TOW #24: Volcano Image

Reading Goals: Find a unique picture
Writing Goals: Smooth transitions

    Even after a horrid disaster, beauty has to come from somewhere. Or, the viewer needs to refocus its viewpoint, and look at the situation in a different way. On November 19th, 2012, a monstrous volcano erupted from Mount Sinabung in Sumatra, shooting a 26,247 foot plume into the atmosphere. This picture was taken after the eruption, focusing on a hibiscus flower that just bloomed around ash covered vegetation. The photographer used rule of thirds arrangement and juxtaposition to portray that light will always shine on dark situations.
   The rule of thirds arrangement is a photography term used when a picture is put on a grid, and the subject falls on one of the intersections of the grid line. In this case, with the hibiscus flower being the subject, it falls on the intersection of the upper left grid lines. This draws the viewer's eyes to the subject, while also being aesthetically pleasing. If the flower was placed randomly anywhere in the picture, the picture may not have caught the viewer's eye as well as this one does. While being drawn to the subject, it makes the viewer notice what is going on in the background and around the picture. The viewer will notice that the flower stands out, creating the whole purpose that because the pretty flower is growing out of the dark ash, it can be inferred that good things will come out of bad situations.
    To also draw the viewer's eye to the photograph, the photographer uses juxtaposition to contrast the two colors: the hot pink flower, and the dark, black ash. The use of the juxtaposition creates a contrast of colors and also draws the eye to the bright pink flower. Because the flower is so bright, this shows the bright, pink, pretty flower coming up from the dark ash. The eruption is a horrible natural disaster to have to happen to a country. This photo represents that even after natural disasters, the earth survives from it and continues to live on, even producing beautiful vegetation right after it. If the viewer were to look at the lower right side only, they would not see the subject portraying the goodness coming out of the situation. This can depict that a person can look at bad situations in different ways, but looking at it in a optimistic way can be the best way.
  I think this photograph achieves its purpose well using the rule of thirds and juxtaposition to contrast the colors in the photo. The purpose includes a good moral that everyone should learn. Goodness can come out of any situation, one just has to look for it.