Contrast, Balance, and Harmony

The picture I selected is a very scenic picture taken in Japan, a landscape with the silhouette of a torii gate in the foreground. The Japanese Kanji character at the bottom means "Harmony". This not only reflects the mood of the image, but also slightly hints at the Shinto religion's underlying principal, at least, from what I understand of it. The definition of a torii is a traditional Japanese gate most commonly found at the entrance of or within a Shinto shrine, where it symbolically marks the transition from the profane to the sacred. So as you can see this picture really reflects a lot of the Japanese culture. It also showcases psychological value seeing as that each object in the picture has such deeper meanings to them. I believe Gestalts principle of proximity could be applicable in this picture the way all the mountains are all grouped on one side of the photo. Gestalts figure/ground principle is also present in this picture, the torii gate is clearly separated from the background and everything else around it which is why that figure has so much value and meaning.

The harmony in this photo is the visually satisfying effect of how similar and adjacent the color scheme is on the right side of the photo where the mountains are, even the color from the reflection of the mountains in the water almost fall into the same color scheme as the actual mountains do, and also the shapes of the mountains are all similar.  The contrast is more so on the left side and on the top area of the photo portraying a light to dark effect. You can see right when the reflection of the mountain in the water ends, the water begins to brighten, also the brightness of the sky contrasts with the darkness of the mountains. This all combines to form a very exceptional balance in color throughout this photo.

Visceral Response

I found this picture to be very beautiful so I decided to use it for my visceral response. The first thing that I noticed in this picture was the symmetrical effect the water supplies. I noticed the texture of the water which made me feel relaxed and/or at peace. I think the color is very well balanced with the contrast of the clouds, it really showcases the value in this picture with one side being brighter than the other in some parts. The way the buildings are aligned across from each other, you could almost draw a perfect line from one building across to the other. The other line that pops out at me is the line from the ocean in the far horizon, it's almost perfectly distributed from one side to another and shows just enough to see more beauty deeper inside the picture. This photo, to me, is my serenity.

Intro

My name is Nathan Bernardo I am a Sophmore, majoring in Communications with a emphasis on mediated studies. I was born and raised in San Diego, California and this is my second semester here at Dixie.