoy looking at this image.

Kaitlyn Evans

11/16/2017 06:26:16 pm

Critical Analysis #9

This picture is of a girl’s legs sticking out from underneath a table or curtain with yellow cloth. The colors in this image are yellow, navy, white, and brown. The lighting in this image is probably from the inside of the room the girl is in or the sunlight because she could be in front of a window. The objects in this picture is of a girl’s legs that have high navy socks and white shoes on and there is also a yellow cloth hanging down. I think what is happening in this image is the girl might be hiding or just hanging out underneath a table or behind a curtain.
The composition is pleasing to look at because the colors in this image go well together and my eyes are immediately directed to the girl’s legs sticking out of the yellow cloth. The rule of thirds is being used because it balances the composition. The point of view is from a bird’s eye view because the camera is being pointed down. The photographer took this from a shallow depth of field. The focal point is the girl’s legs.
The lines are on the curtains or tablecloth because the line in the center points directly to the girl’s legs. This photograph is symmetrical. The subject does not fill the frame there is still extra space around her legs. At the edge of this image I think there is a window or more floor space that is cut off. The positive space is the girl’s legs and the negative space is the curtain or tablecloth and the floor.
In this image I think the photographer Heather Evans Smith is trying to show us what it’s like to be young. How we used to climb around and hide underneath tables or behind curtains. This image was taken awhile back because of the girl’s fashion but I think back then children were more playful and not taken away by ipads and iphones. I don’t think this image challenges beliefs or assumptions. I think this image works really well with the colors around it.
I don’t really like this image because it doesn’t really say much. I like images with a story behind them because it will make me more interested in the photograph. I think the photographer did a great job with the colors and making sure the image had good lighting. I like how she put a mystery in the image because we don’t really know what the girl is doing behind the yellow cloth. This photographer does a great job of taking pictures.

Pedro Mejido link

11/17/2017 05:53:12 pm

The image is of a girl’s legs popping out of what looks like yellow curtains. The girl has dark blue socks with a little design on them and white shoes. The legs lie on a wooden floor/tiles that have lines going in different directions. The photo uses warm colors but the photo looks darker. The only thing that is showing of the girl is her legs.
The photo is pleasing to look at because of it’s dark colors and the rule of thirds is being used in this image. The photo uses a bird’s eye view and a shallow depth of field. The focal point of the image is the girl’s legs under the curtains. On the curtain the cloth’s lines direct my eye to the girl’s legs. The photo is symmetrical and is not tilted in any form or fashion.
The only thing the photo leaves out is the rest of the curtains. The image has no negative space but all positive space. The theme of the photo is probably telling how the photographer feels. In this picture I image her feeling sad and alone, hiding herself from the rest of the world. The photo could also not be about that at all and the photographer just wanted to take a picture of her legs.
I like the photo because of its lighting and that it's not too bright nor too dark neither. The girl’s dark blue socks really does fit the lighting of the picture. I really like the leading lines from the curtain leading to the girl’s legs. The photo does a good job on making us focus on the girl’s legs by putting it in the center and by bending the legs to follow the rule of thirds. Overall I really like the image because of the lighting of it and how it makes me focus on the girl’s legs.
In my opinion the photograph is successful because it's one of those images I would hang on my wall not like other photos/self portraits where the photo is fine but I’m not going to hang a picture on my wall of some random dude doing whatever. You can also say the photograph is successful because it makes you focus on the legs alone by using a focal point, leading lines, and rule of thirds. Another reason why this photo is successful is it makes you think what is the person in this image is feeling. And finally another reason why the photo is successful is the amount of time it would’ve taken to take this photo and edit it and to make the lighting just right. The photo is successful because of the subject of the image itself, the way it focuses your eye, the way it makes you think about the photo, and the amount of passion and work that had been used in the image.

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Period 4 -- Critical Analysis #9

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