2
Figure Ground
Albert Paley Sentinel
David Page
Figure–Ground Competition
Irving Pobboravsky
| Selection | |||||||
| Planned | |||||||
| Unplanned | |||||||
| Figure and Ground Compete | |||||||
| Camouflage | |||||||
| Notan | |||||||
| Exercises | |||||||
Selection: The first step in seeing is selection—separating a figure (the subject) from the background (ground). Did you first see the white pedestals as figures? If you did, then the dark area served as the ground. But you could also have seen the dark area, which has a similar shape, as the figure. When you do, then the white pedestals become the ground. Figure and ground can change as your attention changes but cannot be seen at the same time. Some writers use the term positive space to describe figure and negative space to describe ground.
American Indian Women
William Henry Jackson
Planned: Notice how Jackson positioned one of the hanging white throws behind the standing woman so that her head and dark hair do not blend into the dark background of the tent. This provides a good separation of figure and ground. He also arranged the group in such a way that the three women form a strong triangular shape with the baby, in a triangular wrap, in the center.
Children
Fatima NeJame
Having these lovely Uzbekistan children positioned in front of an uncluttered background eliminates any distraction. Attention is on the lovely children as they look innocently at the photographer and at us as we view the photograph. The four girls all wear traditional head coverings, and one holds a small purse. The two girls sitting have a somewhat puzzled look. The higher girl on the right smiles and the one at the left simply looks at the camera. The arrangement of the children, with the boy in the front and the four girls staggered behind him in a flat U-shape, works well.
The test of the morality of a society is what it does for its children.
Dietrich Bonnhoeffer
Mother and Daughters
Every photograph has a background. The background in the lower photo does not add much to the composition; neither does the way the two women and girl are arranged, all the same height, with their bodies perpendicular to the camera. In the upper photo, however, the colorful back-round, the bodies of the two women at a slight angle and the position of the three to form a triangle gives vibrancy to the photo.
Renée
Richard D. Zakia
There are times when you may want figure and ground to come together and join as one, as we see in the playful photograph of Renée holding her cluster of balloons. The position and proximity of her head in relation to the two oval pictures on the wall are easily seen as related.
Michael James
Rita Bellingham
Unplanned: Every photograph has a background, which can work with or against the intended subject. The background can be very carefully planed and set up or just be there and used without much thought. Here we see a young boy intently look at the running water on his feet. Not an unusual photograph until one notices that box of “Miracle-Gro” in the background and makes a humorous connection. This photograph is proof that great-grandmothers with a digital camera can take some interesting and unexpected photographs.
I have found that the best way to give advice to your children is to find out what they want and then advise them to do it.
Harry S Truman
A Three-Point Basket
David A. Page
Photographing sporting events that have fast action requires a quick response, as one has only an instant to capture the peak action. This photograph not only captures the moment but also the composition of a skewed triangle, anchored by the basketball at the apex. Notice that just behind the ball is a camera on a tripod, which forms a triangle that complements the player’s triangle. Figure and ground connect.
Bangkok
Fatima NeJame
Sometimes a cluttered background is helpful by providing a context for the main subject, the woman in the boat, as she paddles away with the purchases she has just made. The rich back-round provides a colorful, varied, and interesting surround. It is important, however, that the main subject be dominant over the important but secondary surround. Figure and ground support each other very well. If the background were plain, the photograph of the woman in the boat could be ambiguous and subject to mistaken interpretation. One is invited to spend time with the photograph and learn something about how people in this part of the world live.
No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.
Booker T. Washington
Bluebird
David A. Page
A long telephoto lens was used to capture this female bluebird. Because telephoto lenses have a shallow depth of field, the background is out of focus, giving full attention to the bird.
The moment a little boy is concerned with which is a jay and which is a bluebird, he can no longer see the birds or hear them sing.
Eric Berne
Before the Parade
Barry Myers
Figure and Ground Compete: When photographing a person in a crowd, one does not have the luxury of selecting a background. Most important is the capture of the intended subject at the moment of greatest interest, as we see here. The figure in the foreground is captivating, with her joyful smile and slightly tilted head. Unfortunately, other members of the band in the background have the same dress and color, which can draw the eye away from the main subject. Fortunately, the depth of field is shallow, causing them to be out of focus and to therefore draw less attention.
Dookie V
David A. Page
In this full-frame image, famous basketball commentator Dick Vitale is given a ride in the student section of Duke’s Cameron Indoor Stadium before a big game. The field of blue painted students almost hides a perpetually smiling Vitale as cameras, video cameras, and cell phones record the action from a low vantage point. The viewer is first presented with a mild visual problem: finding the subject, who is the focal point, amongst the clutter of blue and white bodies. The students then become secondary to the iconic sports figure, as he is found in this “where’s Waldo”–style image. After sharing Vitale’s joy, the details of the crowd attract attention; the viewer sees the many individual reactions to the focal point and the students display their individual personalities in dress and face paintings, yet remain secondary to the main subject. The action determines this composition. Careful consideration, and including the cameramen and excluding the adults in the stand above the rail, was an on-the-spot compositional decision, which in the first case supported the action and in the second would have been a distraction if included in the shot.
Untitled
U.S. Marine Corp
Camouflage: As you look at this photograph, you are probably puzzled as to what is hidden in that field of tall growth. Your eye will scan back and forth, up and down, trying to pick up a clue, trying to separate figure from ground. As you have no idea what you are looking for, the task is difficult. Knowing that it is a camouflaged photograph is not of much help, for it reveals nothing except that something is hidden. If the photograph were captioned “Sniper,” it would help direct your attention. And if you noticed the opening of a gun barrel at the lower left of the photograph, it would assist you in identifying a well-camouflaged sniper.
Harlequin, cubism and military camouflage had joined hands. The point they had in common was the disruption of their exterior form in a desire to change their too easily recognized identity.
Roland Penrose
Ferns
David Page
This is another camouflaged photograph in which something blends with the background. The title “Ferns” is a decoy calling attention to them and not to what is hiding. The short blue column to the upper left and the partial tree trunk to the right are easily seen. Not knowing what to look for increases the difficulty of seeing what is hiding.
Had the caption of the photograph been “Lizard in Hiding,” you would have instantly searched for him. Finding him, however, will still take time, for he is well hidden and belongs in such an environment—nature’s way of protection. To help you in your search: he’s in the lower-left quadrant of the photo and his face and tail are visible. When something is similar in color, shape, and size, as is the small lizard, it is quite difficult to separate it from ground and see it as figure.
Flowers and Shadows
Vicki H. Wilson
Strong cast shadows in a photograph such as this can be captivating, as they compete with the flowers for attention. One can chose to see flowers or shadows as figure. Both tend to draw attenion. The viewer is invited to flip back and forth between one.
Notan No. 3
Vicki H. Wilson
Notan: The importance of negative space (ground) being seen as having shape and being harmonious with shapes in positive space (figure) is an example of Notan. In a black-and-white photograph, as we see here, the negative space is sufficiently enclosed that it can be seen as having shape. Neither figure or ground are dominant; they balance each other.
Notan No. 3 is a cast reflection and shadow on the wall from sunlight passing through a crystal vase (lower portion of the image) sitting on a glass-top table and carved table base (top portion of the image). The original exposure is cropped slightly and then converted to black and white. The contrast was increased to the maximum to emphasize an almost even distribution of negative and positive spaces. Some famous corporate logos are examples of Notan; another example is the familiar Chinese yin-yang symbol of Taoism.
Related masses of dark and light [Notan] can convey an impression of beauty entirely independent of meaning.
Arthur Wesley Dow
EXERCISES
Looking
Paul Strand’s 1916 photograph Abstractions, Porch Shadows, Twin Lakes, Connecticut is an interesting pattern of linear and curved shapes. It is also a study in the changing figure–ground and black-and-white rectangular shapes. His earlier photograph The White Fence, Port Kent, New York, 1915 is another example of figure–ground at work. One first sees the white contoured boards as figure, but can shift attention to the black spaces in between, which have similar contours to its surroundings. The effect is like the figure–ground photograph by Irving Pobboravsky seen at the beginning of this section.
Photo 1. The White Fence, Port Kent, New York, 1915. Paul Strand.
Photo 1b. Abstractions, Porch Shadows, Connecticut, 1916. Paul Strand.
Look at this familiar FedEx logo and notice how the white negative space in the red area becomes an arrow when you attend to it as figure. In the blue area notice the white area in the letter d and the letter e. If you form a closure on the white area in the letter e, it will echo the white shape in the letter d. Much thought goes into designs, in which figure ground plays an important role.
Google Aaron Siskind and study some of his abstract expressionist photographs titled “Chicago”. Observe the harmonious relationship between figure and ground between the black shapes and the white shapes, a wonderul example of Notan (see page 66).
Photographing
1. Create a photograph that cleverly plays figure against ground, photos that can challenge our way of seeing. You may want to begin by photographing the work of designers and how they arrange figure (positive space) and ground (negative space) to create a well-balanced design. Photograph some hubcaps on cars that interest you and study the relationship in how figure and ground work together and do not compete.
2. Practice patience. Find a subject that interest you and use it as a background for someone or something to enter the scene, thereby increasing the interest. Catching the blue motorcycle and rider as he passed was the result of waiting and a bit of luck.
Photo 2. Colorful Country Store.
Richard D. Zakia.
While there is perhaps a province in which the photograph can tell us nothing more than what we see with our own eyes, there is another in which it proves to us how little our eyes permit us to see.
Dorothea Lange