Period 6 -- 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

elizabeth wray

11/16/2017 12:19:27 pm

This is an self-portrait by Heather Evans Smith. It is an image from the bottom of her nose to above her chest. She is wearing a maroon short with a bow around her neck. The bow matches in the sense that it is blue, purple and maroon. The part that is in main focus is the bow, because it is the centered-main point to the image. She has some pins in her mouth, the ones you use for sewing. To me, that is an odd thing to do.

This image has a shallow depth of field, mainly because the front is focused and the back is not. I think this image shows a lot of rebellion and danger. To prove this, she has five pins inside her mouth that can clearly cut her but she chooses to do it anyway. Maybe she is having this problem in real life, that she feels the need to hurt herself, or maybe it's just for the image. There are many possibilities to which this can be.

The colors in this image are very dark. I like how all the colors match together perfectly, to me that really satisfies the image. Even the pins in her mouth match each other. Since this is new work, no one really knows the exact reason that she is doing this. What i think is that she is a sewer and those are the pins that you sew with. She probably wanted to include er hobbies into her photography to really patch everything together.

The theme of the image is sewing. Heather smith probably loves to sew with her relatives in her house. The intention of the image is to show her love of sewing in a sophisticated kind of way. The image definitely is beautiful and interesting. She is a great photographer.

I like this image. The dark and cool colors really attract my eye. The bow is very neat, not too wrinkly. I like the clothes that she is wearing, they are very sophisticated. Since this is new, we don't know if this image will be successful, but i do know that i think it will be. It's a very deep image because you can think about it in infinite ways.

Payton Down

11/16/2017 12:23:56 pm

This is an image of a woman in dark red with needles in her mouth.You can't see her eyes or hair. The photo is from the mouth down. The photographer is using dark red and browns. The colors of the needles are red, pink, and darker colors. This photo has dark shadows, more or less and it doesn't have many sunlight in the photo. There is one person in the photo and you can only see half of her face. The women is holding pins in her mouth. This can be symbolic somehow, like she need to keep her mouth shout or has used her mouth as a weapon.

It isn't pleasing to look at but it's interesting. This is because the pins make you a bit mysterious and curious as to why they are in the mouth. The rule of thirds is not being used. The women is in the middle of the photo. The photographer took the photo at human eye level but zoomed in on her lower face and clothing rather than her whole face and body. Shallow depth of field is being used which is best for portraits . The focal point of the photo is her body and mouth. The frame is just brown in the back, also since its shallow depth of field that background is blurry. So it's just different shades of brown. The strokes of different color brown direct the person's eyes to the women. The image is symmetrical it is almost the same on each side. There is nothing out of the blue to make it asymmetrical. The subject fills the frame in the foreground and the background isn't full of the subject. The image crops off most of her other body parts.

The theme could be about her grandmother and their relationship together was brought together by the activity of sowing. Yes there could be a story being told but the person looking at the photo can have different ideas and thoughts about the story itself. The story could be about her grandmother. Her intention was to try and reconnect and recall the times she had with her loved one. Since sewing was a thing that they enjoyed together, she probably feels close to her grandmother if she depicts the idea of sewing. The image doesnt remind me of anything but it is a very cool image, very creative. The image is very interesting and noteworthy. If you think about it, it's so cool how one can express themselves in a photo and feel a connection with someone or even a memory.

I do like the photo, i like how simple it is but how it says so much and has a deeper meaning. This photograph is a success because it has a deeper meaning and she can express herself through the ways of photography which is really cool and interesting. I do enjoy the photo because it could also indicate many other things. I can see the women trying to connect her memories with the ones her grandmother had to form a photo.

Since the woman is in the photo she probably used a tripod to take the photo. There is some sunlight coming in from a window on the one side of her face. Since it is a shallow depth of field the f/stop was probably very low. The photo was made very nicely and a very nice color pallet. The photographer did a great job in creating this photo.

Annie Mosis

11/16/2017 12:27:48 pm

In this image it is a zoomed in picture of a woman's lower half of the face and her chest. She is wearing a burgundy shirt with a Bow tied around her neck it is burgundy and a light blue color. The lady is holding pins her mouth. They Are steel, blue, light pink, purple, and grey. In this picture it looks to use window light and cause dark shadows. This image is seems to be intimate. I like the colors she uses in this image.

I find this image very pleasing to look at. The rule of thirds is not being used in this image. The lady in this image is standing in the middle of the frame. The point of view is from someone else's perspective looking at the lady with pins. In this image the artist is using a shallow depth of field because the background is blurred out. Which causes your eyes to only see the lady.

This image is not using frames, or lines to direct your attention to the lady but rather the artist is using the depth of field to make your eyes drawn to the lady. This image is symmetrical when it come to the lady being in the middle of the photo. But the bow is not completely symmetrical with the way it hangs in some areas. This image does fill the frame completely. The ladies face and body is cut off from the photo.This image only needs the shallow depth of field to draw its attention.

I think in this image she was maybe showing some attributes from a lady she may know. Or maybe she describing someone in this image. The lady in this image looks to be serious. She is probably a seamstress. This image reminds me of when I used to sew. I would go home after school the I would have sewing lessons with my friends like 5 years ago. I think this image is cool it makes you think what is happening and who is this lady in this image.

I enjoy this image. I like the composition of this image. I also like how it reminds me of when I was younger. I also like the lighting used in this image. It looks very natural and earthy. I also enjoy the colors she used in this. Overall I enjoy this image and find it very interesting and wished we knew if this image was based of off anyone in particular.

Claire Williams

11/16/2017 12:28:14 pm

This photograph is of one person holding sewing pins in between her lips. It looks like a woman, but the frame is cut off above the lips so you can’t tell by the rest of the face. The main colors are maroon,burgundy, white, and a faded blue on the bow scarf. These are good colors to use because they are very deep tones that pop out in the image. The lighting behind the subject is a little bit dark, but that actual subject’s face and below are well exposed.

The rule of thirds is not being used; the subject is in the center of the frame. The point of view from the photographer was very close and a bit shorted because of how the the main center of the image is the subject’s neck. A shallow depth of field is being used because of how the background is blurred out. I think that it was good to use a shallow depth of field on this particular image because of how it solely focuses on the subject and not what is behind him/her. The exposure also appears to be symmetrical because of how if you split the image in half, the two sides would appear as mirror images.

The main theme appears to be danger and power. I don’t exactly see a story being told here, but I do think that there is a message being put across. The message, to me, is the power of women. We are dangerous and strong and this photograph expresses that. I think that the photographer, Heather Evans Smith, made this exposure for that reason. I noticed on the photographer's website that she mainly photographs all females, and she could be trying to put across a message about that.

I did not like this exposure at first, but once I thought more about it, it began to grow on me. When I first glanced at this photograph, it appeared very plain and not original. However, I realized that part of why I felt that way about it in the beginning was because of the colors being used. The photographer might have wanted to change up the color scheme a little bit so that it did not look too boring. Even though I do not like every small part of the exposure, all together I think it is a very strong photograph.

I think that this photograph was made somewhere inside. Possibly in someone’s living room, where the lights have some dark but orange tones. Or, there may have been a fabric backdrop being used. In this case, it is hard to tell what the background was because of the shallow depth of field. I also think that there was a studio light pointed on the subject because of how everything else is a little bit darker than her face.

Parker Brown

11/16/2017 12:29:18 pm

The image is a picture of a lady who has some sewing needles sitting on her lips. The needles are colors that match what she is wearing and each one of the needles is a different size. The colors in the picture make the picture seem dark because the colors are blue, tan, purple, and grey. There is also a lot of shadows in the picture which also makes the picture seem dark. The picture looks like it was taken behind yellow stage curtains.

I think the image is kind of pleasing to look at. The different sizes needles makes it look like they are just a part of her face. The rule of thirds isn’t really being used, she is just centered in the middle of the photo. The subject fills a lot of the image, but there is some left over space behind the woman. At the edge of the image, the top of the ladies face is cut off so we can’t see her full face.

I think the main idea in the image is to show that she likes sewing probably. The image also makes me think that she might be crazy, and that she has a problem. The image reminds me of what a cover image for a horror movie would look like. I think the image is very beautiful. I really like how the needle colors match with all of the colors she is wearing.

I do like the image a lot. The way the needles look like they are actually a part of her face make it look very interesting. I also like the colors that are used in the image too. The colors that are used make the picture seem even more like a horror movie because the colors are dark.

I think the image was taken on a tripod. Since the image seems very dark, she would need a low shutter speed. If she tried taking the picture without a tripod, she would probably get camera shake. The picture also has a low depth of field, so se would need an even lower shutter speed to get the right lighting. She could have also just used a higher ISO, but I don’t think she did because the image doesn’t look very grainy.

boyd meltzer link

11/16/2017 12:32:33 pm

This image shows a woman with multiple pins and needles, primarily used for sewing, in her mouth. She is wearing maroon colors. She also wears an extravagant bow tie that takes up a large amount of the frame. Her face is not fully visible. The colors are primarily maroon, due to the subject’s clothes. The main focus in this image is the bowtie. The bow portion of it is entirely in focus. The lighting appears to be more of a mellow tone. The only things that are entirely in focus in this image are the bowtie and the subject’s face. Nothing seems to be happening in this image, as the subject is completely stationary.

This image is pleasing to look at due to the color symmetry. The unique aspect of this image is also visible, with the pins and needles situated in the subject’s mouth for whatever reason. Perhaps she is in the process of sewing something. The rule of thirds is not being used as the subject takes up the entire frame. The point of view is level with the subject’s neck. The depth of field is shallow. The focal point is the large bow - tie around the subject’s neck.

The lines in this image could be considered as the reflections visible in the background. Also, some lines could be interpreted as the needles in the subject’s mouth. This image is very symmetrical. In the subject’s mouth, the same number of needles are on each side of the image. The subject fills the entire frame. The frame crops so that the viewer is unable to see the subject’s arms, eyes, or nose. The negative space is in the background, while the positive space is the subject of the image.

An important idea featured in this image are the dark colors. These colors combined with the needles in the subject’s mouth shows the dark tone of the image. There could be a story being told in the image, but it is difficult for me to decypher. This image does not particularly remind me of any of my memories in particular because of the detail included in the image. It is a very specific and out of the ordinary image. This image, however, is very interesting to me because of this reason. It is very pleasing to look at.

I enjoy this image because of its interesting connotation. The image was probably a difficult shot, as well. The symmetry, I assume, was difficult to get exactly right. The photograph, I think, is successful due to its viewing pleasure and meticulous nature. The background is relatively empty. The focal point of the image is an interesting and unique one.

Jordan Bell

11/16/2017 12:35:15 pm

This photograph by Heather Evans Smith depicts a woman wearing a purple shirt and a purple bow tie standing in front of a gold-ish brown background. The main thing that stands out about this image are the five sewing pins sticking out of her mouth. The colors of the heads of the sewing pins are the colors used in this photo: green, blue, tan, purple and grey. Over all, the image is filled with dark shadows with light on the left side of the subjects face. The lighting utilized could either be window light or a studio set up.

The photo is pleasing to look at because of the use of a brown/gold background causes the subjects purple outfit to stand out. The rule of thirds is not being used because the subject is in the middle of the frame. Leading lines in the background and from the sewing pins draw the viewer's attention to the bow tie. The photo was taken a little lower than eye level from face on. The image is not framed by anything.

The portion of the subject captured almost fills the frame, leaving extra space. The edge of the image cuts of the top part of the subjects face and the majority of their body. Only from the bottom of her ears to the top of her chest are shown. A shallow depth of field is being used to focus on the subject and more specifically the bow tie. There is no positive space in the image. The negative space in the image can be see in some folds of the bow tie and the bottom right corner of the photograph.

An idea being conveyed in this image is the relationship that Heather Evans Smith and her grandmother had with sewing. A story behind this image could be how her grandmother made bow ties, with sewing pins in her mouth and the bow tie around her neck. The bow tie depicted in this image could be one that both she and her grandmother, or just her grandmother, made. The outfit on the subject reminds me of something the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland would wear. This image does not challenge, nor do I think it was meant to challenge, any set of beliefs. This photograph is very interesting because of the sewing pins in her mouth.

I like this image because of the flow of colors throughout the piece. The contrast between the the warm, yet shaded background, and the cooler colors in the front is a very good use of the color spectrum. However, what really brings the image together are the sewing pins in her mouth. Most of the colors of the heads of the sewing pins correlate to a color used in the rest of the photograph. I think this photograph is successful to the artist because they are trying to convey a specific event or memory that Smith had with her grandmother. To the viewer, this image is unsuccessful because they don’t know what that memory is.

Ntalia Orquin

11/16/2017 12:40:50 pm

Specifics
The image depicts a women with the lower half of her face being shown with needles being balance on her lips. The women is wearing a dark plum colored shirt with a scarf that is purple with light blue cubes tied into a neat bow. The light hits ,her right, side of her face and gives the image a nice contrast between the light and the dark. The right side of the image is very dark and towns down the vibe of the image to make it feel more mysterious and dark. The background is a variety of brownish, yellow, and taupe color scheme.
Form
The image is pleasing because the structure of the image was thoroughly thought out. The contrast of light and dark on her face, the way she is centered, and the clothes she is wearing are a great contrast with the background. The needles give a very different illusion to the image. The photographer was clearly up close and centered off of her subject to get this perfect shot. This image was taken in a shallow depth of field to give more dimension and focus to the women being photographed.
The image seems to be being framed framed by the shoulders of the women and the background of the image. This image is very symmetrical because the cupid’s bow of the woman’s mouth is centered exactly in the middle of the image. The lines of the background direct the eye to the center of the image. It almost seems like the woman is standing in the middle of a hallway. The images negative space is the complete background of the image and the woman would be the positive area of the image.
Content
The whole idea behind this image is to commemorate stories. The artist, Heather Evans Smith, wanted to share stories that come from moments in life. She shows her roots in womanhood through this image. This image was taken because since she was a young child she would sew with her grandmother and this shows her story. At first I was not sure of the story behind the image. Once I researched more of her work and her themes I finally understood what was trying to be said in this image.
Evaluate
I love the aesthetic of the image, but it was very hard for me to figure out the message of the image so I did not like. The colors of the image were astonishingly beautiful. To me this image was unsuccessful because one person should take a glance at an image and be able to tell the story without having to do so much research about the artist. The image was beautiful but did not fulfill its purpose in exchanging a message with the observer. However, I do love the overall image that the photographer took.

Matthew Weiss

11/16/2017 08:29:26 pm

The photo is a self portrait by Heather Evans Smith. In the photo, she is wearing purple bow around her neck. In addition to this, she is holding needles, from her mouth. In the image, the focal point is the bow, as it is the first thing that takes attention in the image. The background of the image is blurred out, and the image as a whole is quite dark, given the shadows around the outside of the image, and the shadows cast by the bow.

The bow is in the lower half of the image, and it is the only thing in focus, as the shallow depth of field used in the image makes it so that everything behind the bow is blurred out. The image is for the most part, symmetrical. This is really only broken by the lighting, that comes onto the image from the side. In addition to the bow the only thing in focus are the needles and her mouth. This creates positive space in both of those areas, and leaves the rest of the image as negative space, in the background.

The image was made about sowing, as suggested by the needles. More specifically however, it is about the connection that Heather Evans Smith made with her grandmother through sowing together. The image was made to remind her of the connection that they have. In addition to this, it also was made to express the connection that she had with her grandmother to others.

I personally like this image. I feel like it does a good job of showing the connection that she had with her grandmother. Thus the image was successful. I think that it was made to share that connection, at the image does that. In addition to the message and meaning of the photo, the photo is just well done. In the image, the lighting is done at an angle and this leaves the photo with shadows and highlights in the bow.

When making the image, a very shallow depth of field is used. This can be seen by looking at how the photo is in focus on only one level of depth. In addition to this, relatively low ISO. This is evident due to the lack of a grainy image. Lastly, the image was definitely taken on a tripod. In addition to the tripod, there was light coming from her right, and this was probably artificial, given the difference in the lighting in the background of the photo.

Brandon Collins

11/17/2017 07:45:40 am

The image is of a female with five pins sticking out of her mouth.The colors are dark somehow always looking similar to maroon.The lighting is dark made by artificial light.There are no extra people just a female with a bow tie looking straight at the camera.
The image is infocus but there are too many dark colors.The rule of thirds is not being used because the lady is in the middle of the frame.The camera is right in front of the girl. A shallow depth of field is being used. The lines are on the design on the bow tie leads your eyes to the pins.The subject does fill the frame there is no positive.
I cannot tell what the theme is, but it is questioning. It's strange to see a person with five pins coming out of there mouth.looking at this image reminds me of the world record for the most body piercings.The image is noteworthy it's a little strange.
I do not like the image because piercings are not the most interesting thing. To me piercings a disgusting.

Kylie Bruehler

11/17/2017 10:05:13 am

This image is a self portrait done by Heather Evans Smith. This image uses a very wide aperture and the very front of her face and neck are in focus. The only part of her body that is showing is the lower part of her face and her neck and shoulders. She is wearing mostly purple including a large bow around her neck. She is standing in front of a deep yellow or golden colored backdrop. The most interesting part of this image in my opinion, are the sewing pins sitting upon her lips. Across her lips, the photographer has set out five individual sewing pins. This idea might have a specific meaning behind it. This image leaves me wondering what the thought behind the pins was.

The parts of the photographer’s face and body that are showing are in focus but specifically the lower part of her face and the bow around her neck are focused on the most. The gold background of the image makes the photographer who is dressed in purple stand out nicely. The reflection from the pleats in the backdrop even work as leading lines towards the photographer. The corners of the image start to fade out and are dark but the photographer’s upper body and lower face is being completely illuminated. This image uses only two major colors and it allows for attention to be kept of the photographer.

There is not any motion happening in the image and the photographer has staged herself to be completely focused and still in front of the image. The first thing that really stands out in this image is the bow around the photographer’s neck. The bow is large and completely focus right in front of the image. The thing that stands out most in this image though is the photographer’s mouth. The main focus or idea of focus in this image are the pins on the photographer’s lips. The pins really stand out the most in this image and the wide aperture helps the pins to be in complete focus and stand out the most.

The photographer might have been trying to get out a certain idea or meaning with this image. The pins across her mouth might be telling something through the image/ telling a story. The pins on her mouth might be saying that words can hurt or be sharp like pins. The pins might mean that she feels like she can’t speak or like her mouth is shut for some reason. The pins could also be there without any statement or reason. The statement of the image isn’t exactly clear but it is obvious that the way this picture was staged has reason and an intent.

I think that this self portrait is a very successful image overall. I have a few ideas about the statement or story that this image might be trying to tell. Though I am not fully sure of what this image means, I think the composition of the image is very nice and this image does tell some sort of story or bring interest. The photographer has me very interested with this image and it really causes me to think. The photographer was successful in telling a story and drawing in interest, though I do not think that the image is very visually pleasing.

Gilly

11/17/2017 10:16:00 am

This image is a self portrait by Heather Evans Smith. In this image she’s wearing a maroon shirt with a plaid gray and maroon mix of colors on a bow that is tied around her neck. Surrounding her is a yellow tone background. Possibly a backdrop. In this image you can’t really see her facial expression because the only part of her face you can see is her lips. Her lips are slightly parted and there are needles hanging from them. Image gives off a serious mood.

The colors used in this image are maroon and yellow. The needles hanging from her lips are all different colors, one being white , and then blue , cream , purple , and green. what’s happening in this image is that needles are on her lips. This image is pleasing because the color scheme goes well together. The rule of thirds is not being used because the subject is directly in front of the camera. The depth of field is shallow , everything behind her is blurry .

The focal point is Heather but specifically my eyes are drawn to her lips with the needles. The lines of the needles draw you towards her lips. The subject fills the image almost completely besides the yellow backdrop. The image crops the rest of her body out and you can only see her lips and below and to her chest.

This image is not busy at all if anything it’s the opposite . In this image she could be connecting the sewing needles to her family. This photographer talked about sewing being the number one thing linked to her relationship to her grandmother . The purpose of this image is to share moments of her life and show emotions you experience in life.

This image is beautiful. There is a deep meaning behind this photo that is artistic and beautiful. I think that this image is very successful she has told a story through the images and interested people through the aspects of the scene of her photography .

Lucas Prado

11/17/2017 12:38:17 pm

This image is of a lady wearing a purple dress and a plaid bow around her neck. Notably, needles hang down from her mouth. The lady herself is fairly pale, and there aren’t many warm colors at all in the image. The only warm color is from the golden yellow curtains in the background. The needles are the main focus of the image, with them being the most in focus and centered. They too each have cold colors, with them being grey with some blue and purple tips.

The image has a very shallow depth of field, with not even all of the lady in focus. The main point would appear to be the needles on ladys mouth, as they’re the most in focus and centered. There are a fair amount of shadows, not only from the lady but also in the background. The lighting itself appears to be from a window off to the left. The lady takes up practically all of the image, with the rest being only the curtains in the background.

Even the colors themselves seem to give off a mysterious, eerie vibe. The color palette seems to be relatively specific. In a normal photo, most people would either not care too much about what colors they use or use brighter, more vibrant colors for their portrait. Yet in this image, the artist specifically uses darker colors. The usage of the darker colors usually indicates a darker tone in a photo. For example, if you imagine a nightmare you don’t think of cadmium yellow. You think of the darker colors, which are prominent here in this photo with what the lady is wearing.

The first thought that I had when I saw this image was that cover art for American Horror Story. It feels as if it were part of a collection that was for spooking people. The artist seemed to have made this photo to make people feel uneasy, judging mainly from the needles on the lady's mouth. The fact that the lady's face isn’t visible also makes this photo a bit creepy. This image doesn’t really seem to question any socio political views. The intention for this photo, unlike the rest we’ve seen so far, doesn’t seem to have that much of a strong motive behind its creation.

I actually don’t like this image, as it gives off a creepy vibe. The cold colors are the main indicator that something is off, as most photos of people tend to use brighter colors for their photos for a more pleasant appearance. Even beyond that, the needles seem fairly ominous, especially on the ladys mouth. All this together makes the image seem as if it is trying to unease people, I can see no other clear intention for this photo. For these reasons, the photo is successful (I was kinda spooked), but I do not like it.

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