1. When looking at this photograph, my eye is drawn to the distinct shape of the cast shadow. The placement of the pinecone in the picture plane is pleasing to the eye and balances well with the shadows to make a strong composition. The deep black core of the shadow is an intriguing part of the pinecone to me. It helps to draw my eyes into and through the composition along with adding emphasis by showing a wide range of values.
2 & 3. This black and white photo is of a pinecone on a wooden table. The pinecone is placed in the top right corner of the picture plane with a strong cast shadow in the bottom left corner. The lighting is coming from the right side of the picture so there are highlights on that side of the pinecone. This photograph is an example of chiaroscuro because it has volume, space, shape, depth, and mass which are all illustrated through the different values. These values or light effects include; highlights, light, shadow, the core of shadow, reflected light, the cast shadow. The line quality of the pinecone is captivating even though the line quality/sharpness of the photograph isn’t the greatest.
4. My family’s tradition of a week long vacation in Wyoming every summer is our time of relaxation and reflection. This is a pinecone that I found on Snowy Range; it is a symbol of many memories to me and defiantly tells a story. If I were to name this photograph in one word, it would be reflective. Not only because of the memories that I reflect on when I see it, it’s also because the pinecone’s shadow appeared to be a reflection in the photo.
5. Much of Albrecht Durer’s work is very expressive and detailed. He uses hatching to create volume, shape, and motion. Although the values and shading in a photo are a lot different than a drawing with contour lines and crosshatching, my picture does show the same range in values are he illustrates through his sketches. Many of Durer’s drawings that I saw were complicated in the subject matter and in the detail. His sketch, “six pillows” probably relates the most to my photograph because it a more simplistic subject but still shows great depth and value.
