March of the Sunflowers, Classe, Emilia Romagna

Photograph Copyright ©2013 Loo Yen Yeo. All Rights Reserved.

Concept: Many (implying endless); Cartesian lines (horizontal); Lines (implication); Gestalt (continuity)

Description: It was a balmy summer evening, walking back to Ravenna from the Basilica of Saint Apollinaris in Classe, when I found the road lined with sunflowers. The clear green furrow in a vista of bright yellow petals with the flowers facing the houses in the distance, reminded me of a parade field of troops lined up for inspection.

From a low angle of perspective, chaotic groupings of many things are resolved by the eye into horizontal lines, the groups being joined together by the Gestalt Principle of Continuation. Framing the shot within the field's boundaries makes the flowers seem to extend sideways forever.

Title: March of the Sunflowers

The Bridges of Florence

Photograph Copyright ©2013 Loo Yen Yeo. All Rights Reserved.

Concept: Lines (literal); Lines (implication); Cartesian lines (horizontal); Perspective (linear)

Description: Non-directional light resulting from overcast skies produces a low-contrast scene where the contiguity of shape can be better appreciated i.e. the lines of the bridges are maintained because they are not interrupted by the casting of strong dark shadows, thus emphasising their horizontality. The horizontal lines of the bridges' edges extend into implied lines - the windows of houses on the right river-bank - through Gestalt's Principle of Continuity.

The feeling of calm is reinforced by the ripples, which themselves gain horizontality with increasing distance - a by-product of linear perspective.

Title: Arno Oltrarno

03.04 Cartesian lines - horizontals and verticals

Two types of line - the horizontal and the vertical - deserve special attention, because together they:

• comprise the Cartesian axes on an Euclidean plane (photographs and paintings are generally presented in two dimensions); and
• become the frame of the viewfinder.

Horizontal lines
These are the most comfortable for us to view. This is because our natural field of vision is biased towards:

1. scanning from side-to-side; and
2. perceiving horizontal depth,

as a consequence of the lateral arrangement of our eyes. Horizontal lines convey a sense of stability and calm, of having lower energy, of something coming to rest from the effects of gravity - the properties associated with a base-line. The horizon is the most common horizontal line which we are exposed to.

Vertical lines
There is a higher energy cost for us to perceive in the vertical plane. Scanning from top-to-bottom and perceiving vertical depth often necessitates a tilt of the head: a weighty structure whose stable articulation under gravity consumes not inconsiderable energy. Vertical lines convey a sense of movement, speed and energy: of something falling due to gravity or moving to overcome its effect.

Horizontals and verticals in combination
Horizontal and vertical lines complement each other because they:

• act as natural stops to each other's movements; and
• create balance, of an upright being supported by a baseline.

When using these Cartesian axes, attention must be paid to align them exactly with the image frame, because their easy comparison renders misalignments glaringly obvious.