depth of field assignment

The following 6 images are my completed Depth of Field assignment.

With this assignment I wanted to use depth of field to explore a concept I'm calling 'Inside vs Outside' which is related to one of my main concepts I would like to explore called 'Work vs Play'. 

In this set of narrative images I am using the dog wanting to go outside and play with his ball as a metaphor for myself when I am regularly trapped inside working in a dark edit booth, or stuck working inside on my computer at home, when I would rather be outside 'playing'.

I wanted to conceal the ball till the very end with only hints of it hidden in the other images so as to keep the viewer wondering about what the dog is longing for out the window. In the second image I used a very small aperture to intentionally obscure the balls identity as much as possible in the foreground.  I then wanted to keep this framing and and do a complete pull focus to finally reveal the ball in the last image. I think the repetition adds strength to the narrative as well. 

The repetition of composition again in the 1st and 5th shot is there to highlight the different emotional stages the dog moves through...... from hope, interest and desire, through to acceptance, resignation and sadness. When he finally curls up to sleep, his eyes are still open, suggesting he is not peaceful enough to completely rest and sleep as a happy dog would. The same way we can often be lying in bed late at night - tired, but with too many things worrying or plaguing us to turn our minds off completely enough to sleep. In both these images I wanted to fill the frame with the aliveness of the trees and bushes outside and chose an aperture to still allow for some of this detail with the sun glinting in the foliage, but enough not to distract and compete with the main focal point.

The 3rd and 4th shots in the centre of the narrative are designed to draw the viewer further into the dogs emotional state and wonder what he is thinking about. When I am trapped inside, often a coping mechanism is to let my mind wander outside and fantasise about what I would rather be doing instead. So here in the 3rd shot I chose an aperture to focus intently on his eye where we can best see into his thoughts.

The 4th shot is vastly different to the others and is meant to represent his 'daydream'. Here we see the dog engaging in wild ecstatic play, with the ball still partially concealed out of frame to keep the viewer guessing. I love that it is almost hard to make out what the image is and hopefully holds the viewers interest much longer than a more obvious play image. The almost manic movement, along with a lack of focus, high exposure levels and the dog entering and leaving the frame at different angles, is to try and set this image apart from the others, which are much more composed, quiet and restrained, although hopefully still portraying a gentle, sad and poignant tale.

The final shot revealing the ball waiting, lonely, outside in the grass, resolves the mystery of the narrative. I took this image many times over to get just the right amount of depth of field and composition so the viewer can make out the dark and now empty window frame and see that the dog is no longer waiting at the window but has in fact given up.