An Obvious Image

An Obvious Image

by William Lulow

I was visiting friends on Long Island the other day and I came upon this scene, so I thought I would describe what I saw that resulted in this image:

I was writing a few days ago about how images kind of cry out to be recorded in certain ways and how light can draw a viewer’s eye toward elements within the frame itself. I often use examples of traditional black&white images to make these points. This is mostly because students of photography were used to making their own black&white images when they were learning about film, film processing and making prints. Today, the digital process has, by and large, taken over the photography almost to the point where making prints and working on images to make them better is an art that few practice anymore. Most people snap pictures with their camera phones and don’t do anything with them beyond keeping them on their “camera roll.”

When I came upon this scene it practically screamed “make an image, make an image.” I began thinking of why I felt that way and what I saw was this bright red surf board against an otherwise monochrome or at least a landscape devoid of any bright colors, except for a lone American flag. My thinking was, “that might make an interesting shot because the color was all by itself.” We have gotten used to seeing images in color, again because the digital process makes it rather easy to capture them. No developing is necessary.

But to make an image have some sort of impact, it has to have at least one unusual element. Or, it has to contain some compelling subject matter. Or, it has to show a different way of looking at something we are all used to seeing. Or, it has to portray someone or something differently, from a different angle or with a different light. Something has to stand out about the image to make people want to look at it.

This was one such image. The color just stood out enough to make the image compelling, as mundane as it was. I was thinking all along while making this picture and the bit of post production I did to render the sky darker and more contrasty, about how color can be used in landscape photography  to draw attention to the entire image and give it a certain sense of place and time. If the surf board had been almost any other color, except a bright one, the composition would not have worked as well. So, it’s a lesson about the kind of “urgency” of primary colors and how they are able to transmit certain feelings to the viewer. It is why stop signs are red and green means “go.” The way the viewer’s attention is directed immediately to the red color gives the image its impact.

I have made other images like this in post production where I have highlighted the color portion while making the rest of the image monochrome:

It creates the same “urgency” in the eye of the viewer. The eye is drawn immediately to the color portion of the image for the same reasons. It simply stands out from the rest of the picture. It is something to keep looking for as you continue making your images of various scenes.

It may be a small point, but one deserving of attention.