In the course material we are asked to looking more closely at the following image and to make notes on how the subject matter is placed in the frame:
I have always liked the humour in Elliott Erwitt’s images and this one is no exception.
Firstly to view this image as a flat image rather than putting myself in the picture I look to see how depth is captured, I can see this by the background and the shallow depth of field effect. I can see a structure to the right of the image, the main subjects appear to be on a path. As the title says New York I am thinking that this could be a stroll through central park (Perhaps the structure would be recognisable to locals so that the image could be placed).
The subjects are centred to the frame although the rule of thirds applies both vertically and horizontally. The main subject however is the smaller dog to the right. The horizon line is lost which strengthens the vertical lines in the image (The legs)
The image has been taken close to the ground offering us the viewpoint of the small dog, his size highlighted by the legs beside him.One first glance you might see two pairs of human legs but the humour comes when you realise the legs on the left belong to another dog. The image has been cropped / framed tightly to allow this assumption to happen. The colour of the image is balanced as the darker areas (The owners black boots) are centralised.
Your eyes are naturally drawn to the small dog as you are on his level as well as him being the only subject with eye contact. Your eyes are then drawn to the centre and left to look up and down at the legs. After seeing the humour my eyes rest back on the little dog. I feel both humour and the situation and sympathy for this little dog who is dwarfed by his companions.
A similar image by Elliott Erwitt:
In this image depth and perspective are acheived by the buildings running into the distance. This diagonal line is also what draws your eye from the dog to the feet. Although the feet are in the fiorground it feels as though the dog is dominant in this image, this is the effect given by the doagonal lines that your eyes are drawn along. The dog has an interesting wide stance akin to a bulldog. There is a disparity between the pair , the lady is wearing sandals whilst the dog wears a thick jumper.
I can see that he is not on a lead but is obviously obedient, I can just see the tip of the owner of the shoes skirt…Is she bending over the dog giving commands?
Wendy Rose Context & Narrative 