Blog 5A

 original picture, credit Ben Goossens

Reframed picture

Reframing a picture can change it drastically, turning what the viewer perceives entirely. In this photo by Ben Goossens, it shows a lonely man standing next to his car that has odd human characteristics. By framing it like he did, it gives you a good view of how lonely the man is and how much the car looks like this man. So what i did was frame it so the emphasis comes off of the car, and in turn, is on the man. By doing this i changed three things about the photo: the visual intensity, the space, and the rule of thirds.

Overall, this photo is not visually intense. it has dark, grey colors, and its tone is also dark. In the original, this is emphasized by the overbearingness of the car compared to the man, because this is unusual. It shows that the man has no power, that he is dismal. the face on the car is also dismal, showing no emotion whatsoever. So when i decided to reframe this photo, i brought it in closer on the man. By showing him standing alone, with the car partially on the side, it changes the visual intensity a lot. Instead of thinking about how big the car is compared to the man, or that the car has human characteristics, your focused instead on the loneliness of the man. The car attracts your attention, but it gives a sense of escape, like the man might use it to get away, rather than an overly large, odd looking vehicle. So by reframing, i changed the visual intensity from odd and confusing, to sad and lonely.

The space of the image is also change with the reframing. in the original, the car takes up a big portion of the image, leaving the man looking small compared to the car and the forrest in the background. After the reframing, the man is taking up the majority of the space, though still not overly large. The car is big still, but take up a lot less space, de-emphasizing it and bringing your attention more to the man.

By reframing it i also changed the rule of thirds. Instead of the car taking up a lot of the lines on the right side, the man now falls along the middle left line when comparing it to the rule of thirds. This way your eye travels to the man first, and then to the car, rather than the other way around, as it was originally.

Also, by reframing this image the subtext changed as well as the contrast and affinity.  The subtext with the original photo was rested alot upon the car, as it showed human characteristics similar to the man standing next to it, and its size compared to the man was also a source of hidden subtext. By reframing it to focus on the man, the subtext with the car is gone, and its now rested upon the lighting and by what the man is dressed in. Also the contrast and affinity between the images can be seen, just because the car is cropped out in one, and not in the other.