Contrast, Balance, Hamony.

This is an image of  a Lake Powell sunrise. What really grabbed me was the assumption that the photograph was captured at sunset.  After researching the origin of the image I was able to discover the time of the photo. Being an avid fly-fisher I began to connect the dots  The flat surface of the water is a dead giveaway.  It is much harder to find glass like conditions in the evenings versus mornings. This explains why fisherman are known to leave so early in the morning.

As for relating this image to the Gestalt principles, I would like to begin with the Law of Pragnanz. Upon review, I continuously return to the surface of the water.  At first glance I just see a calm surface. After surveying the image as a whole, I begin to see the paramount importance of the reflection on the water. If you look at the bottom right hand portion of the image you are able to recognize the silhouettes of rock formations on the surrounding shoreline.  Between the formation and reflection an almost perfectly straight line catches the eye. The line almost entirely separates the image into two different panes.  One could interpret the line as being associated either as the Law of Continuity or the Law of Closure.  Personally, I take the separation as the Law of Closure because it creates the contrast between the surface of the water and the stormy sky. Similarity, the lakes surface contains the diverse spectrum of color reflected and mimics the color of the sky. The differences between the two is texture.  The contrasting texture of the sky is linked to the distinct separation of color, where the lake has more of a smooth flow of color.  The reflection on the lakes surfaces appears to slowly merge one shade or color into the next..  The last aspect I noticed were the shrubs in the lake.  These shrubs almost mimic the land features in the background. Upon final review, I began to see four different perspectives.  These are the lake, sky, land, and bush perspective. Each time I reviewed this image my eyes would immediately travel to a different location. This is a part of the reason why I enjoy outdoor photography.  A photographer can use the same location and landscape to create so many different perspectives based on time off day, year, or weather conditions