The Open Door Visual Analysis

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In photography it is common for images to have similar qualities and at the same time, have qualities that oppose each other. In order to show that two photographs can be similar yet very different, the two images I chose were Chariots of Fire by Adam Bartos and The Open Door by William Henry Fox Talbot. These two images are not only similar and different in regards to their formal elements and composition but the artists who created them are focused on the same goals of their photography. These two photographers grew up differently had had two different interests. I felt that these two images were the best images to compare and contrast. Without learning formal elements such as light, color, depth and balance, these two images would look …show more content…

Both of these images focus on the every day scene. These images are very oriented on capturing a forgotten scene in order to show the beauty and simplicity of things often forgotten. Bartos and Talbot both chose to photograph a simple image of a door and everyday objects beside the door. The objects add to the concept of forgotten scenes. In Talbots image the overgrown vines and dirty looking area makes the scene look forgotten and un-kept. This depiction of forgotten scenes is also seen in Bartos’ image. In Chariots of Fire, he shows rusted wires, a rusted fire extinguisher, overgrown plants and a dirty door and wall. Talbot and Bartos also make use of vertical lines. In Talbots image he uses vertical lines in the wood planks in the door and side of the building. You can also see vertical lines used in the vines and branches next to the door. Looking at Bartos’ image, we see the use of vertical lines in the wooden planks on the door along with objects such as a plank leaning on the wall, wires hanging next to the door, and other tools surrounding the door. Bartos and Talbot both did a very great job of using vertical lines and using an everyday scene that person would never look twice at. These areas are really where Chariots of Fire and The Open Door have similar features. Even though these images have similar composition, they do have very different formal elements that set them apart from …show more content…

Chariots of Fire uses color and The Open Door uses black and white. Both of these elements have their advantages. With Bartos’ image the use of color allows us to see every imperfection in all of the objects. In Chariots of Fire, we see the fire extinguisher is rusted over, the paint on the building is faded and the door is covered in dirt. These little details in the image would not have shown if it were in black and white. With The Open Door, Talbot was able to show contrasts in light and dark. These contrasts in light and dark allowed him to create an image with depth. With the image showing more shade and darkness in the background it allowed the viewer to see the image pop out. There is no depth in Bartos’ photograph, color and the vantage point created a flatter image. Balance is also another element that played a difference between these images. In Chariots of Fire, Bartos had an unsymmetrical photograph. With most of the weight on the right side, the viewer will have most of their focus on the right hand side. The Open Door was a much more balanced image. Talbots image had equal balance on both sides of the image. With a more symmetrical image viewers will focus their eyes more on the center of the image. Although we saw that both Bartos and Talbot used vertical lines, Bartos also used horizontal lines to help make the viewer focus on a specific part of the picture. The horizontal lines in Bartos’

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