GOING IN TO THE PICTURE author style : GOLDEN TOWER
In this third post, we analyse the intrinsic contrast in Ignacio Calleja’s “Golden Tower” picture by first highlighting it’s relevance.
The Relevance of the Picture
The ICON the Eiffel Tower represents, being one of the most photographed structures in the whole world and by consequence one of the most visited, it is by far the pinnacle of what tourism represents to state that, if you are an international accomplished tourist today, you have had to have gone to the Eiffel Tower, lets not make any mistakes here.
Consequently to tower’s “iconic” status, it has to be one of the most referred arquitectural representation when it comes to tourism. This picture that Ignacio Calleja takes is by obvious a representation although what he also tries to make present in his representation of the tower, compared to others, is the COMPLICATED STRUCTURE that the tower has. Not to say that even in the gift shop of the Eiffel Tower itself the figures that they officially sell are not COMPLICATEDLY ACCURATE, and there fore, specifically accurate, they all “reduce the complexity” of the tower’s structure.
GOLD is the material witch the economy today associates consistent indepreciable value to. The reference of the unequivocal income status that one must have to be a tourist, even more an international tourist, is to undoubtably enunciate the understated presumption of intrinsic social value that an individual possesses when having gold, hence the title “Golden Tower” making the allusion of “a different level” or “a different hierarchy” taking the social context in to mind.
The Composition of the Picture
To distinguish the composition first we must highlight that it was done by Ignacio Calleja with the mastery use of a wide angle lens to which, to non expert skilled photographers, the exact location from where this picture was taken is a huge part of the composition to state in the author’s words:
“Working with wide angle lenses is recognizing the environment and locating yourself in the perfect spot for the perfect picture in perfect timing” -Ignacio Calleja
The elements in the composition
The visual statements of the Golgen Tower by Ignacio Calleja make an exemplary use of documentary photography in adding also a fine work in regard to esthetics. In other simpler words it is not only a very explanatory portrait but a very beautiful one.
The parts of the Eiffel Tower’s structure that can be distinguished in the picture are the next:
The base. The stairwell included en each “foot of the tower” is something that not much people take in to account due to the current use of technology that avoids the stairs making it much more tourist-friendly.
The tip, that to be historically accurate was the most consistent argument to let the Eiffel Tower persist in existence by the parisians when it was purposely built for the 1889 World Fair. The tip was used as an antena and that alone was enough for it to withstand respect of its 20 year programed demolition.
The three of three stages. To explain to others that haven’t been there, the main restaurant’s level, the middle merchandising level and the top panoramic viewing level are shown by this same picture. This is quite the esthetic accomplishment since the particular view of these levels in other pictures is done by a much further perspective and again not evidencing the level of complexity that the structure evidences from a point of view with proximity.
The hollowness of the inside of the structure. This by much greater, is the pinnacle valuable accomplishment in the photographic documentation of the structure this picture achieves and the exemplary evidence of mastery put in to practice by Ignacio Calleja. *NOTE (in the next diagrams) the hollowness of the inside of the structure in the color orange
The “Visual Discourse” of the Picture
Is what the picture “says” visually that exceeds the content inside the picture and how that “visual saying” interacts to explain the content. To be more specific in this topic we go further deeper into the analysis of the portrayed reality in the photograph to explain how Ignacio Calleja technically takes deliberate choices to portray this particular structure. Some rules are followed and some rules broken to make consistent “visual arguments” in witch some arguments are purposely left out without any description for your discovery and private enjoyment.
The blue lines mark the absolute horizontal and absolute vertical lines parallel to the frame while the red donut marks the vanishing point and convergence of those lines. *NOTE the hollowness of the inside of the structure in orange
The INTENTIONAL unbalance in the lines
By this FIRST DIAGRAM we distinguish and analyse how the WIDE ANGLE LENSE takes on an expression in the visual statement of the perspective by changing to a far superior corner the conventional vanishing point usually placed in the center and middle of an architectural representation.
When Ignacio Calleja positions the vanishing point (marked by the red donut) at the top left he conveys a visual statement using certain deliberate factors like:
We begin to read the picture from the top left.
The smallest portion divided by the vanishing point (marked with the pink rectangle) is used to draw attention to the reduced size of the TOP of the Eiffel Tower’s structure.
Whilst the counter bigger part (marked with the yellow rectangle), divided by the vanishing point, emphasizes how the BASE of the Eiffel Tower’s structure is bigger taking in to account as well how we finish reading at the bottom right.
The fractal OPPOSITE inverted reflection
In this SECOND DIAGRAM we make a much deeper focus on the precision in the alignment of the vanishing point positioned not only at the top left corner but at the top left quarter of a 3 by 3 grid typically used in esthetic composition. In this small quarter (of the one of nine segments in the 3 by 3 grid) we can observe how the vanishing point is on the opposite inverted side although still conserving a similar position in the corner making it a reflection of the whole and giving it its fractal status.
The top left corner of the 3 by 3 grid is divided in 4 equal quarters with white lines.
