Universal themes.

We started to look at Universal themes.

This is when there is a connecting theme within different themes, E.G. You could have different types of Photography like; Wedding, Sport and Fashion and they could all have the Universal Theme of 'The Human Form'.

There are 6 main Universal Themes:

-The Human Figure
-Environment (Natural and Man Made)
-Flora and Fauna
-Events (Personal, Communal and Historical)
-The Fantastic and Strange (Myth, Metamorphosis and Dream)
-The Abstract (Form and Meaning)

There are also Formal Elements to be considered. These are as followed:

-Line: 'A record of a path of motion.'-Moholy Nagy
-Shape: 2D, 3D, Perspective and Forms
-Texture: The tactile quality of the medium and surfaces displayed
-Space: The layout of elements, Perspective and Composition
-Tone: Light and Dark, Shadow and Gradation
-Colour: Emotions, Senses, Moods and Psychology


I had a go at taking photos that fit these themes, here is what I came up with:

Flora and Fauna

I really like this picture. I like how there is the one flower in the center in focus while the others around it aren't. This is also a great display of one of the Formal Elements, colour.

A beautiful blossom bush.

 I like how it focused on the dog and the lead is not in focus. You can still see how it is twisted.

This is our puppy, Millie. 

This is a photo of a mouse we caught in my brothers room. It was a cute little thing and I decided to get a shot before we let it go. I think it captures how scared it was.

Looked out of my window one morning and there was a cat sat on a roof. Thought it would make a cool photo.

Environment

This is a photo o one of the buildings at college. I took it at an angle because I thought it captured the shape beautifully and really exaggerated it.

Again man made. But I just loved the shape of this fence and decided to get a picture as I walked past.

 This is a picture of a birdhouse taken by looking through a hole in a fence. I wasn't sure whether or not it would work but I think it looked quite cool in the end. It looks like your looking through a telescope.

The Fantastic and Strange (Myth, Metamorphosis and Dream)

I was looking out my window and saw that the moon was very visable so I took some photographs because I thought it was fitting for Fantasic and Myth.

There is lots of myth surrounding the moon, like the way it has total control over the tide of the sea.

I have always thought of clouds as being mythical and strange. They are all so beautiful and different and just hang there.

Dream catches are very mysterious and surrounded in myth. I have on hanging above my bed for the same reason everyone else does, because I have ben told and believe that they capture bad dreams and protect your mind.

I was sat on the sofa at home and my dad turned the small lamp on, in the corner of the room, and I just saw this shape appear from the shadow of these merit cards. I think it looks like the head of a dragon or some kind of lizard. I thought it was amazing that my mind had created a dragon shape out of a shadow.

The Human Figure

The lence flare in this shot is really pretty. 

I love this photo. There was a woman and her dog in the background and I told my friend to pretend to eat her, like a giant.

Events

Being diabetic, I have to inject myself with insulin every morning and every evening. It is a daily event in my life.

This is a photo I took and edited on Photoshop to make it look really old and vintage. I wanted it to look like an old war time photo, like someone saying goodbye to a lover and they have lay out all the things that gave them great memories. I think it works really well for the theme 'Events' because it is war related.

Abstract

Beads are always a great thing to photograph close up for an abstract picture.

These beads are part of a necklace of mine and I thought it would look really great if I just had a few of them in the shot.

I love the pattern of wool I just think it looks so cool close up. Almost like tiny mountains. These are very abstract photos that I have taken of my scarf I am knitting.