The Rhythm of Order

Watching the Watched

The rhythm in a series of photographs has tremendous ability to establish a sense of movement.  Robert Frank reflects on his book The Americans, saying how rhythm had to do with "how much movement was in one photograph, how still it was, that it progressed more and more until there was more movement."  In doing so, Sarah Greenbough writes how Frank sought to "create a form" by "establishing a 'distinct and intense order'" so that he could incorporate his opinions (Transforming Destiny into Awareness: The Americans).

This article was pivotal in my realization of the significance in the order of photographs. Each image should guide the viewer into the next, forming some sort of organization. This organization will in turn create the rhythm the photographer originally desired the viewers to experience. As I focused on this, I established a clearer organization to my series.  My theme has evolved into "watching the watched" to reflect how people are always watching one another, even to the extent of not realizing that they are actually being watched as well. This is separated into four sub-themes: framed, looking, distance, and reflection. I then grouped my photos into these categories, while arranging them to try to develop this movement Frank discusses. I tried to create a rhythm that would take the viewer in from a distance to a closer perspective to better observe the subject.  After doing so, I made a magazine through MagCloud to depict my series. Please see my draft before I order the magazine by clicking here.  I rewrote my titles and descriptions to be more simple and to not give away the photograph.  I'm excited to see how this series of photographs continues to grow!