Nice Tries: Finding Balance in Asymmetry

The photos in Nice Tries represent new experiments in terms of emotion, technique, or form. I’ll try to explain my thought process and interpretation in detail.

Please note that these may not be listed in chronological order.

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This photo was taken inside the Bird’s Nest (National Stadium). The main subjects of the image are part of the complex steel structure of the stadium and the Olympic Tower in the distance. This was my first attempt at:

• Showing a strong contrast between positive and negative space.
• Using asymmetrical elements to balance the weight of the composition.

In post-processing, I used a large number of local adjustment masks. In retrospect, the final effect is quite good and achieves a relatively balanced contrast through the interplay between positive and negative space.

Additionally, from a compositional perspective, the area around the Olympic Tower (the visual center) opens upward. This prevents the image from feeling claustrophobic or intrusive, which is a positive point. However, the content is relatively uninteresting, and some of the outdoor areas appear a bit cluttered.

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This is an experimental photo taken on the Brooklyn Bridge in New York. The three key elements in the frame, from right to left, are the Manhattan Bridge, One Manhattan Square, and a single steel cable from the Brooklyn Bridge.

From the outset, this shot was taken with two specific purposes in mind:

• To use an element with a weak connection to the subject matter to divide the frame and incorporate it into the composition.
• To experiment with a postmodern, “concept-led” expression by placing personal concepts above the landscape (the object) itself.

In post-processing, I treated this photo in black and white to strip away the distraction of color and provide appropriate contrast. My intention here was to give the steel cable enough presence to rival the otherwise mundane subjects of the Manhattan cityscape.

In the final result, this cable not only bears the physical weight of the Brooklyn Bridge but also holds its own against the considerable visual pressure from the viewer. Regarding the interaction with the other primary elements, which symbolize traditional aesthetics, the intervention of the cable as a discordant element also provides a striking sense of power and ample room for interpretation.

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This photo is a candid shot taken at the pier on Liberty Island in New York, while my wife and I were waiting for the ferry to Ellis Island.

Unlike the previous two photos, this one was not a deliberate creation. Instead, it was captured naturally under the influence of the previous two shots (and many further practice shots). The main differences are as follows:

• Compared to the first photo, the visual center here is located entirely in the background.
• Compared to the second photo, the “discordant elements” are more numerous and complex.

In this image, the arrangement of every element serves the overall balance of weight (as should be the case with most photographs). After all, I could not move the wooden pilings, and since I was in a queue at the time, I could not move my own position either. I was limited to zooming and adjusting the camera's orientation. This resulted in the inclusion of incomplete objects on the right and a pure “counterweight” on the left.

Interestingly, the buoy used for “weighting” on the left balances not only the horizontal weight of the frame but also the depth between the foreground and background; it even balances the number of elements in the background between the left and right sides. By the way, it is worth mentioning that I edited out a seagull flying above and to the left of the boat, as it happened to disrupt all the aforementioned balances.

The content itself is not particularly interesting, so I considered the boat, sailing from the bright distance toward the viewer, as the visual center in the background, with the black wooden pilings serving as a foreground that symbolizes a certain status quo or predicament. Through this strong contrast of light and shadow, I hope to evoke a resonance in a sense of hope or expectation. I hope I have succeeded.