I chose this certain piece done by Wilhelm Burge around 1869 while he was traveling through China and Japan. The Asian cultures have always attracted my attention and this photograph really stood out to me. I really love how he captured the two subjects sitting by the river talking to each other. It seems very peaceful to me. And I also liked the vantage point. Not only did he capture the farmers/villagers, but he also captured the beauty of the Japanese countryside.
I like the way the photographer framed the image so that the mountains and the river bound the subject of the image, which I take to be the two squatting figures. The river forms a line that leads the eye to the distant mountains and forms the background for the two subjects. The mountains in the background are of a lighter tone emphasizing their distance as compared to the mountain in the near foreground. The houses on the bank of the river is a nice domestic touch. One wonders whether these are neighbors talking, although the figure on the right appears to be a monk
ReplyDeleteI agree about he vantage point, I really like how you see the two talking but yet you can also see their houses across the river and the way he was able to capture the mountains in the background really kind of brings it all together. This picture gives me a relaxed/peaceful feeling, the way people are just sitting along the bank and how calm the river looks. It just looks like a calm and peaceful yet beautiful place to live.
ReplyDeleteI agree about the peaceful comment. This seems like that had a long meaningful conversation while sitting there. Its surprising how this one picture with so little in it has so much in it at the same time.
ReplyDeleteYou are all doing a great job explaining the appeal of this image with the help of the terms from The Photographer's Eye.
ReplyDeleteThe original book, not my pdf, includes one more term- detail. The wonderful resolution in this image (typical in 19th C photographs) is one reason why the image is so evocative of its time and place. We can see everything clearly. The texture of the clothing, the roof and the trees are all vividly described.