I chose this photo because of its striking composition and contrasts (both visual and symbolic); I like the play of light and dark and the textures in this Roy DeCarava photograph.

In terms of visuals, I like the bright sunlight and the shadows of a large building that overlay the shadows at the edge of the sidewalk, the light on another building in the upper left corner, the gentle gray shading on the girl’s dress. The diagonal of the main shadow line is not exactly at 45 degrees (it is more horizontal), which elongates the picture and makes it look like the scene is facing us, which lends an aura  of intimacy to the scene that it would not have it it was at a harsh angle from us. I also like how the triangle of light seems to pierce the darkness like a spearhead, bringing with it a beautifully gowned girl. 

In terms of symbolism, this scene offers much texture and nuance. The main subject, the girl, has recently or is about to graduate (as is indicated by the title of the photograph) but is walking directly from light into darkness, an analogy in complete reverse. She is wearing a gown, gloves, and headband reminiscent of a certain princess, but the sign in the background that presumably said “PRINCE” at one point is now falling apart and not offering; There is an advertisement for a “Style Star of an All-Star Line” Chevrolet, which she seems to be looking at, but the only actual means of transportation in the frame is a broken rickshaw. The entire scene has a sort of beautiful sad aura. 

This photograph is compositionally strong due to its observation of the rule of asymmetry (the main human subject, the girl, is off center), the rule of thirds (the girl is in the left vertical third and in the middle horizontal third), the rule of dynamic balance (I find that the distribution of light and dark is very well balanced), and the rule of diagonals (the girl’s head is on a diagonal, as is the black object very near the center of the photo, which I think grounds it all )

In the future (and specifically for Snapshot Day) I want to use more compositional rules like the rule of diagonals and/or golden ratio. Professor Grimaldi’s lecture broadened my horizons to new techniques that I did not know would improve the aesthetics of a frame (i.e. rule of dynamic composition). I love photography (I must have saved three dozen photographs on my search for this one) and now I have tools to create some myself. I especially like the (rule of?) the golden ratio; it is an old technique, even used in paintings (I like the idea that a photograph can look like a painting), and it is difficult to master but improves every picture once applied. I hope I can se it effectively in my own work.