This photo was quick to catch my eye as I was searching for a picture that created contrast, balance and harmony.
The contrast can be most easily seen in the color; the bright orange boat complements the bright blue water. Similarly, if the top of the image stopped just below the white rim of the top of the boat, the contrast would not be nearly as significant. Contrast can also be seen in the texture; the cracked wood of the boat is quite the opposite of the smooth, rippled water that it sits on.The texture works so well that I can feel the broken edges of the boat against my hand and the refreshing water beneath it. One way to look at this is in the highlights of the water and the shadows of the boat. Another way this photo depicts contrast is in the shapes; the triangular point of the tip of the boat is striking in relation to the subtly rippled water.
The photo is symmetrically balanced, with the boat being centered in the image. The size and position of the boat also create balance and harmony. If the photographer took the image directly head-on, rather than angled above the boat as he did, the boat would appear much smaller, drastically lessening the contrast, balance and harmony.
Though the contrast, balance and harmony is easily explained by principles, it can also be explained by its psychological, social and cultural context. When I first looked at this photo, my visceral response was absolute awe. Normally, a photo of an ordinary boat wouldn't mean anything to me, but this photo immediately struck me as different. With it's rough edges, I saw love and laughter; the boat carried family on many fishing trips, where grandpa would take his grandchildren out for a day of fishing and tell tall tales of his life. Even though the title of the photo is "Fishing boat", even if I didn't know the title, I would still imagine the boat the same because it's weathered surface puts it in into physical context. Clearly, the boat wouldn't be able to withstand the turbulent sea or a long excursion in billowing water. Instead, the boat is one that was taken out for day trips, only a few hours at a time. It wasn't used by the culture of men dedicated to the fishing industry but instead a culture of family dedicated to bonding through love—the love of one another and the love of fishing.
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