I found this picture online I thought it perfectly conveyed the elements of contrast, balance and harmony that we talked about in class. The lighting in this photo focuses the audience attention to the infant's feet then down to the fatherly hands. The shadows and many different shades of gray help to provide texture to the photo. We are able to focus and see the course calloused hands, as well as, the delicate wrinkles of the soft new baby feet.This photo shows contrast in a few different ways. First in color which ranges from deep black to almost white gray. The utter blackness gives an overwhelming sense of dread, while the lightness of the child's feet seems to say: There is hope. Second, feet and hands are opposites of one another and interestingly enough this contrast creates a sense of harmony. Third, in the evident size difference between these two.
The position and orientation of the hands say so much with so little. They seem to say how precious life is. They show the love, tenderness and protection of a father. This picture also has symmetrical balance because of the two almost identical feet and the three fingers holding up each foot. I think the Gestalt principle that best fits this photo is the law of pragnanz. I say this because what is more simple, yet perhaps more complicated, than life itself.
