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Photography and Text by Alexander Liu, Copyright 2017
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LIFE’S FROZEN NATURE
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I decided to center my pictures around a winter theme. All photos were taken during the winter months, with some being taken in snowstorms. I wanted to capture interesting moments that a passerby could easily miss. For example, during the storm that caused a snow day, all of the previous night’s snow had been covered in a layer of ice due to the slush. As a result, I was able to capture unique images of flowers and berries that were completely covered in a clear layer of ice. A picture that I believe best represents this phenomenon is the frozen berry and flower. Another interesting moment occurred when I was walking back to my room. As I entered the building door, I noticed out of the corner of my eye a water tap that had ice pouring from it. I immediately grabbed my camera and took a picture. The feather, flower, branch, and leaf pictures all were chosen in a similar manner.
Nearly all of my shots were taken very close up, with the subject dominating most of the frame. I did this in order to maximize viewer interest. In addition, I tried to incorporate elements of geometry into my s hot. For instance, in the shot with the feather stuck on a branch, I shot through a fence in order to form a diagonal square that frames the feather within the frame of the picture. I also tried to incorporate leading lines that led from the horizon to the foreground, where the subject was located, such as in the icicle shot. This was also to help draw the viewer’s eye to the subject.
Finally, I tried to create pictures with bokeh by emphasizing depth of field. I achieved this by shooting wide open to get the maximum aperture, in my case 5.6 (which is not ideal but was usable), and focusing on subject in the foreground, allowing the background to be out of focus. Unfortunately, I was unable to capture the “bokeh balls” of light. However, I believe the shots that emphasize depth of field (the flower, grass, water droplet, feather, and frozen berry) were good representations of the look I was trying to achieve.
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About The Author: Alexander Liu is a freshman enrolled in the College of the University of Pennsylvania. Class of 2010. To access additional articles by Alexander Liu, go here: https://tonywardstudio.com/blog/alexander-liu-emotions-heaven-earth-week/