Project 20 : Horizontal & Vertical Lines

I have enjoyed the "lines" component of "Elements of Design" the most through the course so far. I found no shortage of inspiration for the subjects. I also enjoyed looking through my archives for shots that contained lines as key elements of design. I found the vertical lines more challenging, as it required more thought about the frame (vertical vs horizontal frame) and also the focal length of the lens.
I particularly liked the shot of the snow forest, whereby a horizontal format was used to best display the repeating verticals. I liked the reinforcement of the vertical trees by the pattern of the freshly fallen snow. This shot did not attract much positive critique when posted on a critique website (photosig), as it probably lacked interest in its own right, however I found the scene very pleasing.

Perhaps the most challenging aspect of the project was trying to find a line that wasn't off the standard list of obvious subjects such as tree trunks, horizon etc. One or two of my horizontal lines were slightly more contrived, such as the shot of my son lying down. I still think they contain dominant horizontals, but my husband disagrees. I would like to think this is because my photographer's eye is more developed than his!

Project 19: Multiple Points

In this project, I will attempt one of 3 basic skills of photography, namely to group objects together in such a way that they are linked attractively, in a relationship that is active rather than obvious and static. Creating still life arrangements is something that I do find quite difficult, and tend to approach on a trial and error basis. From my experiences on a photo sharing site, it was clear that some people found this much easier than me.

The first task is to find between 6 & 10 similar sized objects, each compact in shape, using an unfussy but not entirely plain background. I chose coloured marbles displayed against a background of stones, to contrast the smooth coloured spheres against the rough, bland coloured stones. The arrangement I had in mind was a fibonacci spiral, using the brightest marble in the centre to draw the eye into the spiral. I did move some of the background stones to accomodate this. I did not feel that this was a particularly inspiring image, although I think the arrangement does work quite well and the pattern does not look too forced. I think the image is let down because the subject matter lacks interest, and would have perhaps been better using rose petals
or something "prettier".

Project 18: Relationships Between Points

This project required 2 images in which there were 2 isolated objects in the frame. These should be naturally occurring situations. The point is made in the notes that such situations will not be easy to come by. I found this to be definitely true, and this project was much harder to complete than the single point project and the subsequent projects on "lines". I also found the end images a bit disappointing, and they were certainly not the more inspiring images from my catalogue.

The 2 swans were sitting on the ice on a frozen lake. The main difficulty was finding a viewpoint which captured both the swans comfortably in the frame, at sufficient size that they were clearly identifiable. Ideally 2 swans looking in opposite directions may have added sufficient tension to give the image a bit more interest. I feel that both swans are equally dominant for different reasons. The curled up swan attracts attention by virtue of its closer proximity. However the more classic pose of the other swan, and it's implied eye line, make it equally dominant. A diagonal line is created between the swans which does work well in this particular image.

The lighthouse and the virtually full moon was a difficult shot because the moon was at such a height that a wider angle lens was required to fit them both into the frame. However this rendered the moon very small in the frame. However its brightness, and clear identification, means it can hold its own as a point. The lighthouse is more dominant as a point, and another diagonal was created between the 2 points.

The classic close up of 2 eyes creates an image that you just stare back at.

Project 17: Positioning a Point

I found it not totally straightforward to identify new images for this project. I had already taken some "point" images for project 16, however I came up with these three that include a single point. I also wanted to choose images where there was justification for the positioning, which I felt would be difficult in a very simple "point" image such as a balloon in the sky. This project should be cross referenced with project 16 where the positioning is discussed for the "duck" image (a pure single point) and is also apparent for the Robin too.

The only "pure" single point picture is that of the dog in the snow. The placement is obvious. There is sufficient room around the subject in the top left quadrant, and the direction faced by the dog (both body posture and eye line) justify the large empty space in the rest of the frame.



The lighthouse image was a bit of a disappointment as an overall image because of the flat sky & sea, however this actually increased the power of the lighthouse as a single point because there were no other features of interest in the image. The bright white of the lighthouse further enhances it as a "point".

The holly berry stands out as a point by virtue of its colour, shape and sharp focus against the background of leaves. An eccentric close to edge position could be justified because of the lead in lines of the holly leaves.

Project 16 - Defining a Point

In the course notes, a subject qualifies as a point if it is small in the frame and contrasts with its surroundings. This project required me to think of situations which would make a clear photograph of a point. I followed this up by reviewing my catalogue to select examples, as well as looking at the work of others to identify those which contain a point.


1. Situations that would qualify as photos of a point (specific examples as well as generalisation)

1. A bird, in a situation whereby the bird was taken from sufficient distance and focal length to occupy a small part of the frame, and the background contained no other points of interest.
2. A wide angle shot of a beach or open plain landscape such as a field, containing a single person or animal.
3. A high contrast scene whereby only a small part of the image was illuminated with a shaft of light, and that illuminated point was a sufficient point of interest.
4. A flower macro shot, whereby only one small part of the flower was in sharp focus, or perhaps of a strongly contrasting colour.
5. Seascapes containing one small point of interest, such as a surfer, boat or distant island, ideally where the horizon doesn't feature.
   
6. Desert shots. The ones that spring to mind would be a small distant cafe or petrol station in the middle of nowhere. These were the kind of sights I saw in Australia, away from the main cities.
   
7. Lone trees in the mist, again taken from a distance or with a wide angle lens.
8. The ubiquitous single poppy in a field of green.
9. An unremarkable image containing a single small piece of text, for example a sign.
   
10. A distant shot of a single elephant on a Savannah.

The key features that are coming to mind are of a subject that is of sufficient visual interest to hold its own despite only occupying a small part of the frame; along with a background that does not contain any feature to compete with the main subject. In scenarios where the background is not totally plain , lighting or a narrow depth of field can be used to increase the contrast of the point against the background.

2. Some of my photos that contain a point






















3. Review of Other Photos to Identify Those Containing a Point

For this part of the project, I reviewed works contained in the book "Masters of Photography" by Reuel Golden, published by Carlton in 2008. My initial thoughts were that photos that were included within this book did not tend to contain points at such, or certainly not a single point, although they were perhaps included along with other design elements in an image. Clearly it does not tend to feature in portrait photography or even reportage photography, however I identified the following images which appeared to contain a point as their main element of design.

1. La Derniere Valse, 14 Juillet by Robert Doisneau (1949) whereby the lighting on the waltzing couple contrasts them strongly with the street background.
2. Bretagne by Jacques-Henri Lartique (1971) - although there are some background details such as a horizon & distant yacht, they are so small as to be indistinct leaving a point composition.

I also identified some of Steve McCurry's Monsoon series (1986) contain survivors shown against the dramatic monsoon background, whereby the composition is in the form of a point.

I expect that such point compositions are common in wildlife photography and a review of the book "Planet Earth" by Alastair Fothergill showed it to be rich in point compositions. Examples of polar bears against an arctic landscape, emperor penguins against a snowstorm, an oryx in the desert and so on.