At first glance, I noticed the shallow depth of field, and immediately thought that maybe this image was using it to separate natural from man-made elements. But on closer examination, I noticed that the focus on the foliage gives the image an unsettling voyeuristic quality, an intrusion into someone else's yard, into someone else's life.
The red color of the leaves indicates autumn, which brings associations of cold and emptiness. The lack of warmth in the image enhances the voyeuristic quality through connatations of danger, inconsideration, and disregard for boundaries.
I disagree with the above comment on the color of the leaves, while yes, they are associated with autumn when its getting a bit chillier and plants are dying away, in this moment they are as bright as blooming roses and appear full of vitality, like a last breath or the image of a firework just before it fades. For cold and emptiness, a better focus would have been on the sparse trunks blurred in the far background.
The image seems so clean- the leaves are so perfect, and there seems to be a significant lack of clutter surrounding the house. While there is argueably a certain voyeuristic quality, I believe if the photographer was really going for this then the face would be reversed- the focus on what was happening through the leaves, as opposed to the leaves themselves.
The first thing that I noticed when looking at this photo is the leaves- the red stands out completely from the building, which is not only blurry but lacking much detail. The leaves on the other hand are focused on, and suggests to the reader the importance of nature over the man made structure of the building.
I agree with Tyska on this one. Even though those leaves will wither and fall to the ground in time, they are at their peak of beauty right now.And they will come again. This image reminds me of my trip to Kyoto in the fall time last year. Being surrounded by all the changing leaves combined with the mystical feelings of the shrines, statues,a and temples can really leave one in awe. But the leaves are what help shape and make historical places look so wonderous. Also it is interesting to note that these are read leaves or 紅葉【こうよう】kouyou. Which is the word for autumn colors, fall colors, leaves changing color, but in specific the Japanese maple tree which is what we see in the picture.
I do love this picture. I found especially interesting how to photographer chose to focus on the leaves more than on the actual background. It goes against the our habit to see usual pictures with a blurred foreground . The choice he made to focus on the leaves and their color is particularly aesthetic. This ability to distinguish the different grounds might contrast with our Ukyio-e.
This picture is of 天龍寺(Tenryu-ji) in Kyoto. I pulled the image off of google a long time ago, so the photographer is unknown. The picture is on the Wikipedia page for the temple, but the photographer is not mentioned there either.
For this photo, I actually did not want to be presumtuous in deciding who took the photo because I think it has qualities that would lend itself to both a tourist or someone Japanese. The composition of the photo for some reason leads me to believe a tourist took this photo. On the other hand, the temple itself is blurred in the background with focus on the leaves in the foreground, which would lead me to believe someone Japanese took it. This is because I feel a tourist would be intrigued by both the architecture and the nature in the scene, rather than presenting primarily the leaves, suggesting a focus on nature, as Spencer addressed in her comment.
The reason I chose this photo was for its sheer beauty. It's actually my background on my computer, and I chose it way before I went to Japan, which tells you what? I looked at it, saw the typical imagery that I associated with Japan (e.g. architecture of the temple and the vivid portrayal of nature) and decided to keep it to look at all the time. Guilty!
Anyway, in response to Tyska and Julia's comments, I agree. The leaves are vivid and lively, despite the oncoming season of winter.
(late i know) I am really shocked at how almost bloody the leaves look. They capture your attention and do not let go! I really like the set up of this picture too. How the leaves frame the blurred temple really makes it a very interesting picture.
At first glance, I noticed the shallow depth of field, and immediately thought that maybe this image was using it to separate natural from man-made elements. But on closer examination, I noticed that the focus on the foliage gives the image an unsettling voyeuristic quality, an intrusion into someone else's yard, into someone else's life.
ReplyDeleteThe red color of the leaves indicates autumn, which brings associations of cold and emptiness. The lack of warmth in the image enhances the voyeuristic quality through connatations of danger, inconsideration, and disregard for boundaries.
I disagree with the above comment on the color of the leaves, while yes, they are associated with autumn when its getting a bit chillier and plants are dying away, in this moment they are as bright as blooming roses and appear full of vitality, like a last breath or the image of a firework just before it fades. For cold and emptiness, a better focus would have been on the sparse trunks blurred in the far background.
ReplyDeleteThe image seems so clean- the leaves are so perfect, and there seems to be a significant lack of clutter surrounding the house. While there is argueably a certain voyeuristic quality, I believe if the photographer was really going for this then the face would be reversed- the focus on what was happening through the leaves, as opposed to the leaves themselves.
The first thing that I noticed when looking at this photo is the leaves- the red stands out completely from the building, which is not only blurry but lacking much detail.
ReplyDeleteThe leaves on the other hand are focused on, and suggests to the reader the importance of nature over the man made structure of the building.
I agree with Tyska on this one. Even though those leaves will wither and fall to the ground in time, they are at their peak of beauty right now.And they will come again. This image reminds me of my trip to Kyoto in the fall time last year. Being surrounded by all the changing leaves combined with the mystical feelings of the shrines, statues,a and temples can really leave one in awe. But the leaves are what help shape and make historical places look so wonderous. Also it is interesting to note that these are read leaves or 紅葉【こうよう】kouyou. Which is the word for autumn colors, fall colors, leaves changing color, but in specific the Japanese maple tree which is what we see in the picture.
ReplyDeleteI do love this picture. I found especially interesting how to photographer chose to focus on the leaves more than on the actual background. It goes against the our habit to see usual pictures with a blurred foreground . The choice he made to focus on the leaves and their color is particularly aesthetic. This ability to distinguish the different grounds might contrast with our Ukyio-e.
ReplyDeleteForgot to leave my name.
ReplyDelete+sam+
This picture is of 天龍寺(Tenryu-ji) in Kyoto. I pulled the image off of google a long time ago, so the photographer is unknown. The picture is on the Wikipedia page for the temple, but the photographer is not mentioned there either.
ReplyDeleteFor this photo, I actually did not want to be presumtuous in deciding who took the photo because I think it has qualities that would lend itself to both a tourist or someone Japanese. The composition of the photo for some reason leads me to believe a tourist took this photo. On the other hand, the temple itself is blurred in the background with focus on the leaves in the foreground, which would lead me to believe someone Japanese took it. This is because I feel a tourist would be intrigued by both the architecture and the nature in the scene, rather than presenting primarily the leaves, suggesting a focus on nature, as Spencer addressed in her comment.
The reason I chose this photo was for its sheer beauty. It's actually my background on my computer, and I chose it way before I went to Japan, which tells you what? I looked at it, saw the typical imagery that I associated with Japan (e.g. architecture of the temple and the vivid portrayal of nature) and decided to keep it to look at all the time. Guilty!
Anyway, in response to Tyska and Julia's comments, I agree. The leaves are vivid and lively, despite the oncoming season of winter.
(late i know)
ReplyDeleteI am really shocked at how almost bloody the leaves look. They capture your attention and do not let go! I really like the set up of this picture too. How the leaves frame the blurred temple really makes it a very interesting picture.
-Claire