Empire State

The Empire State building in New York City towers and dominates in this photograph. Though a streetlamp and the back of a sign are the foremost objects, the eye is initially captivated by the Empire State building centered in the photograph. It also captures the viewer’s immediate attention as it overshadows the peripheral buildings and looms over its surroundings. The Empire State building is also presented in lighter gray tones than all the surrounding buildings creating a powerful contrast that emphasizes its importance. The prevailing position, upward perspective, and vivid color-contrast emphasize the Empire State building’s significance in the photograph.

The grand physical stature of the Empire State building projects it as the most important object in the photograph. It is presented at a high, upward angle that contributes to its establishment of superiority. The height of the building moves toward a vanishing point at the top of the photograph as windows and features of the building become less defined and less clear closer to the peak.  The base of the Empire State building is large and bulky making the entire image of the building more strong and momentous. The Empire State building also holds a more unique, stacked-box shape than the other buildings which are depicted with completely straight sides and edges. By being completely represented in the photograph, unlike the rest of the buildings which are cut off and incomplete, the Empire State building dwarfs its surroundings and commands attention toward itself.

The unique use of lighter tones in the Empire State building further brings out its focus as it stands out from the dull, darker surrounding buildings. The dominance of the lighter color on the Empire State building is offset by the shadow of another building captured on its lower half. The dark shadow creates a striking contrast to the light color of the Empire State building, making it more remarkable. Similar lighting effects bring into focus details of the building that make it stand out against the other, monotonous buildings. The lighting behind two gargoyles positioned halfway up the Empire State building creates a dark contrast between the gargoyles and the light gray building.  By highlighting the gargoyles through this light, the photograph adds to the Empire State building’s significance by giving it apparent details that are not presented on any other building.  Near the top of the Empire State building, more gargoyles disturb the sleek, vertical climb of the walls and windows. These two sets of gargoyles create a balance between the lower and upper halves of the building.  This distinguishes the Empire State building from the rest of the buildings which are heavily unbalanced because they are not fully represented in the photograph.

The photograph relies heavily on the contrasting blue background in the sky to emphasize the Empire State building’s importance as a focal point. The clouds in the background are uniform throughout like a blanket superimposed behind the buildings. The contrast of the blue sky and white clouds reflects the contrast between the Empire State building and its surrounding buildings.  Just as the light gray Empire State building dominates the photograph despite being outnumbered by the darker buildings, the white clouds rule over an entire blue sky as captured in this photograph.

By incorporating a few figures with color, the photograph shows that the Empire State building is still a more prominent figure simply from its displayed stature even if it is a less vivid gray color. The way the photograph was taken, a cut-off sign in the bottom right corner reveals a blue color and a building in the middle of the left edge shows a light brown construction material.  Those two objects are only a fraction of the image but provide a visual disparity with the rest of the grayscale objects in the photograph.  Even though the eye is drawn instantly to color, the significant perspective and position of the Empire State building help it to capture attention before the color can.

Despite the clear distinction in the photograph between the intended subject and the surroundings, there is a natural nonconformity seen in the windows of all the buildings.  The building in the top left corner, the buildings behind the Empire State building, and the Empire State building itself all have different window views.  Some windows are open while others are closed and some have visible curtains or objects while others are completely empty. Conversely, the building on the right side of the photograph is completely uniform in regard to how the window looks: all closed, sleek, and dark.  However, this is such a minute detail that the building on the right side of the photograph does not take away any focus from the Empire State building which, with the help of visual elements such as subject placement, perspective, and color, remains the integral piece of this photograph.