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Photoshop, Syntax, and Semantics

Woodland Pixie

J. Thomas Bullington

Frosty

Leslie D. Stroebel

Add Something: By adding something to a photograph or subtracting something from a photograph, the syntax is altered and therefore the meaning (semantics) changes. The photographer took this casual snapshot of his daughter and granddaughter. It was a cold wintry day, as can be seen by the way the subjects are clothed, the snow in the rock crevices, and the blank sky. Later, upon looking at the photograph, he saw the white space between his daughter and the large rock as a potential snowman. By adding a few black spots for a face, it emerges from the background and becomes part of the subject. The grand daughter was full of joy over the photograph and proudly showed it to many of her classmates. The simple addition of some strategically placed black dots altered the syntax and gave the photograph an extended meaning.

Tiger

David A. Page

Subtract Something: This image was the result of many hours of cloning in Adobe Photoshop. When photographed, this cat was completely behind a fence. The option to bring the camera lens up to the fence and shoot through an opening was prohibited in this case, but has worked well in the past. Careful cloning away part of the fence produced an unexpected illusion of the cat’s head falsely appearing to be peeking through and in front of the fence. Some of the whiskers on the left side deliberately give away the illusion, to the most observant, as they are both in front of and behind the fence.

Rio de Janeiro

The giant statue Christ the Redeemer atop Corcovado Mountain in Rio is a familiar and famous landmark. It overlooks the city and ocean and is firmly anchored to a platform. By removing some of the upper part of the platform, a space is created between the platform and the statue, making it appear as if the figure was suspended in air or ascending.

The high vantage point from which the photograph was taken reflects the intent of the installation where the Redeemer overlooks and protects the city and its people. It also gives a feeling of the massive size of the statue. Just to the lower right of the statue is a small area of mountain fog.

College Football

Richard D. Zakia

Crop the Image: The photograph at the top of a college football practice game gives the appearance of a large crowd in attendance. The bottom photo is a truer picture.

Joey and Luke

Richard D. Zakia

The main subject and focal point in this lower photograph are the two boys, as they stand in front of a pond looking at the camera. The upper photograph, however, calls more attention to the two brothers and less to the surroundings by cropping a little off the side of the photograph and some off the top.

Vodaphone

Vicki H. Wilson

Flip the Image: The bottom photograph is the original image. Because it is of a reflection, the letters are reversed, as expected. By flipping it horizontally, the viewer is presented with a contradiction. The letters are now not reversed, as is the racecar, but everything falsely appears normal.

Killing Time

David A. Page

While traveling together in Ireland, one photographer saw this tree and began photographing it. The second photographer, while waiting, also decided to photograph it from a different angle. If the first photographer had not recognized that the tree was worth photographing, and if the second had not decided to kill time while waiting, the image on the right side would never have happened.

Irish Tree of Many Faces

David A. Page

Mirror Image: Because the tree was asymmetrical, the second photographer chose to photograph only the right side of the tree, with a plan to later duplicate the image, flip it, and match the two parts in order to create his own imagined tree. Although this was done using digital technology, the same technique has been used many times using film and dark-room skills. Where the two sides of the tree met, one face was immediately apparent and many more subtle faces emerged.

The Irish Tree of Many Faces title was chosen to challenge viewers to look for more than the most obvious face. The title also pays homage to the widely believed Irish folklore of the “little people” that inhabit special trees in Ireland.

Formula One Champion Lewis Hamilton at Indy

David A. Page

Tilt the Image: Using Photoshop to tilt the image, as seen here, creates an illusion of greater speed. Tilting can be done in camera, but doing it after capture allows for more flexibility and experimentation.

Car Show Quilt

Vicki H. Wilson

Distort the Image: After-capture software provides the photographer a variety of options for manipulating images in order to change the mood of the original photograph. Enjoy the process of creating something new from an existing good composition.