Paul Outerbridge
Kitchen Table
1921
Soft light is one source coming from the right with strong shadows landing to the left of the eggs and bowl, which cast a semi strong shadow contrast. There is not a huge range of tones. The bowl is clearly in focus but the back edge of the table is not clearly in focus. This is not a deep depth of field but the layout of overlapping bowl and milk container on the table gives it some depth. These are positive organic shaped objects with thin soft straight and slightly curvy lines and the photo has no color. There are slight textures on the egg shells and on the ceramic bowl but the textures are not on the photograph.
The vantage point of the photo is slightly higher than eye level which allows us to see what is in the bowl. A kitchen wall is behind the table. The first thing I notice in this photograph is the ceramic bowl with dark specs and creamy milk in the bowl, which draws my eye to the bottle of milk behind it, and then down to the brown eggs on the table. The visual contrasts are not too strong, they blend in with a monotone look of an old photo with no color. The eggs are repeated arranged differently on the table. The rings around the outside of the bowl are also repeated elements which do contribute to a sense of unity. There is not a large variety of shapes or values. The visual weight seems heaviest on the left and lightest on the right.
A tripod was probably used.
The photo gives me a good, warm and homey feeling of breakfast in the morning. It is telling me breakfast is on its way.