Photographer

Liana Krajc

Finalist in

Lower Secondary Category

Written Statement

The theme ‘texture’ allowed me to think outside the box. I looked a lot closer at my surroundings and found things the blind eye might not notice. Bark became a soft and layered pattern, the log became a puzzle of black bricks, and the hose sign became a rough and gritty warning.

When I took the photos, it had just rained and was quite overcast and gloomy. This was good because it created a sense of darkness and tension in the images making whoever looks at them intimidated by the shadows. With perspective, I tried to make the photos overpowering to the audience. Making black, grey and dark red the main colours in the images was important because the angle in which you look at the colour determines whether the photo will be intimidating to the viewer or make them feel they have the power over the image. The shutter speed of the photos was quite quick (between 1/250 and 1/1000) so that there wasn’t much light. I still wanted depth in the photos, so 1/2000 of a second would be too fast and miss it. I didn’t choose to crop any of the photos, because I liked the proportions of the images and how everything fit together. I also did a bit of editing to the photos in Lightroom Classic and got more depth and texture in them.

My photos explore the theme of ‘texture’ because they show the depth of the refined shapes they are made from. In the photo with the lizard, you can see the crumbly texture of the log. In the photo of the bark, you can see the texture of the layered pieces peeling off the tree. And in the hose sign, you can see the harsh texture of the gritty and scratched metal.