Inspirational Images

To the left is a long exposure photograph taken by Diego Faus Momparler in Mallorca at Cap de Formentor. It has been entered into the Sony World Photography awards 2018. The image uses the rule of thirds as the lighthouse is placed between the top and middle thirds of the frame. I like the image because it is clear what the subject of the image is - there is nothing else cluttering the image background. Long exposure shots have always interested me and the almost golden path created by the lights of cards towards the lighthouse to me represent that it is not where you go that is of primary importance, but the journey of how you get there. 

Another entry to the Sony World Photography awards is the image to the right taken by Felipe Tomas Jiménez Ordóñez on a beach in Villajoyosa, Alicante, Spain. The image seems symmetrical at first which is aesthetically pleasing, but the stars and colour of the sky are slightly off centre which disrupts the balance and adds tension. The contrast of the calm sky and crashing of the wave also adds to this tension which adds depth to the meaning of the image. 

When I first glanced at the image to the left, I was not drawn to it. It seemed to be an ordinary image of a dark forest, but when I looked closer I realised it was an underwater image. This made it uneasy and uncomfortable to look at whilst at the same time, drawing me in to look closer at the image. The yellow/green light shining down is a contrast to the blue colour we associate with water and seeing the trees/forest floor is not what I would expect on a riverbed. The diver looks like he/she is almost floating in mid air as the water is not obvious in the image. This illusion is inspirational to me because I want to be able to capture an image and have it appear like something else. This image was taken in Cenote Tajma-Ha, Yucatan, Mexico, by Joana Villar and the yellowish colour of the water is obtained from the high levels of tannic acid there. 

The image to the right is of the Camping Jungfrau Hotel in Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland taken by Emilie Croisier on an iPhone 6. This wasn't taken by a famous photographer with a DSLR camera, but it could have been taken by anyone, emphasising that anyone can be a photographer. I like how nature and man-made subjects are merged in this image with the wood on the building and the plants being natural, yet used to decorate a man-made building. I like the angles of the lines of both the building and the fence as well as the top of the mountain in the background. The greens and reds contrast each other and are usually only seen together at Christmas, but this use of seasonal colour gives the hotel a more homely feel which makes the image more comfortable to look at. 

The image below was taken by Norwegian artist, Andreas Lie. He blends animal imagery with landscape photography to create double exposure animal portraits. These fascinate me as the landscapes merge with the animal seamlessly and this image manipulation is something I would like to try. The plain background compliments the image well, so no attention is taken off the subject. 

From selecting images I am drawn to and find inspirational, I have found I am most drawn to landscape photography, probably because it is what I have been most exposed to. I would like to find out more about other types of photography and so in the following weeks I shall research more into those.