Monday, September 12, 2011

9/14 Critique - Alfred Stieglitz, Paula, or Rays of Sun, Berlin, 1889

               What captured my attention in this photo is the use of natural lighting.  The photo is set in a dark room with a window casting light on the main subject - the woman at the table. The darkness at the top and bottom of the picture adds natural framing because it frames the woman and we do not really see much else in the room besides a table and some pictures.
                With the use of this framing, we the viewers are not give much information about the woman. It leaves the viewer asking, who is she? What is she writing? Who is it to? The only information given is the profile of her face and the pictures on her wall. As the rays of the sun cast through the window, they are cut by a blind, which also shades her even more. The mysterious quality created by the lighting is what makes this photo so captivating.

No comments:

Post a Comment