Repetition

The subject of this photo is framed artwork that my mom put up, and the setting is in the stairwell up to the second floor of my house. The photo was made using a 35mm film camera to take the initial image, then I went through the developing process of the film in the dark room using developer, stop, and fix solutions before rinsing and drying the roll of film. After it was dry, I cut and sleeved the film strips to keep the film together and prepare it for the contact print. Then to get the correct aperture and exposure, I made test strips and selected the one that I wanted, using the enlarger in the dark room. Then I put a full sheet of light sensitive photo paper underneath the sleeved film, turning on the light for the correct amount of time. After, I developed the enlarged image using all the chemicals and baths, ending by putting it in the dryer. I chose to create this specific photo because it captured an interesting angle on the picture frames, with all the different sizes and lighting. The elements and principles of design that are used in this photo are shape, value, contrast, and rhythm. The photo is arranged to capture as many of the picture frames as possible from this angle.

The composition rules and techniques I used in this photo are formal balance since the picture frames are spread out across the entire photo, selective focus since the camera is focused on the few frames in the middle blurring the rest, grouping/repetition since there are many picture frames close together in the photo, high key lighting since the photo is bright, and angle up since the photo is taken looking up the stairwell. My project evolved because in the developing process I had a difficult time deciding how to expose the photo, since in the past I had problems with "drying down". So on this, I left the photo a little lighter so that when it did dry and get darker, it wouldn't be overpowering.

The story behind this photo is that it is looking back in my artistic history because there are picture frames on that wall with art all the way from first grade. This photo relates to my life because in it is my art from years past, building up the composition. This photo could be stronger if I had gone down the staircase a bit more to capture the entire wall of art, since this was only about a third of it.