Thursday, October 23, 2008

mysterious old man


2 comments:

Hannah D said...

This picture is kind of creepy in a number of ways. First of all, it’s kind of weird to click on someone’s blog and see a picture where the subject is the shadow of my grandpa’s bobble head. Second, the lighting and focus create an ominous feel. Overall, the photo contains a shadow of a man out of focus, so the man is moving. The shadow of the man is cast against a white tile background and the edges of the photo are also covered in darkness, increasing the scary feeling the picture gives off. The photographer didn’t use the black and white setting on the camera, so the fact that the whole photo is filled with natural black and white is pretty cool. Also, the shadow is right where the grout lines from the tile come together, so the eye is immediately drawn to the silhouette by following the grout lines.

The picture is taken from a low angle, making the shadow look powerful. Based off of the choice of colors, lighting, and focus, the subject seems scary and powerful, but like he hasn’t achieved his power by being nice to everyone.

This picture displays a medium shot because there is an obvious focus on the shadow, but the viewer also sees the tile background. Displaying the very simple background makes the picture scarier and more mysterious. The white tile doesn’t say anything about the location of the man, so one’s imagination is allowed to run wild on the setting. I personally imagine seeing the shadow in a dark alley, which increases the ominous feeling I get looking at the picture.

The lighting of the picture is very unique. The shadow is not a silhouette because it is not backlit, but it sort of serves as a silhouette meaning the viewer only sees the outline of the subject and none of its physical characteristics. Again, not seeing the man allows imaginations to run wild and automatically assume the worst. The edges of the photo are also dark making the viewer feel like they are enclosed in the dark with only the shadow of someone they don’t know who could very well be just over their shoulder waiting to kill them. All of the darkness gives off an eerie feeling and makes the viewer frightened of the shadow and the person who casts it.

The rack focus just increases the bad feeling about the shadow. The background is perfectly focused while the shadow is fairly blurry. The viewer feels that the man is different than one would expect him to be, and in a negative way. One may feel they know the person, but in actuality they are just seeing a blur of the person and not his real character.

Overall the picture is kind of creepy and makes the viewer cautious of the person/statue that is casting the shadow.

Justin Z said...

Now this is a cool picture. Its looks like an old man's shadow. The shot could be either a normal shot or a high shot depending on how you interpret the fact that you are looking at the tile floor. The white floor gives it an eerie look with lots of questions popping into my mind that really finishes the look. The many lights behind the camera blur the shadow and give it a doulbe visioned look. This paired with the shortness and roundheadedness of the subject tugs those old fears of aliens out from my minds closet (what an ironic place to keep them). The last part that makes me wonder is the upper left hand corner. There is another shadow. This thing is not alone. Frankly, I'm scared.

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