Written Responses


Richland Community College Daily Class Blog Students Syllabi Spring 2008 Course Schedule Assignments Written Responses Photo Lab Schedule Resources David Erlanson Gallery	January 23 Ben Schnall, Film Reels, 1940 - Josh Boliard - Art 126-01 Film Reels by Ben Schnall is a simple, yet somehow complex picture. I say the picture is simple because its just six film reels lined up in two rows of three, sitting on some lined surface. What makes it complex is the light that is cast onto the reels from behind makes the shadows fall towards the camera, and put every hole the reels have into focus. While there isn’t a whole lot of contrast with the reels themselves, there is however contrast on the ground and/or table on which they are sitting. The shadows create the absolute black, while the back of the table where the light is closer has an almost all white look on it. The shadows and reels also have repetitiveness to them, and also a symmetry. The way they’re lined up and placed on the table makes each side look similar to the other. Also the picture is balanced. The film reels are all found at the top of the picture, but the large shadows for the bottom reels take up the entire space below. In my personal opinion, I like the picture, but I also don’t like the picture. Its cool to look at for the first minute or so, but then you’ve seen everything. There’s not much else to it besides it being some film reels. I just find it a little boring after a while. Tristan Claflin - Art 125-02 The photograph "Film Reels" by Ben Schnall strikes me as a very complex and nicely taken photograph. I enjoy the way that the light is hitting the reels and make the effect that there are actually many reels due to the shadowing effect. There are actually only 6 rolls but there appears to be 12. The mood portrayed by this photograph is very dark, almost as if the picture was taken in a dark room, which it could in fact have been. The surface that the reels are laying on also adds to the feel of the photograph by adding more texture and helps it to avoid negative space. The shadows in the background add an ominous effect that leaves the viewer to wonder what lies beyond the view of the camera. The reflection of the light on the metallic surfaces of the film reels also adds texture to the photograph. I also enjoy the way that the light hits the film reels and projects the shadows across the photograph. The lighting hits the film reels just right so that the shadows appear almost three times as large as the actual film reels. I also like the way that the lighting gets darker throughout the surface the film reels are laying on, giving the surface a gradient effect. These effects also add to the ominous mood of the image. Overall, I find this photograph very enjoyable in the sense that it is dark and mysterious and leaves the viewer to wonder what lies beyond the view of the camera. I believe that the lighting and shadowing effects on the film reels works out nicely and the gradient effect on the table surface also adds a nice touch to the image. Marlise McDaniel- Art 125-02 The subject of this photograph is, appropriately, the metal film reels. These reels have been placed into three columns of four reels. The reels do not take up a lot of space in the work, but their prominent shadows make it seem like there are more present. In fact, the first time I looked at this photograph I mistook those shadows for reels. I think this was a very clever illusion and a great way to eliminate excessive negative space. More space between the reels would have made the image lighter and emptier, which would have resulted in a much different effect. In art, three is seen as a “perfect” number. Triangles, then, are the perfect shape. Schnall’s photograph of metal reels incorporates both of these elements. There are three separate reel columns. Also, I noticed a subtle triangle constructed from the implied lines surrounding the reels. The sharp contrasts between the black background and the area on which the reels are positioned makes for two of the triangle’s lines. The third line is distinguished by the bottom edge of the photograph, right where the reel shadows end. This triangle seems to be pointing to the top center of the image. This is also where I noticed the greatest amount of tonal contrast. The background is pitch black, while the surface below the reels is almost completely white with a few hints of gray aside from the shadows of the reels. I noticed clear examples of repetition in this image. The most obvious of these examples involves circles, or circular shapes, such as those found on the reels. There are also several horizontal lines which give the space beneath the reels a window-like appearance, perhaps with mini-blinds being used to filter out light. The circles may be a rendition of the ever popular circle of life, or perhaps they could be seen as wheels. To me each pair of reels looks a lot like a pair of wheels. Combined they remind me of the wagon trains prominent in the Old West, but only in their placement. Could Schnall be making a reference to the belief that photographers are art pioneers? To me this photograph is dark and mysterious. The shadows could even be seen as ghosts or spirits. They are not concrete, tangible, or material, but their presence is as noticeable as the reels themselves. There are countless possibilities for where this scene took place. It could be in a storage closet or little-used room, where the reels anxiously wait to be used. It could also be in a darkroom. Given the limited use of light, increased dark tones, and the placement of film reels, this may be the case. The only real light appears to be coming from an off-screen window, which adds to the credibility of this possibility. An old saying proclaims that “every picture tells a story.” To me this particular photograph is telling the story of an empty darkroom preparing to be used once more, perhaps for the first time in days, months, or even years. Stefanie Norem - Art 126-01 Ben Schnall’s photo of Film Reels is simplistically harmonious, rhythmic, and has continuous tone. It is a beautiful work of art. Line is a greatly used aspect of this photograph. The three-dimensional wires of the grated surface on which the film reels sit, creates a pattern of contrasting tonal lines which run across the photo horizontally. The film reels themselves are spiraling three-dimensional lines as well. The emphasis in the photo is on the shadows. They are disproportionately elongated as well as patterned, and attract the viewer’s eye first. The lightest tonal point right at the top center of the photo in the center reel in the back row seems to move the viewer’s eye through the center of the reel and into the background. The greatest variety in the photo is in the continuous tone and also in the shapes. There is a circular shape repeated in the photo by the general shape of each film reel. The form of a circle is also created by the inside of each reel. There is also a triangular shape created in the top corners of the photo by the unlit negative space in the background. Tiny squares and rectangles are also created in the photograph, due to the shadows of the reels casting down on the grated surface. Although the six reels in the photo are all in the top half, the shadows are elongated across the bottom half and balance the weight of the top and bottom of the photo. The elongated shadows are actually the largest objects in the photo. Rhythm is created by the repetition of the shape of the reel in actual existence and in shadow form. The spiral of the reels and their shadows create a movement which pulls the viewer’s eye into the center of each individual reel or shadow. The photo is harmonious due to the similar elements of line and pattern/ rhythm. It is visually simplistic due to the subject matter, and unified in shape and rhythmic line. This photo of film reels is artistically well done and simplistically beautiful. Zach Pierceall - Art 125-01 I do not like the picture we are supposing to critique on. One of the reasons I do not like it is because the picture is to busy. Another reason I do not like the picture is because there is too much contrast on it and is to hard to keep an eye on it. Another reason I do not like the picture is because there is either to much emphasis to keep an eye on the main object or there is no emphasis on the object. A reason I think that the picture is to busy is because there are to many lines and circles on the picture making it hard to see what exactly you are looking for. If the photographer were to focus on one of the circles it might not be to busy and then the audience might know what they need to look for. Another problem with the picture is that it is to dark to find what you are really looking for. Another problem with the dark is that there is also light making me confused on what the photographer was trying to tell the audience. Another problem with the picture is that there is no emphasis. With there being no emphasis you can’t tell what story the photographer was trying to tell the audience. And those are the reasons I do not like the picture. Sasha Roberts - Art 125-02 There are many elements that I enjoy about this photograph, as well as a few I disliked. The most noticeable element was the use of line to create both movement and rhythm throughout the work. The repetition of line in the composition created a rigid texture, and initially drew my eye to the photograph. The unusual use of lighting and the interesting viewpoint in which the photograph was taken created elongated shadows of the film reels, which added some variety. The shadows themselves became part of the emphasis within the composition. This picture is reminiscent of Dan McCoy’s New York City because of the perspective it is taken in. The use of lighting and viewpoint were my favorite features of the composition. In addition to this, I appreciated the stark contrast between the dark and light tones as I felt it made the work more visual interesting. The darkest values near the corner of the photograph helped to frame the subjects, which added emphasis to the composition. This particular composition is very symmetric with little variety between the subjects. I quickly became uninterested in the composition because of the lack of variety. I believe the photographer’s intent was to emphasis the pattern in which the film reels created, but the pattern itself was uninteresting to me. Arranging the subjects differently or changing the angle in which the photograph is taken could yield of completely different effect. This photograph compels me to experiment with the positioning of subjects within a composition and the angle in which a photograph is taken. I am left very interested in what else could be achieved by experimentation using the same subjects. Garrett Sayles - Art 125-02 This photograph uses harmony and rhythm very extensively. The repeating lines in both the surface that the film reels are standing on along with the film reels themselves and the shadows they cast are all heavy uses of line. Repeating throughout the photograph, the emphasis seems to be not on the film reels themselves, but the shadows they cast. While at first, the shadows drew me to the photograph, I then noticed the perspective that the photograph was taken at doesn't show the film reels' full representation; the perspective casts them to be visually shorter in proportion to the shadows. The lighting coming from the background casts very large shadows, instantly granting the shadows more visual weight than the film reels. While at first glance I thought the film reels were all in a line at the same angle, I noticed that in the back row, the side reels are turned outwards, and in the front row, the side reels are turned inwards. I feel this variety is very minute, and hard to notice without studying the photograph carefully. Perhaps a greater variety could be used, turning the film reels even further outwards or inwards. However, the slight alternation of the film reels' orientation does give the shadows a sense of movement; the shadows are not all at the same orientation, seeming to move along from left to right (or right to left), something I did interpret as beneficial to the photograph's overall composition. I do however feel that the tones in the photograph are limited. The surface that the film reels are standing on has the most tones; it goes from a very light tone to a very dark tone from the background to the foreground. By contrast, the film reels themselves and their shadows are entirely black. While the surface does have the most tones, it fades to black in the middle and background, probably due to the way the lighting is situated, closing off the surface, 'binding' the reels to the surface itself. To conclude, this photograph does make use of the elements and principals of design, and does it in a fashion that seems to unify it. As simplistic as the concept is – organizing film reels and back lighting them to cast very distorted shadows – I believe this photograph pulls it off well, in a way that seems to bring everything together, even though it does have a few qualities that could be improved upon. Kassandra Swearingen - Art 126-01 The rhythm of the photograph is shown with the repetitive shapes of the film reels and the lines on which they stand. There is no real continuous tone, just black and white. Line is an important part of the photograph. The shape of the reels encloses the space to the reels and their shadows. The lines on the stand and in the sharp edges of the film reel give the reels are hard, metal texture feel to them. The shadows of the reels cast a silhouette lines in the photograph giving it a sense of foreshadowing or forbearing. The use of mainly black and white, for me, give the photograph a dramatic feel to it. I think the shadows connect the two rows of reels, making them unite and draw the eye from top to bottom. The light source, which comes from above and behind the reels, further emphasis the top part of the picture by catching the eye’s attention and drawing it to the top and then the reels and shadows draw the eye down the picture. Rich Tague - Art 125-02 The first thought that comes to mind while viewing the photograph Film Reels is “Tension.” With so many lines, vertical and circular, there is nothing for your eye to focus on. “balance” would be the second word that comes to mind. With the horizontal lines perfectly spaced and the near perfect shapes of the shadows create, there is a definite balance in the photo. At first I thought there were only three film reels. Only after looking closely did I see there are actually a total of six reels. Also, it took a minute to figure out what exactly they were. Not being familiar with film reels, I thought they were some type of fan grills at first. The exposure seems to be spot on. The white almost looks over exposed, however upon closer inspection you notice the horizontal lines are still present. One f-stop larger and the far end of the table would not be as clear. Also, a slightly faster shutter speed, and the horizontal line could not been seen. There seems to be a complete tonal balance in the photograph, as it goes from bright white to complete black. My final thought resorts back to my first thought…”tension. So much, that I do not care for the photograph. My eyes start crossing after a few seconds of viewing. Joe Wheeler - Art 126-01 This photo shows many different aspects of good photography. One thing that can make a photo good is repeating patterns. The shadows cast by the spools make a repeating pattern illusion that make for an interesting composition. The artist made good use of space in his composition, leaving very little unused space. The artist was careful to include the whole shadow when he/she framed the photo. Also, there was very good use of lighting in this photo. The lighting creates perfect contrast with an absolute black and white and a full spectrum in between. The thing that makes it easy and pleasing to look at is the fact that there are absolutes right next to each other. Another good thing about this photo is the interesting textures. While the actual shadows don’t have a texture, it appears that they do, and have an effect on the other textures visibly present in the photo such as the reels themselves and the surface they are sitting on. Dustin Grimes - Art 125-02 This picture is kind of odd but still has appeal. It uses repetition and lines but they change through the picture slightly because of depth and angle. The light source being where it is gives a good shadow cast that also helps the picture achieve a motion effect. I like the way the shadows mix with the horizontal lines and bring those out to make a box pattern whereas you don’t notice them in the bright areas as much. He used the shadows in a way that filled the scene but left the vertical highlighted areas which is a cool effect I think. If the light would have been on either side the picture wouldn’t have the same fluid motion up and down. Depth in the photo is better with the shadows increasing in size at the bottom. I like the effect it gives by not having a real background. The top ones just seem to fade into the dark which is tapered and gives the idea that it continues. The surface they are sitting on really adds to the scene because of the horizontal lines. Not only do they add texture to the highlight area, but they also give the shadows a small blur effect that separate them from the objects.