Certainly tells a story, don’t it?
Rod Stewart has always been one of my favorite singers, having most of his music. I happened to be listening to one of his old hits when an idea for a post popped into my head; as is usually the case. The title of the song that was playing was, Every picture tells a story, don’t it?
The phrase is an idiom and refers to the fact that when something is happening in a situation it’s clear because of the way something look, or what has taken place.
I had recently conducted one of my workshops in New York and we were shooting at the 9/11 memorial while a group of Navy men were also there to honor someone. What I saw happening was like a visual reminder of Stewart’s message.
In this song, the title… Every pictures tells a story don’t it doesn’t appear in the lyrics until the very end when it’s repeated twenty-four times. That said, seeing this happening in front of me sent a crystal clear message of the title to Stewart’s song.
When composing my photo It was also clear to incorporate one of the six concepts in the psychology of Gestalt, namely Closure. It seemed that coming in tight on just the hands and folded flag, was all the viewer needed to get the message; the viewer would fill in the rest.ure
I’m always mentioning Closure to the students that sign up for my online classes with the BPSOP, as well as working on it one on one to those that take my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshops I conduct around our planet.
Telling a story in your photographs is not always necessary, although even the simplest landscape tells a certain kind of story to a particular type of viewer. It’s just that storytelling is a great way to keep the viewer around longer, and if you’re at all like I am, you like for people to look at and admire your photos.
FYI, the flag is folded into a triangle to represent the shape of the hats worn by colonial soldiers in the war for independence.
Btw, if you’re interested, here’s the link to Every picture tells a story, don’t it.
Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com, and check out my workshop schedule at the top of this blog. come shoot with me sometime. My next springtime workshop will be in Berlin next May; and incredibly beautiful city. check out the description above. Next October 2nd in conjunction with Santa Fe workshops I’ll be doing a photo workshop in San Miguel de Allende. A fantastic city in central Mexico and home to a huge artist colony filled with ex-pats. The description and link will be coming out soon so stay tuned. If you have questions beforehand let me know.
If you send me a photo and question to: AskJoeB@gmail.com, I’ll create a video critique for you.
JoeB
