The idea behind this assignment is to incorporate the insights you have learned so far on the course into a set of photographs directed towards one type of subject. You should produce 10-15 photographs, all of a similar subject, which between them will show the following effects:
· Single point dominating the composition.
· Two points.
· Several points in a deliberate shape.
· A combination of vertical and horizontal lines.
· Diagonals.
· Curves.
· Distinct, even if irregular, shapes.
· At least two kinds of implied triangle.
· Rhythm.
· Pattern.
“The vocabulary of design is made up of what we can call graphic elements, the two dimensional forms that appear inside the picture frame.” M. Freeman, The photographer’s Eye, pg 65, 2007.
Preparing for the assignment.
Before starting the assignment I re-read my feedback from assignment one so that I could take into account the points given by my tutor and try and improve.
I decided to choose my own subject of The City of Cambridge which ties in with the one of the subjects we could choose from, “street details”. I picked Cambridge because there is always so much going on, it is very art orientated with so much impressive architecture around the city and particularly at the universities. Every time I visit I always find something I have not noticed before.
I felt as though I was fairly organised before starting the assignment. The exercises which lead up to it had left me feeling well prepared. I had visited a wide variety of places in various conditions, having had to deal with bright sunny days, or quite dull overcast days. I also took my camera off the auto setting which I am pleased about and I intend to record the settings used for each photograph.
Single point dominating the composition.
Photo 001 (28mm s1/200 f/3.7).
It was quite a chilly day and whilst wandering around Cambridge I had been harassed by several different people all trying to get me to go punting. I decided to walk down to the river and see if many people had taken them up on the offer.
My attention was immediately drawn to this man in a punt by himself in an otherwise plain background. It was not until I put this image on my computer that I actually noticed that there is a punt in the background full of people. I have cropped the image slightly but I think the very fact that the nearest punt commanded my attention shows that it dominated the composition. The punt in the background really does fade into the background.
If I was to re take this shot I would makes sure the background had no distractions at all, and even though you can see the water rippling behind the punt I feel it lacks enough movement and appears quite static.
Two points.
Photo 002 (35mm s 1/320 f/4.5).
When I saw these two road signs I immediately thought of the work I had seen by David Rhys Jones at the Hotshots exhibition displayed at Byard Art Gallery. I wanted the line of the wall to be slightly higher than the centre point, showing more of the plain paving slabs in the foreground but also hinting at the building behind as it catches the sunlight. The King’s Parade sign may be slightly nearer to the centre of the image but I feel that the Trumpington Street sign attracts more of the viewer’s attention, mainly down to its size so the left of the frame appears heavier.
I would not normally choose this as something to photograph as it is quite dull, but I like how the eye moves from the stronger point to the weaker point as an implied line connects them both.
Several points in a deliberate shape.
Photo 003 (100mm s 1/320 f/5).
I had originally taken a photo of the coat of arms outside the Guildhall, but once I had loaded the image onto the computer it was actually quite blurred. I revisited to retake the image only to find that it had been covered in what looked like fairy lights and the coat of arms was impossible to see!
I then had a look around the city for something similar to photograph. I took several shots at various universities but I was not happy with the detail shown. I then came across the entrance to Christ’s College. The college grew from God’s House which was founded in 1437 on the land which is occupied by King’s College Chapel. It moved to the current site in 1448 and was renamed Christ’s College in 1505 when it was expanded by Lady Margaret Beaufort, the mother of King Henry VII.
I like the ornate nature shown in the photograph but if I was to re take this shot I would wait until a different time of day as I don’t like how the sun reflects off the left side. Also because of time constraints I had to use this picture which unfortunately shows a car aerial and the options for composition were very limited. I could not stand any nearer because I would have been in the road and no further away as there were railings behind me. I do however feel it shows deliberate shape well particularly as there is a strong implied triangle.
Combination of horizontal and vertical lines.
Photo 004 (70mm s 1/1600 f/8).
I came across this building next to King’s College, I am unsure of its purpose but it looks as though it could be student accommodation. This is one of my favourite photographs. Firstly I like the contrast between the modern looking building on the right and the rather older looking, more traditional building on the left. The stronger horizontal lines draw your attention across to the vertical lines, where the windows are positioned, and then back down the frame again. I shot it in a portrait format to emphasise the height of the building as well as the vertical lines. I felt that it did not suit the overall building and its design to be photographed in a landscape format. I do find the shadow at the bottom a little distracting, so again if I was retaking I could pick another time of day but I am otherwise happy.
Diagonals.
Photo 005 (s 1/320 f/5) and 006 (s 1/400 f/6.4).
Diagonals provide much more movement in an image than horizontals and verticals as well as expressing a sense of direction. I took two photographs for this point. They were both taken in the Grand Arcade shopping centre and were planned shots. I regularly come here and had noticed the roof before. The first shot (005) I positioned myself so that the upper level walkway was diagonal across the frame, accentuated by the camera angle. The criss cross of the roof further demonstrates repeated diagonal lines. I wanted the contrast between the solid walkway and the transparent glass roof.
I then decided to take a second shot (006), this time of the corner of the building where the roof meets the walls. Camera angle has again emphasised the diagonal lines and I definitely prefer this shot as it makes a stronger point. I do like the bright blue sky you can see through the roof, and wonder what it would be like to photograph in the late evening as it is getting dark.
Curves.
Photo 007 (35mm s 1/320 f/4.5).
This shot was also premeditated. I had previously chosen to photograph the Round Church having seen it several times but have never had my camera with me before. The Round Church (the Church of the Holy Sepulchre) was built around 1130 and is one of the oldest buildings in Cambridge. The shape of it is actually based on the original Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem. The church is no longer used as a church and instead displays an exhibition of its history. I chose to photograph the exterior of the church which features two cylindrical levels with round-arched windows and a conical roof. The entrance door shows a round arch with Norman zigzag decorations and three carved capitals. Again I was reminded by David Rhys Jones’s work as he too included the Round Church in his exhibition collection. I took a few shots for this point, one of which I had zoomed in to show the curves of the doorway but I felt it did not do justice to the building. I then took two photos of the building as a whole. I have chosen this one because the continuous nature of the lines was more evident and I have to agree with Freeman when he says, “the progressive quality of a curve gives it a rhythm which straight lines lack” (M.Freeman, The Photographer’s Eye, pg 80, 2007).
Distinct, even if irregular, shapes.
Photo 008 (28mm s 1/320 f/4).
I spent quite a while thinking about this point and it made me want to photograph something that I had never shot before. My train of thought led on to graffiti and I had heard that there was a whole wall of it along one of the main roads towards the city centre. I paid it a visit and found out that the work was completed by Blight Society Art who are a “collective of urban, graffiti and street artists dedicated to changing the public perception of these misunderstood art forms better”. I really like their concept that art can be used to improve public areas and help build communities. This is certainly not a new concept but I have never heard of graffiti being used in this respect. In 2010 they contacted the owner of this building on Newmarket Road for permission to use it. The work took six hours to complete! I photographed just a small section of it. This was my favourite piece because the shapes are so distinct and irregular. Unfortunately there was not really much option for composition as the road behind was so busy and to get my desired shot I would of had to of stood in the middle of it. Maybe I could have stood the other side of the road with the camera on a tripod with a slower shutter speed and used the cars passing as part of the shot? I am happy with this image though, another of my favourites in this assignment.
At least two kinds of implied triangle.
Photo 009 (50mm s 1/640 f/8 )and 010 (s 1/640 f/5.6).
My first example (009) of an implied triangle was not planned I just happened to walk past King’s College. The college is one of 31 in the University of Cambridge and was founded in 1441. As soon as I saw King’s College, I noticed the implied triangle above the entrance. It was such a bright sunny day that I liked the contrast between the stone work and the clear blue sky. The image has been cropped slightly as I wanted to remove the buildings from either side so the sole focus was on the triangle.
My second implied triangle (010) was planned and shows the ceiling of the pedestrian and bicycle walkway at the train station. Unfortunately to get the shot I wanted I couldn’t stand on the pedestrian half of the walkway, I had to stand in the area for bikes. This meant that as I did not want anything to detract from the triangles present, that I had to wait around quite a while for the walkway to become clear and then try and compose my shot quite quickly. I am happy with the image I captured as it shows an inverted implied triangle along the room as well as the floor also showing an implied triangle. As it was a really bright day there is quite a bit of reflection off the roof but this has given either side of the inverted triangle a quite misty quality which I feel makes the triangle stand out more. While I was there I noticed the outside of the walkway also created an implied triangle through its structure. I took a photo of this also but decided not to use it as it seemed quite dull in comparison as much of the frame was just the sky and a few parked cars underneath. I much preferred the shot within the walkway.
Rhythm.
Photo 011 (70mm s 1/320 f/5.6).
When several similar subjects are arranged in a particular scene, it is possible for them to have a certain rhythmic quality about their structure. For rhythm to be evident it is necessary for repetition to be present, although this alone may not be enough. I have driven past this building many times but I have never stopped to properly look at it. I wanted to include it in my Cambridge study as it is the site of where the old Addenbrookes hospital used to be. It is owned by the University of Cambridge and now houses The Cambridge Judge Business School and The Sanger Building which is part of the University of Cambridge Department of Biochemistry. The hospital was founded by John Addenbrooke in 1766 and the first hospital staff only consisted of three physicians, three surgeons, an apothecary, matron and a few nurses. The building still displays the carved inscription indicating its past role.
I have tried to line up the top of the building with the top of the frame. It is a pity that there is part of a tree in the frame as the composition could have been better and appear “cleaner” without it. Because of the car park at the front of the building the windows are not perfectly straight as I was not able to stand where I had wanted. Maybe visiting at another time of day would have meant that it would be less busy. The building really shows rhythm to me, I have also shown it to a friend who pointed out that it reminded him of a four four beat in a piece of music.
Pattern.
Photo 012 ( 35mm s 1/120 f/3) and 013 ( 90mm s 1/40 f/3.7).
I visited the Fitzwilliam Museum which has been described as “one of the greatest art collections of the nation”. Once you walk up the stairs to the entrance and look up you are struck by the great amount of detail that has gone into designing and carving the ceiling. My first attempt at this shot was slightly distorted and I had not lined it up very well. For my second attempt (012) I have managed to line up the borders of the pattern with the base of the frame which still gives the impression of the repetition extending beyond the frame which is very important as “the prime quality of a pattern is that it covers an area, thus the photographs that show the strongest pattern are those in which it extends right to the edges of the frame” (M.Freeman, The Photographer’s Eye, pg 50, 2007).
This is also very true of my next photo (013). Whilst I was at the Fitzwilliam Museum I happened to notice this iron grate on the side of the building which shows curves in a repeated pattern. I really like this image as the curves give a sense of movement from one side of the frame to the other. I do however than that you can see a bit of my reflection in it, as well as part of my background.
Conclusion.
Since completing my assignment I have realised while re reading my manual that I have taken my camera off the auto setting but onto the auto programmed setting. The manual says that while I am adjusting some of the settings myself but it does not always allow you to adjust shutter speed and aperture settings unless it is then in program shift mode. So when I have thought that I am using the dials to make adjustments it probably was not me much of the time. I am incredibly annoyed with myself as I thought that I had achieved a lot more since my last assignment and this is now not the case. My camera is now definitely on the manual setting and I have begun practising. Some of my shots have come out very dark so I must work out why this is happening. I fear the only settings I had control over were obviously the zoom length and exposure which having just practised does have an effect on the shutter speed and aperture so some extent but I am clearly not in as much control as I had hoped.
I have also just started to look at shooting in RAW. This is something that I have avoided as I know very little about it. I had not considered it before as the only thing I did know was that it dramatically increases file space which I immediately viewed as being bad.
I researched the subject some more and found out that RAW means that the data for the photos taken is uncompressed and “raw” data, unlike JPEG, TIFF or PNG files. RAW files of digital photography could be compared in a way to the negatives of photographic film. These files can be opened in photo editing software such as Photoshop and because they are uncompressed, no data has been lost in this process. This means that when editing there is more data to work with.
It also means that you aren’t restricted to the automatic encoding that file formats such as JPEG use. So once a photo has been taken it will encode and destroy the extra data that it does not use, which means that you will never be able to get it back. If you want to crop the image you may then have to stretch the resulting image meaning the software will have to invent data to fill the gaps. This can create distortion and degradation of the final image. If you crop the RAW image none of the data has been destroyed so you can stretch the image more without introducing distortion.
In theory it would be better to work with RAW files for quality and JPEG’s/TIFF’s for ease. As stated before also size is to be considered. An average JPEG file will be around 3.5MB which means on my 1GB I would be able to fit around 290 images. If I was to shoot in RAW exclusively an average image will be around 10MB which means I would only be able to fit around 100 images at a time.
Having taken all of this into consideration I have decided to shoot my next set of projects in RAW in the hope that my photos will be better quality post processing.
I have really enjoyed this assignment as it has pulled all of the projects together creating a running theme which I have realised is important in a set of photos. Also seeing the effect each of these points has on the overall image has made me consider composition more carefully.
Reference.
M.Freeman, The Photographer’s Eye, 2007, Ilex.
