The picture is filled with fallen yellow leaves, indicating that it was taken on a colorful autumn day. Still dotted with dew, the leaves reflect the morning sunlight in the countryside. A few tiny blades of thistle meekly poke their heads out from under the leaves, leading viewers to take an imaginary breath of the enlivening air along the forest path. It is amid this gentle, natural setting that the photographer’s footsteps dramatically enter.
A glimpse of her eye-catching skirt occupies the lower part of the photo like a mountain. A pair of blue slippers, one in front of the other, point to the upper right of the picture, thus extending the image and cutting it into contrasting spaces. These intriguing elements add a multi-dimensional quality to the composition. From beneath the main element, the fallen yellow leaves, the fiery red skirt erupts like lava, but stops at a cold juncture, the slippers, producing a warm composition. This is similar to the dramatic leap in Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony (Fate) from the slow, hovering decline of the third movement to the exploding chorus. Viewers cannot help but follow the direction of the footsteps to look at the dazzling brightness ahead.
The photograph seems to contain ordinary scenery, but if appreciated carefully it creates a gentle yet powerful energy, shining radiantly and continuously, and clearing all fear and darkness from viewers’ hearts.
One can never tire of viewing this tranquil but dynamic picture.