some things that struck me.

This past weekend, my fiance and I went on a drive down a little dirt road between Gunlock and Veyo. The drive was absolutely gorgeous. These are some of my favorite pictures from the day of things that i really liked or that struck me. I especially liked the different textures and colors that i saw. I think how I viewed what i saw was different because we were just out having fun and didn't have anything specific to do; it was just a lazy drive.

Still Composition

This picture demonstrates Graphic Vectors in still composition because is causes the eye to shoot straight down the line of the wall towards the upper left corner of the composition.

This image demonstrates index vectors. each of the grass stems is pointing towards the middle of the composition. It causes the eye to search for something.

This image is a good example of the Diagonal Rule in still composition. The fence leads the eye into the z axis of the frame.

This picture strongly represents the rule of thirds. The horizon line between the light foreground and dark blue background lies on the upper horizontal line of the grid. Additionally, the point of interest in this picture, the sagebrush, lies on two intersecting grid lines in the upper left corner.

Good Design, Bad Design

• This flyer's designer did not understand the Gestalt principle of Continuity. Items have been spewed out onto the page in no pattern or hierarchy and are difficult for the eye to follow.
• Graphics are distracting and hold no meaning for the audience.
• No appeal towards a target audience.

• Continuity: text follows the line of the body vertically.
• The law of closure fills in the face that has been blocked out by the main text. This drives the audience's focus to the t-shirt.
• Use of graphic instead of live picture works well in this design because the face has been lettered over and blocked out, a technique for shifting the audiences attention that would not work as well with a live subject. (law of pragnanz)
• concise and organized delivery of pertinent information.
• The flyer is designed toward a target audience: younger men. (strong connection to context)
• color scheme is mellow/not distracting although it does not match the attention-grabbing face on the t-shirt or the bold font used. This provides a small contrast.

Contrast

I chose the fifth picture in the Canam feature titled "Finish" to illustrate principles of contrast. in the foreground of this picture the open mouth of a dog is out of focus in the upper left-hand corner. in the background (and in focus), there is a bright red fence dividing the picture horizontally with two children standing behind it bundled up in snow gear, apparently watching the race. The most jarringly obvious contrast in this picture are the children right next to the open mouth of the dog. The dog's sharp teeth are in sharp contrast to the children. This could have many out-of-context meanings. If the viewer didn't know the picture was taken at a dog-sled race, the picture could easily be interpreted as a depiction of good vs. evil, predator and prey, or something along those lines. especially because the dog's toothy mouth is seen as looming over the children. Aside from that contrast, one thing that makes this picture jump out is the color. Especially the bright red fence, the blue of the dog harness, and the children's snow suits against the white snow, dull house, the blue of the shadows and sky, and the muted colors of the dog's coat. Size is also a key principle in the picture's contrast because the dog's mouth is so much bigger than the children. The texture of the dog's fur is blurred so it is not key to the picture, and shape is not emphasized, but positioning of the dog's mouth above the children creates much of the picture's contrast and tension. I would say that color, size, and positioning are the three most important aspects of this picture.