Concentration

Although reflection photos distort a normal scene, a familiar human component can pull the audience back into reality. The reflection aspect of the photographs make the audience wonder about where or how the photo was taken. However, ultimately, they relate to the photo and draw connections between themselves and the subject. In my concentration, the often whimsical and abstract feel of reflection photos is contrasted with the addition of human silhouettes.

While exploring reflections and crafting my concentration I realized that adding a human subject positively contributed to each photo and added a layer of reality to the images. Image 4, was one of the first photos I took for my concentration that made me realize how powerful reflections can be when a strong subject is added. Although the colors and patterns of the reflection may have made the image compelling on its own, the addition of the silhouette tells a story. In the middle of my concentration development, I began to experiment with Photoshop and manipulated my photos to construct unnatural reflections. To create image 6, I combined two versions of the same photo. In Image 10, the birds on both the top and bottom of the photo were added while editing. Photo 3 is one of my favorites, due to the interaction of the subject and the reflection. Image 7 is very different than most of the other photographs in my concentration since the reflection highlights one aspect of the subject and distorts only part of the image. Shown by Images 7 and 12, isolating the reflection created a very different feel than most of my other busy photos. After taking many photos in which the entire person was pictured, I wanted to include a detail shot. Image 11 is able to highlight the structure of the splash.

Breadth