Texture

Shoes have a wide range of variety not only in texture, but in the amount of texture one shoe can have. My little worn down red sneakers were manufactured with many textures, but I found the textures created with wear more interesting. The top image shows how the shoelaces over time have become worn; the threads are starting to break, creating shoelaces that have more "bumps" along the way. Secondly, the bottom image shows the texture of the worn out soles of my shoes. If studied it can be assumed, through the varying textures from the right diamonds with all of the original fibers to the left diamonds worn down to the plastic, that I have a high arch in my foot, which is true. The way I walk and the shape of my foot have been able to create a different set of textures in an area that, when purchased, was uniform. The middle image is the only one that really interested me in the original texture of the shoe. The "canvas" style of sneakers are known, of course, for their canvas texture, displayed in this image.

Lines

Every pair of shoes has a set of lines of some sort, whether it be the line around the sole or the stitching across the back of the heel. These three examples of lines on my red sneakers provide examples of the three roles lines can play. The top image displays structural lines, these lines around the bottom of the shoe are part of the shoe's composition, usually added for style. Shoelaces can also be seen as a functional line, but in the middle image the bottom lace as well as the red stitching underneath create a pattern of horizontal lines, which breaks up the shoe's pattern of curves and diagonals (seen in the top laces and the curved edgings leading into the horizontal red stitching). The bottom image exemplifies a directional line, leading the viewer's eye from the top left corner of the image to the bottom right, right along with the curves of the shoe.

Balance

With a pair of shoes as the photos' subject, balance is a relatively easy technique to employ. One can see that it is simple to have a symmetrical balance, as displayed by the middle photo, since the two shoes can "reflect" each other so well. It is for that reason though, that I provided two asymmetrical images of the shoes. The top and bottom images show the shoes not in a perfect "reflection" or perfect symmetry, but rather the photo has that sense of balance in a way that the two shoes, without complimenting each other, complete the image as a whole.

Lighting

These photos, taken on campus during our class designated time, explore the ideas of lighting, and the differences lighting can make when it comes from different angles. The top image shows the light (which is, of course, natural sunlight) coming from an angle perpendicular to the main object, the leaves. This lighting creates an image in which the leaves are seen as they most often are presented in nature, with shadows falling from the tips and colors left to stand on their own. The middle image uses the sunlight as a back light, shining through the leaf. The many colors of the leaf are visible, as well as the veins. The third image uses the light as a juxtaposition to the leaves and creates a frame around them. This lighting angle creates shadows over the whole subject and hence discards the leaves' colors and emphasizes their shape.

Photographic Perspectives