Definition Post - Depth

Definition Post

Depth: The distance from the top or surface of something to its bottom.

Words that can be used to describe 'depth':

- Steep
- Deep
- Long
- Tower
- Never ending
- Fathomless

Four annotated online pictures:

This photograph of a guitar is a photograph demonstrating depth. It displays depth through the angle it's been taken, as the audience are aware that this guitar has more to it than just what's being shown. It looks as though the strings on the guitar gather closer together the further they travel upwards, this is not the case. Because of the angle that this photograph has been shot from, it's deceiving. The strings that seem to have less space inbetween them only exhale this perception because they are not in focus. Rather than the picture being taken looking down on the strings, it has been taken looking through them; how most pictures are captured when on a mission to illustrate depth.

Only three apples have been used in this photograph, but this is enough to display the depth it  produces. The apple behind the first is a lot more blurred than the apple in focus, and the apple behind the second is even more blurred than the two infront. This focuses the audiences attention on the main apple in the foreground, whilst still realising that this photograph has depth. All three apple's have the same length of shadow, and this shadow proves how the apples are all around about the same size even if the picture tells a different story, by demonstrating depth.

The female in this photograph is the subject. She is who the audience focus on when studying this image. Although depth may not be the main focal point, it still performs a large contribution to this photograph. As it may seem as though the train track she's laying on grows smaller and smaller the further away it becomes, it gives the impression that the woman would look the same as she does in this photograph as she would laying further down the train track. Depth causes this assumption, because the train track in the background is actually equal in size with the train track in the foreground.

In this photograph you can just about see three or four of the yellow markings in the middle of the road, as it's been taken from an angle close to the ground, again, looking 'through' the road. A lot of the road has been covered in this photograph, so it could come across as an illusion as to why we can only notice about three or four of the markings. You can probably guess the reason behind this 'illusion'. Yes, depth. Another perfect example of a photograph illustrating depth.

My definition of 'depth': An object that portrays the illusion of continuing forever whilst decreasing in size.

Work Diary - Depth

Evaluation

During the photography session where we were asked to take photos of objects/things which portrayed 'depth' I didn't find it too difficult, however I did find it to be the less creative topic so far because most of the pictures that I took looked similar. By this I mean that the part of the object in the foreground looks a lot bigger than the part further out. Having said this, most of the photographs I took did look rather photographic and only a few came out to be a bit dull and boring, so this was a major positive when it came to shooting 'depth'. An example of a boring photograph that I captured was the picture below of a bike seat. It doesn't even sound interesting. 

The reason as to why this photograph is my least favourite is because it doesn't really portray depth. This is because there wasn't much of the bike seat to cover. From my point of view this picture just looks like an average photo of a bike seat, with no effort or thought behind it. It's not a photographic image, it's ugly. An amateur could take this kind of photograph so it doesn't live up to the expectations of a good photograph captured by a photography student. Furthermore, the colours that create this image are dull and unattractive which makes this image even worse.

As you can see in my photograph above, the drain that stretched from one end of the path all the way across to the other end created a brilliant example of depth because in this photo, there was plenty of drain to cover. I believe that the longer an object is, the more chance you have of capturing a good photo of depth as you can see the drain, in this picture for instance, decreasing in size the further out it travels. The line at the end of the drain is straight instead of wonky which improves the quality of the image as it conveys how I thought about composition.

                                                                       Progression

Even though shooting photographs that contained depth wasn't my favourite topic, I still have quite a decent idea of what I'd do if I were to go out and shoot 'depth' again. I find the atmosphere of a forest extremely attractive and tranquil. To some people an empty forest with an extremely long path going right through it would be slightly daunting, but I believe it's an amazing place to take photographs. I have included below a group of photographs that inspire me when it comes to depth. I really admire how the paths and bridges escalate through the forest whilst getting smaller at they travel because of depth being portrayed. I loved the close up of the autumn leaves, and also the one of the tree with marks indented clearly. Perhaps I could take pictures of this standard one day if I were to reshoot depth in my own style. 

Image Bank - Depth

Image Bank

In most of these photographs below, you will notice how the background of the image has been blurred, whereas the foreground object is defined and clearly visible. The blur emphasises the depth in the image because the further away things are, the more difficult they are to notice. I've also discovered in some of these pictures that the part in the background comes across as being a lot smaller when compared to the part shown in the foreground. This is because of the camera angle and how each picture has been taken. A perfect example of this is the photograph below; the part of the bridge that is further out to sea seems to have a small width than the part closer to the shore. Even though in real life this whole bridge is the same size, this photograph portrays it to be the opposite and this is done through depth. 

This piece of photography is something I have included in my image bank because it illustrates depth and is also a pciture that I could interpret myself if I were to take more photos displaying depth.

I really admire the simplicity of this photograph. Six mugs have been lined up together and had their photograph taken from one end, portraying an image that contains depth effortlessly.  

It's not everyday that you'll be able to capture a photograph of seagulls all lined up evenly on several poles with their wings at peace, so this photo was worth taking just for that matter and not only because of the depth that it illustrates. It's a photograph that makes you feel/think something as I'm pretty certain I'm not the only person who would think about the serenity of the seagulls.

This photograph is similar to that of the bridge, instead it has just been taken from the outside. The black and white effect produces a mysterious feel to the image as it looks dark and mystical. The water is resting with no disturbance from below, so the picture also displays that sense of tranquility. 

Straight Images - Depth