Contrast, Balance and Harmony

This is a picture that I took during combat training at Fort Dix in New Jersey. The objective of this mission was to navigate a series of obstacles in order to take out a fox hole that had a M2 and a MK 19 grenade launcher in it.

For this assignment I have been asked to explain the concepts of Contrast, balance and harmony as they pertain to this picture.

To begin, I would have to say that out of the three relational characteristics contrast, balance and harmony, I feel that Contrast is the most prominent  concept that we see represented in this picture.

Contrast can be seen in the fore different shades of green represented in this picture. You have the most obvious green color of the smoke, the green color in the uniform the green needles of the pine trees and the green gloves warn by the soldier you see in the upper right and upper left corners. Another great contrast that is present is a contrast between the clear and focused pine needles and the bellowing smoke created from the smoke bomb. When you begin comparing these elements you notice that you can see through the pine needles on the right side of the picture but you cannot see through the bellowing smoke on the left. We get an idea of what is behind the smoke by seeing the pine trees in the upper left corner, but you cannot see them through the smoke.

Balance was achieved in this photo in the dissipating smoke. It gives away to a slightly visible background. This allows the picture to have a realistic feeling. It also allows the picture to be broken up into thirds. Another element of balance, in my opinion, is the other soldier’s leg that is seen through the dissipating smoke. This distributes the weight of the picture that is caused by the offset of the soldier in the forefront. Another way balance is achieved in my opinion is seen in the natural progression of the smoke going from thick and billowing to a slight haze lingering in the air.        One more way Balance is achieved can be seen in the pine trees that are not only represented in the foreground of the picture but also in the back ground of the picture.

Harmony is created by the mixing of the greens. Because the soldier is wearing camouflage, body armor and has his weapon drawn you automatically get the feeling of combat. The thick dark green smoke is an exact contrast to the uniform and thus causing it to pop out at you more than the soldier. Looking at this picture you get a since of what combat might really be like. The soldier who has a mask on that covers their nose and mouth, is running through the smoke or he is avoiding the smoke makes sense to our brain. It’s a natural expectation of combat. There for we do not question what is taking place. If we were to switch out the soldier for a fire fighter you could easily achieve the same element of relativity that exists given the content of the picture.