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.