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A. MACARTHUR

Digital Artist/Photographer, Author
Articles Posted: 437  Links Seeded: 0
Member Since: 10/2008  Last Seen: 5/20/2012

Form and Texture ... Subject Matter Aside, Often the Elements that Make a Visual Image Stand Out

Wed Mar 2, 2011 4:29 PM EST
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By A. Macarthur

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4) The forms/shapes created by this plunging stream are gone virtually as soon as their images are captured. But if you were challenged to "photograph something that will cease to exist the moment you do," would you have been able to think of a subject that met such a challenge? I find some of the most interesting and aesthetic forms in nature to be those that persist only as a picture.

(5) Forms can sometimes create visual anomalies ... like this silhouetted bronze equestrian statue of a Revolutionary War officer, and ... a blimp. One of my favorite shots.

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Look critically at any visual art work ... if you can, set to one side of your mind, the subject matter ... that which the image represents in the real world.

Look at the image in terms of the form(s) ... the visible shape(s) and configuration. How do the main subject forms stand out from the background ... by contrast (dark and light), by color (hue, shade, tone, harmony), by relative size within the frame or edges of the work?

Next, look for texture(s) - the feel, appearance, or consistency of a surface or a substance ... in the case of two-dimensional work ... paintings, drawings, photographs ... usually the illusion of texture, but, if paint is applied thickly (impasto), it's texture as well.

Here are several examples of pictures I took yesterday ... the fading light of late afternoon, reflections in a stream and a pair of Canada Geese turned out to be more than enough to capture three form-texture compositions that I like a lot.

Hope you will also. All comments welcomed and appreciated (pro, con, questions).

©All Rights Reserved/A. Macarthur

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A. Macarthur

Look critically at any visual art work ... if you can, set to one side of your mind, the subject matter ... that which the image represents in the real world.

  • 7 votes
Reply#1 - Wed Mar 2, 2011 4:29 PM EST
Holly-348328

Wow, the water has so much texture it looks like it's thicker than water! #4 is a great choice for something that is here one moment and gone the next. The blimp picture is awesome! I love your attention to detail.

  • 9 votes
#1.1 - Wed Mar 2, 2011 4:39 PM EST
Reply
Vlad's dog

Good advice AMac. I usually put my paintings upside down so all I see are the colors, patterns, textures and marks. Then I will turn them on each side to see what stands out and what needs fixed because it stands out too much.

  • 8 votes
Reply#2 - Wed Mar 2, 2011 4:41 PM EST
etva

Great pictures, A. Mac! I love the water in the B&W. For some reason I don't understand, I'm drawn more to texture in B&Ws, though all of these are excellent.

  • 7 votes
Reply#3 - Wed Mar 2, 2011 5:50 PM EST
Mrs D-1475814

#4 is my favorite. I love them all but in that picture you would believe that you could reach out and fill the water. Excellent!!!! Miss seeing you and hope all is well. :) ((((A.Mac♥)))))

  • 7 votes
Reply#4 - Wed Mar 2, 2011 7:10 PM EST
KYPIAKOC

Neat!

  • 5 votes
Reply#5 - Wed Mar 2, 2011 10:54 PM EST
badchess

Nice ripples.

  • 6 votes
Reply#6 - Thu Mar 3, 2011 9:49 AM EST
A. Macarthur

I will post PART 2 of this article on Foto-Friday.

  • 6 votes
Reply#7 - Thu Mar 3, 2011 10:39 AM EST
Mrs D-1475814

I will be looking for it. :)

  • 6 votes
#7.1 - Thu Mar 3, 2011 10:40 AM EST
Reply
HollyKl

I love the geese and the textures of the water. That black and white one is really lovely!

  • 6 votes
Reply#8 - Thu Mar 3, 2011 10:43 AM EST
A. Macarthur

I do so appreciate the generous comments. Thank you all.

  • 7 votes
Reply#9 - Thu Mar 3, 2011 10:52 AM EST
Vlad's dog

I just saw the blimp and statue image AMac. I really like that one for many reasons, it has historical content, size and spacial effects all as anomaly. A nice bit of layering of ideas. Bravo on that one my friend.

  • 5 votes
Reply#10 - Thu Mar 3, 2011 12:00 PM EST
A. Macarthur

Vlad's dog,

I didn't layer the images ... you'll see there are no pixel disparities; it's an actual photograph I took from the Art Museum steps in Philly before an Eagles' game back in the 80's. Monday Night Football brought in the Goodyear blimp for aerial shots above Veterans Stadium ... I just happened to be at the right place at the right time.

  • 6 votes
Reply#11 - Thu Mar 3, 2011 12:13 PM EST
Vlad's dog

I didn't mean physical layering AMac, I just meant there is more than one concept in the piece, layers of meaning.

  • 5 votes
#11.1 - Thu Mar 3, 2011 3:01 PM EST
A. Macarthur

My misunderstanding ... "layers of meaning" - good analysis.

  • 4 votes
#11.2 - Thu Mar 3, 2011 3:07 PM EST
Reply
TR-421173

Great article.

  • 5 votes
Reply#12 - Thu Mar 3, 2011 12:44 PM EST
Fletch-495299

Nice Photo's A.Mac, I like the Geese and the way the water reflects like a mirror, but I have always had a thing for water falls.

I think Clouds would be a similar idea, they are constantly changing form.

  • 5 votes
Reply#13 - Thu Mar 3, 2011 2:49 PM EST
rottlady

A Mac, only you can make water look like it's got texture. Such fantastic images, all of them! Thanks for the lesson on form and texture.

  • 5 votes
Reply#14 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 11:49 AM EST
David S Jones

Super Cool!!

  • 3 votes
Reply#15 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 11:52 AM EST
ambivalent

Beautiful photos with amazing texture and colors, almost like oil on water. What a terrific eye you have for the instant and the composition.

  • 4 votes
Reply#16 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 1:37 PM EST
mightyj

Cool images. I should have read this before I took my latest pictures for Foto-Friday. Thanks A mac.

  • 5 votes
Reply#17 - Fri Mar 4, 2011 11:18 PM EST
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