Contrast, Balance, and Harmony

I love this photo because it captures a lot of emotion within one still frame. For one, you can see the tension as it builds up on my face and the contortion of my upper body especially with my hands and chest area. Obviously this photo was taken while I was in a race in Flagstaff, Arizona and my mom took the picture with her Canon Rebel T3I and I love how you can experience that race feeling with me because I am moving past people at a blazing speed. I love running with a passion and don't know what I'd do without it, it has really become a part of my life and something that I truly adore. Running on varies types of terrain like dirt, concrete, grass, etc. is part of the fun and can be used as an advantage or disadvantage depending on the weather conditions and the right shoes. I want to dive into how this photo distinguishes the difference between contrast, balance and harmony.

Contrast

Contrast has to do with the how the photo creates the story to the psychological through size, texture, orientation, etc. and like I mentioned earlier I believe psychologically, it helps the viewer join me to further understand what's going through my mind. The texture pops out because I am the only thing in the photo that is clear, everything else is blurred out which creates an aspect of "all eyes on me". I'm not being cocky, I'm just saying that when I look at this picture then my eye is drawn right to the center of where I am running. It also irritates my eyes at the same time to stare at anything else for too long because nothing else is in focus. The orientation of this photo also has a neat aspect because the energy is coming towards the viewer at an angle (basically I'm running towards the camera). Even though the rest of the photo is blurry, it's funny to notice that everyone that is watching the Cross Country meet isn't looking at me, they all have their focus somewhere else. Since they're not paying attention, making them blurry seems like they are unimportant anyway.

Balance

I don't feel like their is much balance in this photo because their are no other runners in the shot so it's hard to tell that I am actually running a race, the real key that gives that away is the uniform. I feel like the background with the gloomy sky is connected with the audience because it kind of portrays to them losing interest. Whenever the weather is gloomy like it's going to rain then people usually feel down and out of it which I think makes a cool distinction here. Their is some symmetry within the photo because people are lined up across the course to watch runners so it creates this invisible line in the background and leads your eye to wonder about where it'll end up and how far will it be going. The trees in the background provide the same exact line of symmetry that match up with the spectators watching the race.

Harmony

The harmony is probably what speaks the most to me because I love the bright colors within this dark and gloomy photo. My running shoes are probably the brightest thing in this photograph and it also captures the whole point of what activity that I am doing. The red part of my jersey is also bright so it tends to stand out as well putting the focus straight on me. It adds positivity to the picture which I would say overall is a little darker and gloomy. The mountains in the background add to the shape of the photo because of the rough edges on the peaks and some of the smooth features that complement it on the other mountain. The mountains, trees, dirt and the people help create this atmosphere of a Cross Country meet because they are all the aspects of what running is all about. The expression on my face helps to because you can see that I am in pain but am willing my way through it to get the end goal.

Gestalt Principles 

Law of Proximity - The law of proximity is relevant in the photo that I chose because proximity has to do with the closeness of things and how they are grouped together. The people are grouped together as long with the trees to create a tight shot and you can see the people as individuals but in one close and long line. 

Law of Closure - The law of closure is similar to proximity because objects that are grouped together are seen as a whole which is what is happening. I am the only thing that is clear in the foreground but with the proximity of the people, trees and including the mountains help close up the photograph to view all these objects as one. Yes, they are all individual and different but since they are all blurry then it makes it easier to see them as a whole and put the main focus on myself.