Visual Essay - Perspective

LOCATION #1 - Nappanee Wetlands

Perspective in a wetlands area proves to be more difficult. With trees, shrubberies, cattails, and grass everywhere you look, it’s hard to get any kind of different perspective no matter what you do. So lastly, my final location was taken at an Environmental Center located in Nappanee. It had been years since I had been here, so I was taken aback by the deteriorating and wearing of the fences, signs, and landscape.

In the first two photos, the perspective of the brokenness and frailty of the wood is what gives the viewer such an emotional reaction. For an environmental center, a person normally envisions life and beauty, yet what is pictured in these images is the opposite. The darkness of the images shows a deserting and lifeless place. In the third image, the angle of the camera shooting upwards from the ground, gives off the feeling of superiority and lack of maintenance of the plants. As they tower into the sky, the viewer may start to feel small and insignificant compared to its size. Next, we can see a simple bench in a little shed-like structure that once was filled with hope and romance and seclusion. Now it is dark, dreary and abandoned, and makes the viewer feel that way as well. Finally, the viewer is given a slight ray of hope, as there is a sign of life that is to come; a newly planted tree that may someday add beauty to the abandoned wetlands. The perspective of the tree as it relates to its surroundings, shows an independence, ready to start a new beginning and life to the area.

Visual Essay - Perspective

LOCATION #2 - My Church

Attending a church with nearly 3000 members, it was no challenge to find multiple perspectives. My church has been mistaken for being a college to visitors, and just by looking at the outside, anyone could probably think that. However, by capturing different perspectives of such a large structure, I have allowed the viewer to get lost in the actual size of the church and to see areas of it that are often unseen.

The first image was strategically taken to make my church look fairly small. An ordinary chapel with the steeple would make the viewer seem to be in the presence of a small town small church. The view from the ground adds grandeur to the church, yet allows it to maintain its tiny structure. For anyone who has not been to this church before, they would be unaware that this entrance is one of nearly fifteen that go around the building. The second image is deceiving in comparison to the first, as it shows the monstrosity of the “college”. Taken from the choir member’s perspective on stage, this photo captures the actual size of our main sanctuary, which is only a fraction of the church. This image would often make a viewer seemed overwhelmed with the size of such a church, and for some, they may feel turned off by the impersonal feeling that this atmosphere would give off. The third photo however, is taken of the perspective from the altar of our sanctuary. While the size of the sanctuary in the previous image may seem overwhelming for some, it’s the personal feeling of this image that would take those worries away. This image takes the cross and Bible and shows the importance of them in this perspective. It is more personal, relatable, and inviting for the viewer. Lastly, a perspective of the church that is rarely seen by the congregation is that of the office. This image is taken of me at my desk in one of the three main offices in the church. While people often don’t see behind the scenes, this image allows the viewer to get an uncommon sight of the church realize the importance of each role that goes into every week.

Visual Essay - Perspective

LOCATION #3 - Crossroads

For this location, the perspective didn’t seem to change the mood or mindset of the viewer for the most part. Taken at a familiar crossroad on my drive to school, this intersection doesn’t look too significant. And depending on what you’re focusing on or what direction of the road you are coming from, this intersection may seem even less important or meaningful to your life. However, within the different perspectives, a story is created; a story unknown to me, but all too real for somebody.

The perspective from a driver’s seat isn’t anything new for most of us. Even in this image, the view from this seat seems completely ordinary to us in Indiana. An intersection in the middle of the country is something that we see daily, especially from this perspective, but perhaps it is the ordinary scene of this image that contributes to the lack of emotion or interest of the image. In the second image, the worm’s eye view perspective still does not add interest or bring about many new emotions to the viewer. While its creativity may be intriguing, it’s the leading line that my possibly catch the viewer’s eye. The symmetry of the road has its significance in the image and to the audience, it could simply give the imagery of the symmetrical and grid like patterns of the country roads. The third photo, while at the same intersection, is purposely taken to give the viewer a sense of authority of the law. The dominating stop sign adds a power and ruling to the image that we, as drivers, often seem to take for granted. The vast fields in the background also add to the ordinary country scene that we are so familiar with. Finally, the fourth image, taken of a cross at the same simple intersection, adds the emotional perspective of the location. While a common stop sign, intersection, or country road seems to be a nuisance to us sometimes, we forget the importance and meaning that some of these locations have for people. While I do not know the person or people involved in the death of this intersection, I know that its symbolism can speak volumes in relation to an ordinary intersection by a common and well-traveled road.

Visual Essay - Perspective

LOCATION #4 - 18th Hole at George Wilson Disc Golf Park


In this location, the 18^th hole of a Frisbee golf course located on the outskirts of Mishawaka, I found my perspective changing as my mind and body would have been processing on that final hole. To a disc golfer, the length and location of this hole is enough to cause one’s head to spin. To a viewer who may never have seen or heard of Frisbee golf before, the perspectives of these images can appear exhilarating, challenging, exhausting or celebratory. In the first image, we are simply looking at the worn sign for the last hole. The perspective of this photo, while it is just above eye level, gives an exhilarating and refreshing feeling to the viewer as it veers over the horizon line and city structures in the background. While the first image is taken at eye level, the second image is taken with a worm’s eye perspective. A viewer, or even a disc golf player, may often feel defeated or challenged at this point. This image is taken from the ground of the tee pad, which is, at this point, 600 feet from the basket. There is so much field area that lies between the viewer and their goal, and with that, the perspective from the ground can make them feel small, weak, and incapable of completing the task. The third photo, also taken from a ground perspective, shows the accomplishment of completing the past couple hundred feet of throwing. Though the thrower is still not to the basket, it’s the look back at how far they have come that lifts up their spirits. The idea of having two Frisbees in this image was mostly to allow the viewer to feel as though it was their game to be played. Lastly, the celebratory feeling comes from finally accomplishing 600 feet of land into the basket. The perspective showing both the Frisbee in the basket and the field in the background to which it came across, gives the viewer a sense of accomplishment and relief.

Figure-Ground Relationship

One of the two images that weren't made or taken by me, this image is representing figure-ground relationship. This image represents the relationship between the foreground and the background and how our minds perceive each one together as one image. The subject of the figure-ground relationship is not always clear at first.

Asymmetrical Balance

In a recent game of Candy Land, I captured this image that shows an asymmetrical balance amongst the pieces. A viewer may want to lean to one side to feel like the image is not as heavy.

Cool Colors

Aside from the icicles and winter gear, the cool colors of this image give off a chilly, yet relaxing and soothing feeling. The many tints and shades of blues and purples take up the majority of this photo.