The Art of Seeing – Week 5

Quote of the day: “We see because we can perceive contrast. Light produces two kinds of contrast–tone (intensity, light value) and colour… Good seeing and thus, good pictorial composition usually depends on our ability to see how the range of tones in a situation produces lines, shapes, and textures, which are three of the major building blocks of visual design.” ~ Freeman Patterson Photography and the Art of Seeing

Sensuous Curve

This week’s lesson was a continuation of last week’s lesson.  The instructions are similar to last time adding two easy steps.  When you look at an object “try to see it only as a shape, with no surface details. Visualize only the contour, ignoring texture and depth.” – Freeman Patterson Photography and the Art of Seeing.  It’s easier to do this with backlit objects, so you might want to start with them. Then try with other lighting (front, side).

Then ask yourself “what part of the object you like most of all…What do you like least? Is there anything you strongly dislike?… In short, respond to the object with your emotions–as freely and as fully as you can.” – Freeman Patterson.

Later you can think about why you feel like or dislike for different aspects of the object you photographed. This analysis is very important, because you begin to understand your reactions to objects you photograph and why you photograph in the ways that you do.

“You will see better when you understand why you are emotionally attracted to some objects, colours, and shapes, and repelled by others.” – Freeman Patterson

This week, I encourage you to experiment with this exercise, post some of your photos and insights on your blog and then add a link to this post.    Go to the bottom of this post to add your link…

Here are some of the things I learned doing this exercise

I learned that I love the shape of curves because they make me feel sensous – my solar plexus reacts with a sense of “ahhhh….” to graceful curves.

Spiral Shell - Curves

I learned that I don’t like sharp edges and prickly shapes because they create a sense of “ouch” when I look at them.  I can almost feel the sharp edges as I look at them.

Prickly cactus

I learned that I respond to imperfections as flaws that “shouldn’t” be there.  I’m still pondering the why of that response.

Imperfection

I learned that I don’t like the deep crease on the front of the mandarin shown below but I’m not sure why.  I just know that when I look at it for any length of time, I feel a sensation of heaviness in my heart.

I’m finding it very interesting to notice what parts of my body respond to different photos. Most often I feel sensations in my gut or in my heart, sometimes wonderful, sometimes unpleasant.

Creased mandarin

I love the arcs and curves in the photo below–the gentle arcs of the edges of the mandarins, the perfect circle of the crystal pattern, the arcs in the crystal pattern–create a sense of movement and organization. This photo makes my heart feel light and happy.

Curves again

Once again the lovely shape of the bowl, but combined with the interesting patterns that the colors make. Orange and turquoise together have recently become my favorite color combo. There is a triangle in the bowl below where the orange is shaped like little flowers surrounded by turquoise. Lovely! There is also a star pattern at the top of the leg of the bowl that draws my eye.

Color Patterns

What I’m noticing about my noticing is how I didn’t really ignore texture in this lesson.  I may need to do another round next week. Stay tuned. There is always more to learn.

Add your link below: 

• please add the direct url to your blog post or photo using the inlinkz gadget below.
• please link back to my site or give a mention to “The Art of Seeing”

please add the direct url to your blog post or photo using the inlinkz gadget below.

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