University of Virginia Library

Bad Photo

I am not really certain as to
the purpose of the non-titled
photographs that have been
appearing in "The Cavalier
Daily." If they are scenes from
Charlottesville and vicinity,
that is an excellent idea, but
you should at least tell us
where they are so we can
appreciate their beauties in
their complete surroundings.
If, however, they are
representative of good
photography, your example of
Thursday, February 17, (p. 2)
certainly falls short of your
purpose.

The picture seems
senselessly confused by poor
contrasts and cluttered
architecture. If not for the
occasional glimpse of marble or
of grey highlights the sculpture
would be nothing but a dingy
blob. There are useless
contrasts of light and dark that
do nothing but draw our
attention from the main figure.

The columned rail may start
to lead us towards the figure
group, but this is broken by the
tower carrying us into
meaningless space. The sky acts
as a poor background making
the figures hazier than they
need be.

The figure on the right
suffers the most in this
composition. The area between
his face and the tower is poorly
defined and does nothing to
bring out his features or help
define his purpose. Then as if
enough has not been done to
him already, the photographer
has set it up so that he is
weighed down by the capping
of the tower.

Perhaps this time it is better
that you did not give the
photographer's name. I hope in
the future you will be able to,
willingly.