Reimagining Visual Framing

Reframed Image

Original Image by Salvador Dali 

I chose to manipulate an image by Salvador Dali. I find this image to be very interesting in that is represents a sense of fear in the unknown. The man is located in the bottom left corner holding a cross high into the air as if he is trying to ward off the unusually long-legged elephants. In the photo and the manipulation it is easy to tell a difference in visual intensity, the rule of thirds, and depth cues.

The photo by Dali contains much visual intensity. The white horse is the dominant focus of the photo with three elephants following close behind and another elephant off in the distance. The man in the corner is much smaller than then the animals and he is normal in figure. The animals however have elongated legs and are carrying unusual objects on their backs. This visual intensity displayed in this image grabs your attention from the start and immediately draws you in.

In the image there is also in obvious sense of depth. The man is located in the left foreground of the image and the elephants and located father back with the lone elephant even further back in the distance. The use of light also helps revel depth cues with the dark more contrasting colors towards the front and the lighter pastel colors in the back.

The rule of thirds is used perfectly in this image.  It is easy to see that Dali’s artwork can be divided into three separate sections. If you were to draw three lines evenly across the image the first section would contain the man holding the cross. The second section would me of the three elephants and horse, and the third section would be of the clouds and the lone elephant in the distance.

I chose to reframe the image to that of just the man kneeling holding the cross in the air. By doing this, the image looses its visual intensity as a whole but focuses on the man and his actions. Because the image is reframed on just the man we can’t hypothesize any explanation for his actions. You feel a sense of loneness and wonder. There is also less depth in the reframed image. Instead of three layers of depth we only get two, the man and the horizon. The rule of thirds still applies in the reframing including the man, cross, then the sky.