Assignment #1: Texture (R)

I believe there are three different categories of Texture images: detail, dramatic and informational.

Images with a dramatic focus use texture as a component of the image. The texture offers a relationship between or among subjects.

“Two Hats”
Dramatic Texture Image
The rough nubs on the grandmother’s hat, along with the uneven brim contrast to the baby’s smooth straw hat with an even brim. The textures are a metaphor for life experience and age.

With informational images, texture offers the viewer a context or helps tell a story.

“Yucca in Bloom”
Informational Texture Image
This textural image offers information: the plant is rough and sharp. I opened up the depth of field to allow leaves to be shown in the background. It is a survivor of a tree that lives in a harsh, dry dessert climate.

For detail images, the key is a focus on particular aspects of a subject that are seen on its surface, without drama. The final image may be abstract. It is not critical that the object be identifiable; though a caption or title can do that.

“Terracotta Planter”
Detailed Texture Image
Here, it is possible to examine the weathering on the clay pot through the closeup details.

My favorite sort of texture image the capture of closeup detail. Tight closeups let me imagine how it would feel to touch what I see. I have noticed that some photographers do a lot of post-processing on their images and superimpose textures–as image layers–onto their images. Presently, I am an image purist. If I don’t see a texture within the original image, I’m not compelled to add one in.