Introduction
The first assignment required me
to produce three images in which I consciously made use of one or more of the
Gestalt laws, as outlined on pages 24-25 of the course notes. I decided at an
early stage to start collecting images that made use of these laws, both when
confronted with a photographic opportunity and also by doing some studio work.
Since I often make use of one or more of these laws when composing my
photographs I did not expect to have too much difficulty in finding examples of
Gestalt on location. I also went out of my way to look for some “extreme”
examples of Gestalt in action. I discovered that I often use the Law of Good
Continuation in my photography and came across many examples of this. The Law
of Simplicity could be observed in photographs of the folds and curves of
the agricultural fields near my home in Royston (see work for Assignment 1). I
purchased a set of dominoes and did a little studio work with these: I was
investigating combining two or more of the Gestalt Laws in the studio when, in
December 2013, I had a tutorial by telephone with my tutor, in which he
strongly recommended that for Assignment 1 I should find, photograph and submit
examples of the Gestalt laws that were of relevance to my major project. I
therefore changed course: here I present a handful of examples of my earlier
work, which are not of relevance to the major project and were therefore
excluded from consideration for assignment work.
The Laws of Gestalt
In the course notes the laws are
given as follows:
Law of Proximity:
Elements are seen in groupings according to how close they are to each other.
Law of Similarity: Elements
that are similar in some way, by form or content, tend to be grouped.
Law of Closure: Elements
roughly arranged together are seen to complete an outline shape. The mind seeks
completeness.
Law of Simplicity: Simple
lines, curves and shapes are preferred to complex ones.
Law of Common Fate:
Grouped elements are assumed to move together and behave as one.
Law of Good Continuation:
The mind’s eye likes to continue shapes and lines beyond their ending points.
A search of the internet revealed
that the laws (or “principles”, as they are more commonly referred to) do vary
somewhat. In particular, the concept of “Simplicity” is sometimes replaced by “Figure
– Ground”, which refers to the relationship between the subject(s) of the
photograph and the surroundings. However, all the examples described below
relate to the concept of “Good Continuation”, although other concepts were also
incorporated.
Studio Work
I used a set of dominoes to look
at ways of attempting to demonstrate some of the principles of Gestalt. In the
example below (Image 1), the seven “doubles” dominoes were placed in receding order, with
the double six at the front and the double zero at the back. There is no
overlap between the dominoes, so the numbers on the central five dominoes are
clear (the camera, which was tripod-mounted, was focused on the double four).
Because of the nature of the set-up depth of field was limited, so the dominoes
at the front and back are in “soft focus”, but the spots can clearly be seen.
Sections of the front (double six) and back (double zero) dominoes were
deliberately excluded from the initial photograph and the percentage visible
areas of these dominoes were further reduced by cropping. My idea was that the
viewer can, by identifying that the dominoes are in order, complete and
visualise the missing sections of these dominoes in order to affect Closure.
The image is also an example of Good Continuation.
Image 1
Location Work
The photograph below (Image 2)of the steps
leading from the promenade to the beach between Hunstanton and Heacham in
Norfolk is, perhaps, an extreme example of Good Continuation. The steps
actually form a gentle curve and, given the limited subject matter in the
image, this image might also be regarded as an example of Simplicity.
The railings in the foreground provide a start point, from where the steps lead
us to the couple walking towards the camera and beyond to some very distant
objects. I took several photographs at this location, including some with
people in the foreground and the railings in the background and people walking
both towards and away from the camera: all were valid examples of Good
Continuation.
Image 2
Another example of Good Continuation can be seen in
an image of the Christmas 2013 “Santa Run” in London’s Battersea Park (Image 3).
Image 3
The line of running Santas leads
back to the right hand edge of the image and is complimented by the line of
London Plane trees and (where visible) the “matching” traffic cones. The
closest runner is about to “high five” a steward who is almost entirely out of
the picture on the left. Visualisation of the steward might be considered an
example of Closure, whilst the Santas approaching the camera demonstrate
the concept of Common Fate. The effects would have been clearer if I had
been able to take my photograph from an elevated position (not available).
The musicians playing in a London
street (Image 4) also provide an example of Good Continuation, as the eye
is led along the wall and pavement of the street to two people and a dog in the
background. The single yellow line accentuates this effect, although it is not
as clear as in the other examples.
Image 4
The positioning of the rucksacks
in this image is unfortunate, but could not be avoided. Do the six people in
the photograph fall into two groups (the musicians and the ladies with the dog)
or three (in which the drummer is considered on his own)? Either way, this
photograph exploits the law of Common Fate.
The final image (Image 5), taken in
the Yorkshire Dales, is another simple example of Good Continuation,
with the dry stone wall and adjacent path leading the viewer’s eye through the
frame, to the rocks beyond.
Image 5
The stile in the foreground
provides an initial focal point. Ideally, I would have liked to feature a group
of walkers in the middle distance, walking away from the camera, but none were
available at the time.
The examples illustrated above
demonstrate that I have a natural tendency to look for lines of Good
Continuation in my photographic work, but am more constrained in my use of the
other Gestalt laws. This implies that perhaps I rely too heavily on a limited
selection of principles when composing my images.
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