Contextual Studies Reflective Journal 1: What is a Photograph?

The first picture I have chosen by Inez Lamsweerde and Vinoodh Matadin Yohji shows a woman laying on what appears to be a bed frame wearing some simple black shoes, a navy blue long skirt and a grey sweater. This at first glance looks very simple but taking a closer look it is a well thought out photograph. One thing I noticed about this photograph was the use of shape. The bed frame is a

Inez van Lamsweerde & Vinoodh Matadin Yohji Yamamoto catalogue 1999

Landscape Big Obscure Body Beauty

Jason Evans Smash Babylon Mind Control, i-D 2005

Landscape Colourful Interesting Art

Henry Peach Robinson, ‘Sleep’, 1867

Film Landscape Natural Calm

block white colour and sharp in shape. Her blue shirt is hanging down off of the bed towards the floor but it had been strategically been shaped into a triangle to fit in with the rest of the shapes in the photograph, again the triangle of her skirt is sharp. In the background you can see a chair which matches the bed frame this is just as sharp and the same colour as the bed frame but it looks to be at a slanted angle, almost like the shadow of a chair. The model herself has a very odd expression, her smile is almost psychotic with the red light glowing under the bed this could add to that characteristic. The photograph is a landscape picture and it draws me in the more I look at it; I feel like I see more and more.

Further than the chair in the background you can see a silhouette of what looks like trees, perhaps the woods or a forest. This leads to more questions, such as what is this picture saying? What do the shapes mean? The glowing red under the bed? I don't think its saying anything. It isn't telling a story or creating a situation it's just a photograph that captures our gaze and holds it. I personally really like this picture because its different to the other pictures I have chosen and I like the use of shapes that were included. Obviously this is a shot that has been put together, it isn't natural, but it was put together well and I think its beautiful