Respite by Richard A. Johnson
From Respite by Richard A. Johnson
From LensWork and LensWork Extended #70
© 2007 Richard A. Johnson. All rights reserved.
Reproduced with the permission of the photographer.
Commentary
There is no more fundamental rhythm in life than the beating of our heart. There is a special rhythm that fundamentally separates its beat from the mechanical tock of the metronome. The heart's rhythm is more like ba-bum . . . . ba-bum . . . . ba-bum. There is a syncopation to it that makes it alive. One of the best descriptions of this is as follows: imagine you are swinging overhead a ball tied to the end of the rope. As you swing the ball round and round, it doesn't describe a perfect circle. In fact if you try to project the ball along a perfect circle, you can't. There is no movement, no life, no rhythm, no syncopation in perfect symmetry. You have to goose the ball along an oval trajectory and so va-loomp . . . . va-loomp . . . . va-loomp — once again the rhythm of life.
I find this is no different in the composition of a still photograph. Perfect symmetry — like the symmetry we see in so many Photoshop mirrored compositions — simply has no life. Compare such static compositions to this image by Richard A. Johnson. This image perfectly demonstrates the kind of syncopation in composition that brings a photograph to life. It's not a frenetic life, but also not a motionless, static, boring composition. This can be illustrated with a short exercise.
Cover the bottom half of the photograph so you can't see the rocks: the tree arcs counterclockwise and reaches out with that top branch toward the upper edge of the photograph, almost like a dance movement. The lower right branch of the tree bends down toward the rock, again like the curved limb of a dancer. The tree gestures to our left, it's right.
Now cover the top half of the photograph so that you can't see the tree and so you can focus on the rocks. The rocks move from left to right with the lower portion of the larger rock jutting out just above the water, pointing to the right edge of the photograph. This is not bilaterally symmetric in the least, but rather more heavily weighted on the right side of the photograph, not just from the rock itself but from the dual image of the rock amplified by its reflection in the water.
Now look At the full composition again and notice the movement created by these two halves of the image — the tree curling counterclockwise reaching to the upper right, the rocks also pointing counterclockwise to the lower right. There is visual movement, but not perfect symmetry. There is syncopation. The tree is loose, airy, light, poised in mid-gesture, floating; the rock is substantial, sitting, even squatting on the bank. The space is not divided half and half but rather in thirds; the woods comprise the top two thirds of the photograph, the rock and the water the bottom third. The leaves of the tree are light and tonality, the water is dark. The woods are staccato of a million leaves and twigs; the rock in the water are a few lines, a solidity of form and tone.
The key to such a complex composition is balance, not symmetry. Again, I can't help but compare the composition of the still photograph to the movement of dance. As the dancer flies across the floor, there is rhythm and movement but always kept in check by balance. A reaching gesture of the arm must be countered by an extension of the leg in the opposite direction. Without balance, the dancer tumbles. Same can be said of photographic compositions.
All of this is, of course, a dual-edged sword. The title of Johnson's portfolio is Respite. By definition his project is about balance and calm. It makes perfect sense that he presents us with compositions that reinforce his theme. Compositional balance can just as easily be thrown out the window if the photographic portfolio is intended to present the precarious position of imbalance. Photographs don't have to be balanced, but it is important that the composition reinforces the photographer's intent. The balance in this photograph is a terrific example of composition reinforcing intent.
The portfolio can be seen in its entirety in our back issues — print (while still available) and our PDFs for computer, iPad, Android, and other devices. Plus, bonus audio commentary about this image is available to full-access members of LensWork Online.
Discussion
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