Contrast, Balance, Harmony by the Bay

John Potter

This picture was taken in January 2011 while the Dixie State men’s and women’s basketball teams enjoyed a ferry shuttle tour of the Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island in the San Francisco Bay. I took this picture, using former DSC basketball player John Berger as my unsuspecting muse.

Contextually, the picture takes you to only a few places in which a shot like this can actually happen. Those options include a boat, which is precisely where this shot was taken, or a island/peninsula close enough to the bridge. The shot from behind the human subject shows that I was closer to him taking the picture than we were in relative distance to the bridge. You also get a sense that the bridge may not be as large as it is, but the size contrast is skewed because of my placement to the subject and the bridge (We were about half a mile away at this point).

This shot was taken in the morning with the sun directly behind us. The sun’s rays brighten the colors of the sky, the bridge and the subject’s beanie. If this shot were taken in the afternoon, the light would cast shadows and produce a very different picture temporally. Also, there is a cultural context here because the bridge symbolizes hope and new opportunities for many (like the Statue of Liberty does for our friends on the east coast).

Relative to balance, you get a very symmetrical look with the bridge construction and its straight vertical lines, but an asymmetrical look with the subject being flushed to the right. The bridge in the middle of the picture and the subject to the right fill two-thirds of the frame, leaving the far left open.

I believe the colors of the sky and the beanie mesh harmoniously. Add the greys of the low clouds on the horizon and on the hooded sweatshirt adds a second color blend. The lack of clashing colors or textures lends a very peaceful tone to the harmony of this picture and warmth of the situation. Textures of the beanie cap and the hoodie accentuate the warmth element in the harmony of this picture.

It is a subjective thought, but I did not think much of this picture until very recently. The more I look at it, the more nuance I see despite a lot open space with sky and water. I see a slight tilting of the subject’s head – maybe he is in awe of the approaching bridge or maybe he was just knocked around by the swells in the water.