Implied Lines

I have just found out to scan and these photos above were printed on ordinary paper hence the quality of the images are not very good but none the less illustrate implied lines. The first photograph shows the extended line of the shadow of the chain hanging down. This is easier to see on the original image. The second image show an eye-line between the photographer who is holding her camera and her two subjects. Again this is clearer in the original image.

Implied Lines

I have shown in these photographs where I think there are implied lines. I think in the photograph of the matador there are implied curved lines with the movement of the bull, the movement of the matador's cape and the curved line on the ground. I think there are straight implied lines in the other photograph between the horse and man and the two horses and that there is also a curved implied line between the horses.

Curves

The first photograph is of a bicycle shelter at a local station. I think it shows the dynamism of using curves. The second photograph I took for my first assignment to demonstrate a curve . The curved movement in this photograph is smooth and flowing. For the third photograph I spotted a row of houses with this curved architecture which I thought was unusual and interesting. I realise I should have been more careful not to chop off the left hand edge of the curve! However I think this image would also make a good black and white image because of the strong lines in it.

I have also learnt from this exercise that curves give a sense of direction to a photograph and can lead the eye through a photograph. Curves can also be produced by implication.

Diaganols

These photographs demonstrate diagonals. The first photograph of the flower was taken a few years ago but I found it in my collection. I think it clearly demonstrates the dynamism of using diagonals and the strong sense of direction created compared to using horizontal and vertical lines in an image. The photograph of the row of shop illustrates how diagonals used in an image can produce a vanishing point adding depth and distance to the image by leading the viewer's eye through a photograph. I realise from this exercise as mentioned there are few true diagonals but it is easy to create them from a particular viewpoint.

Horizontal and vertical lines

These photographs include some of the photographs I have taken with vertical and horizontal lines.

I understand from this exercise that lines are a key element in adding structure to photographs.

The lines are primarily defined by contrast ie. contrasting colours, light, shape etc

Horizontal lines seem to add stability and a static feel to a photograph as they act as a baseline. Vertical photographs perhaps because of their lack of baseline can add strength and a feeling of movement.

I thought the example in the material using both vertical and horizontal lines in a photograph was very effective and I also like the idea of having a broken horizon which adds a more chaotic feel.

I have also learnt when using vertical and horizontal line as a significant part of a photograph that it is essential they must be straight.

Multiple Points

When using several points the relationship between the points is not so certain. When arranging several objects in a photograph it becomes more difficult deciding on the placement of the objects. The difficulty lies in trying to make an attractive composition which is not static.

In the Photographer's Eye the author mentions that the American Photographer Frederick Sommer stated that "Things come to our awareness in ways that are much more complex than we could arrange" i.e. throwing five pebbles to see how they fall.

I used monopoly pieces to form a still life and removed and added pieces until I got a composition I liked. The composition seemed to work best with the dice in the centre. The objects form a loose circle round the dice. I did find this exercise quite difficult to do maybe because I prefer taking landscapes as opposed to still life photographs.

The relationship between points

I have learnt that adding a second point to an image changes the dynamics of a photograph and the simplicity of the image is lost. The relationship between the two points and which point is dominant then becomes important.

In the first image I have taken I would say that the man in the photograph is definitely more dominant because of his size.

I would say in the second image of the two chairs that neither dominates the image.

In the third image the front weight obviously dominates the image because of its size and position and the eye is also drawn to the blue rope.

Positioning a point

I have taken three photographs in which where is a single point, a haystack, has been placed in different parts of the frame.

I thought I would try the three classes of position mentioned in the exercise, placing a point off centre, to the edge of the frame and in the centre. I like the off centre one best particularly as the point is a haystack which looks like it could roll down the hill. As mentioned in The Photographer's Eye placing a point in the centre of the frame can seem static and therefore a decision has to be made how far off the centre of the frame and in what direction you place the point. This might also be dictated by what else is in the photograph as it is rare to find a completely plain or even background. I think the photograph in the middle doesn't work well as the trees in the background are distracting.

Points

I think the following would make a clear photograph of a point:- a single flower, tree, haystack, building, boat, bird, animal, vehicle, person etc set against a plain background.

I looked through past photographs I have taken and realise that not many of them contain obvious points! The two above however do. I will try in the future to look out for more situations where this applies.

Cropping

As suggested in this exercise I looked at three photographs with a view to cropping them. Two of them are shown here.

I cropped the first photograph shown in this way to emphasize the subject of the photograph - a peaceful river scene taken in the Autumn. I cropped the photos to remove the houses at the top which were a distraction and then balanced the photograph by removing part of the foreground which had no interest in it. I also straightened the image.

In the second photograph I cropped the photograph to remove the house and light shown on the left hand side. I wanted the photograph to be just of the ferry and they were a distraction at the side of it.

Cropping as suggested in this exercise is not a panacea for correcting "bad" shots but is a useful tool nonetheless to remove unwanted objects and distracting detail.

Vertical and horizontal frames

I took numerous photographs in vertical and horizontal formats and have included three pairs of them above.

I tried not to let the restriction of the project make me only consider tall subjects although the vertical format naturally lends itself to tall subjects. An example of this is the photograph above of the standing stones of Callanish on the Isle of Lewis. The vertical format in this case is more dramatic but does however give less context as to where the subject is in relation to the background compared to the horizontal format. I think this could be an advantage or disadvantage depending on the nature of the photograph. The vertical format does allow the photographer to give more prominence to the subject without unwanted elements being included in the photograph.

I did find a tendency, as mentioned in the exercise to position the main weight of the subject in the lower part of the frame as shown above in the photo of the two cottages.

I can see the benefit of trying both formats. It was interesting to read in Michael Freeman's "The Photographers Eye" that we tend to shoot mostly in a horizontal format as that is the way cameras are designed and what is most comfortable for the photographer. He also makes the point that the human vision naturally allows us to see the world in a horizontal way. I will however endeavour to try taking more vertical shoots!

Placing the Horizon

It is evident from this exercise that where the horizon is placed in a photograph has a powerful effect on how the composition of it is viewed. By changing the horizon the entire balance of the photograph appears very different.

I took six photos in Greece, three of which are shown above, considering the different position of the horizon.

The first one with the horizon high in the frame accentuates the foreground detail of the water and pebbles and enhances a sense of distance.

The second one, although breaking the "rule" of two thirds, I think works okay although it does provided a more static photograph and perhaps confuses the viewer as to what part of the photograph to be drawn towards.

The third one obviously give much more prominence to the sky which unfortunately in this case is not particularly interesting. This format would be much better for an image containing a dramatic sky or sunset. Hence it works much better in the bottom picture, which was taken a couple of weeks ago on the isle of Harris in the Scottish Islands, as the sky is much more dramatic.

Update

I am now quite far on in completing my first assignment-at last! It has been difficult for me due to my camera breaking earlier on in the year and my continuing health problems and being away. This has made it impossible to complete a weekly blog.

I had a frustrating day yesterday trying to take photographs. It was a beautiful sunny day and I was driving along country roads and saw some lovely shades of colours in different fields and beautiful skies and silhouetted trees on the horizon and in different fields but it was impossible to stop the car anywhere! I did see one amazingly shaped dead tree that I am determined to go back and find some way of photogrphing!

Today I've order Micheal Freemans "The Photographer's Eye" which I am looking forward to reading and I am also going to renew my suscription to the Digital Photography magazine.

Balance

I understand from this exercise that balance in a photograph can be achieved in many different ways whether it be by the placement or size of the subject or objects in it or by tone or colour etc. I looked at my photographs and some automatically "jumped out " at being being better balanced than other. As mentioned in the course it seemed much easier to find balance in photographs with a simple composition. The photos above I considered to be balanced in different ways and it was useful to sketch the weighing scales.

From reading further on the subject there seems to be varying methods of achieving balance in the composition of photos.

One being how the elements of an image are divided by vertical or horizontal axis.

Another being symmetrical balance i.e. two objects of equal weight are positioned on either side of the vertical dividing line.

The most interesting is using asymmetrical balance. This works on the premise that objects have their own "mass" whether it's size, colour, tone, in focus etc. A well balanced photograph would have the different elements in it arranged in such a way that their "mass or weight" is balanced. One example of the weight of a component in a photogrpah is that objects in focus take precendence over out-of-focus objects.

Focal lengths

I took many photos of this view ranging in focal lengths from 7.4mm to 88.80mm but have only included three here. They were taken on focal lengths of 7.4mm, 15.70mm and 88.80mm respectively. I have learnt from this exercise that shorter focal length lenses have a wider view but less magnification and conversely longer focal length lenses have a narrower field of view but provide higher magnification of the image. The camera lense's focal length therefore makes a huge difference to the angle of view and to the type of photograph produced.

A sequence of composition

I haven't had an opportunity do this exercise so I will need to come back to it later!

Object in different positions in the frame

For this exercise I choose to photograph the bass rock. I took quite a few other photos but have not included them all. I personally like the shot with the rock in the left hand corner as the sky was beautiful and it is a more unusual shot. The rock seems more dramatic set against a large expanse of sky. The one with the rock in the top hand corner, which I haven't included I liked least as the rock looked less dramatic set against a large expanse of sea. I think the photograph with the rock in the middle has little impact. In my opinion the subject and background did not work well together. I have learnt from this exercise that the positioning of the subject can really change the composition of a photograph. I do however realise what is visually appealing can be very subjective.

Fitting the frame to the subject

I choose this gate to photograph as it was accessible from close up and from a distance. This was an interesting exercise as it does show the effectiveness of filling the frame and also moving in even closer only photographing part of a subject. I think this definitely concentrates the eye and reduces the risk of being distracted by foreground or background clutter and I prefer these photos for that reason. Robert Capa, one of the greatest war photographers said "If your photos aren't good enough, you're not close enough". Capa was implying physical "closeness" but today it is easier to get closer because of sophisticated zoom lenses. Cropping photos is also a useful tool to get rid of distracting features in a photograph.