Personal perspectives of atmosphere Part 3 of the survey construction

 

In the previous two parts of the survey construction I talked about the reasons why I created the survey in the way I did. However, I did not talk about the images that I picked for the participants to rate the atmosphere of and why I pick those images. In this blog post I will cover all 18 images star in the survey why they were selected and in doing so discuss my perspectives of what makes an atmospheric image. 

So based on my own perceptions and the research that I conducted in the previous module. I  have come up with certain criteria that I consider contribute to an atmospheric image.  I have defined these elements in the same way that I asked participants to list these in the survey.

Composition elements 

All elements within the frame must help. To contribute to the story of the image, they must work together in Harmony, or synergy. Partially masked elements.  

In relation to atmosphere in its literal sense: low level clouds such as mist and fog and any weather elements that obscure the scene.

Evoked emotion 

Sense of awe, mystery, hiding or hidden, Obscured, enticement, a yearning for more information. Mood, of a nice place to be homely 

Technical

Lots of deep shadow. The majority of the frame is in darkness with a few specular highlights.   Can include vignetting.  Very directional lighting. Complementary colours, 2 tone colours may contribute to it but not exclusively. High contrast. Histogram is heavily to the left. Monochrome but not exclusively.

Image selection 

Previously I had mentioned that I was going to use 10 images, but testing with my peers revealed that they were willing to do more.  I extended the survey to cover all the images that i had selected, 18 in total.

Image 1 Untitled (Burgett 2014)

This image somewhat atmospheric elements that contribute to the atmosphere of high contrast, imperfections in the image that create the sense of haze coma obscured elements such as the man on the left cut through his body and the fact the image is very soft focus .

This image was chosen to attempt to look at imperfections acting as weather elements to concrete the atmosphere and look at whether or not black and white add stoutness fear and the obscured elements atmosphere 

Image 2 Onesie Christmas (Anon 2014) 

Somewhat atmospheric hard right this quite high for me strong directional light high contrast Laurence areas of shadow and specular highlights. 

This picture is an attempt to look at whether portraiture can be atmospheric, this image has lots of the technical aspects for the atmosphere but potentially none of the compositional elements or evoked emotions outlined above .

 

Image 3.Out of the pond (Author 2017)

I would rank this low on atmospherics due to the fact that everything in the image is clear well lit there is no sense of mystery it's almost even a record shot.  

This image has been entered that's a control image and to provide contrast between those but I believe atmospheric

  

Image 4 Opera (Author 2016) 

somewhat atmospheric specular highlights 2 tone colours high contrast. this has been entered because and it's true we saw that the scene provides the mood and the mood can be part of the atmosphere.

 

Image 5 The Gone (Shark 2020)  

very atmospheric. High contrast lots of the image in deep shadow, two toned complementary colours, a sense of awe mystery we don't know why the subject has elements on his face why is I is blue and why he's wearing those goggles. The background of the image is extremely out of focus adding to the mystery of the setting. 

This image has been added as another portrait but with this portrait it is the evoked emotions, the compositional elements, and other technical aspects. My hope is that it is rated higher in atmosphere then the child. 

  

Image 6 Minimal (Jagni 2019a)

Very little atmosphere. There is little to no mystery in this picture it is a straight on artistic abstract or building. 

Particularly like this image because despite it being a beautiful composition and very minimalist and therefore in my opinion quite evocative I do not believe it is atmospheric.  This image has been added to contrast the interior architecture shot this is also a picture of architecture. Hear everything is very well lit is an abstract and the image is more about form and shape rather than the atmosphere I hope that it'll score lower than the interior stair shot 

 

Image 7 Untitled (The form of Beauty 2016) 

 

Middling atmosphere. I was drawn to this image because. Despite it being full of mystery and almost an abstract technically it is reverse from what I consider atmospheric in that lot of the image is in the highlights very few black turns so I believe this one will split opinion it contains elements but both atmospheric and not atmospheric.  

Image 8. Aerial view of epic light rays over the fields (Jonaitis 2019)

This image I believe will score very, very highly when placed for the participants to rate atmosphere as it is a little depiction of visible atmosphere it is also high contrast two toned this is also somewhat of a control image.   

Image 9. Minimal (Jagani 2019b) 

Quite atmospheric . This is because the image is monochrome , it is high contrast and other than the tree in the centre of the image there is very little detail to give it a setting adding to the sense of mystery. However like the other landscape this is also high key. This was entered to see whether a landscape where there is no depiction of the literal sense of atmosphere could still be classed as atmospheric . This is the contrast to the results of image 8. 

  

Image 10 food healthy fruits fall (Igor 2020) 

little to no atmosphere elements clear plane easy to recognise optically high contrast no it's good no mystery. This image has been entered to contrast against image 12 which is also also of food but that image have far more contrast in it. 

  

Image 11. Trees on Mountain Cliff Surrounded by Fogs (Lui 2018)

 

This image I'm not sure where if it is atmospheric as this contains one of the compositional elements in fog but does not contain any dramatic lighting, it is not two toned it's not high contrast and does not really contain a sense of mystery this is to test whether or not weather elements by themselves without the other elements mentioned will contribute to making it atmospheric. 

  

Image 12 Photo Of Chocolate Smoothie With Raspberry On Top (Elija 2019)

 Another image where I'm not sure where the outcome will come but this image was selected due to the fact technically it was high contrast with lots of areas in shadow shadow focus also adds a sense of mystery to the image somewhat the colours are very harmonious and invoke emotion of homeliness which may therefore contribute to the atmosphere. This is to act in contrast with image 10.

 

Image 13 Untitled (Hild 2019) 

I believe this image is very atmospheric it contains almost all the elements that I have identified it is very high contrast lots of areas in shadow it is almost monochrome burial physical depictions of weather specular highlights obscured parts of the image due to the weather and a sense of all mystery. This image has been added to see whether weather elements are limited to landscapes or can they be used in other scenes as well.  

Image 14. Cosmetics makeup brushes and powder dust explosion (Moreira 2016) 

Another image that I'm not sure about how atmospheric it is. On the one hand all the elements in the picture are very clear and sharp but the image is high contrast there are lots of shadows and blacks in the image. Small particles in the air which could mimic weather this has been added as another still life to see whether technical elements can be used exclusively to contribute to the atmosphere. 

Image 15   Munbaik Cycling Clothing (Munbaik Cycling Clothing 2020) 

Theoretically based on my descriptions this image should write highly on atmosphere but I am unsure how it will do the reason why I've added this image as it is a physical depiction of weather although in this case it is artificial it is high contrast there are lots of shadows so this is looking at some of the compositional and technical elements of the image whether or not they contribute exclusively to the atmosphere.

Image 16 Human Eye in Close Up Photography (Industrie 2020) 

This is a control image there is perhaps a sense of mystery as you don't know who the person is but is essentially a close up of the eye but I do not believe it is atmospheric there are specular highlights in the image but it is not particularly contrast there are no real obscured or hidden elements in the image.

 

Image 17 Photo Of Man Wearing Black Leather Jacket (Jackson 2019) 

This image I do not believe is particularly atmospheric is very clear well exposed it is about the portrait of the person. The reason why this image has been added is to have another portrait to contrast to the two previous with this one would be rated as normal atmospheric so therefore removing the need or the absence of people to contribute to the atmosphere so the other two images should be counted this atmospheric this one not.  

 

Image 18 Untitled (Shabbir 2021) 

This one I believe should be rated quite high on the atmosphere as it is high contrast with specular highlights the hazing on the glass obscured elements within the frame and those large elements in the shadows and blacks adding mystery.  this contrasts with image one in that they both have technical imperfections that may contribute to the atmosphere but this images in colour was image one is in monochrome.