Lines: Diagonal

Part 2 Elements of Design
Project: Lines
Exercise 2
Aim: Take 4 pictures showing diagonal lines.
          Try to create the diagonal lines in different ways, for example by tilting the camera to show lines at an   angle.

For this exercise, I wanted to include both implied and physically diagonal lines as well as a combination of single and repeated lines in the pictures.
1.

By taking the picture from an acute angle, these hay bales make a diagonal line. Although they are 3 separate points, the eye still sees them as an diagonal line.
2.

This picture was again taken at a slight angle to create the impression of a diagonal line. The track through the field contrasts with the background causing the line  to stand out.
3.

The roof of this building creates a strong diagonal line. The tiles above and vertical lines below it also help to emphasise the diagonal.
4.

The pattern in this fence shows many repeated diagonal lines.

Lines- Horizontal and Vertical

Part 2 Elements of Design
Project: Lines
Exercise 1


Aim: To take 4 pictures with horizontal lines and four of vertical lines.
          Take care not to repeat the same subject for different lines.

Before I started this exercise, I had thought it would be easy to pick out either vertical or horizontal lines in a picture. When I started though it became harder than I imagined to make the distinction between horizontal or vertical. What could be a horizontal line, could just as easily become a vertical line when portrayed at a different angle. For example, I was taking pictures of the road outside my house, intended as a horizontal line, but when I took it from the centre of the road at a high viewpoint, it became vertical. This ambiguity between the angle of the lines, based on how you look at it was both a blessing and a curse. In some ways it made things easier, if I needed a horizontal or vertical line to complete the exercise, I could turn whatever object/scene was being photographed into either, making it easier to get the pictures for both sets. I had wanted to make sure the pictures I used clearly reflected whichever line I had gone for-horizontal or vertical- but as some subjects could be portrayed as either, it became too unclear which I was showing.
1.

2.

I was going to use a road for horizontal but by standing in the middle, the lines were emphasized in a vertical way.

3.

4.

Although there are both horizontal and vertical lines in the picture, the vertical line is much stronger and the thin horizontal lines help to draw the viewers eye to the main point/line.

1.

Probably the most obvious, but the horizon is a very strong horizontal line. The vertical lines in the field below  draws you eye to the horizon and also emphasises the line.

2.

These wooden panels in a fence make nice horizontal lines which are mirrored by the also horizontal grain in the wood.
3.

Horizontal lines in the grill on a car.

4.

Pencils arranged so they form horizontal lines across the frame.

In conclusion, I found this exercise encouraged me to look more for the lines in the picture than the actual subject. Also, I found it interesting that I found vertical lines easier to find than horizontal.

Points: Multiple Points

Part 2 Elements of Design
Project: Points
Exercise 2
Aim: To set up a still life using 6-10 objects of a similar size.
          Take a picture each time an object is added and on the last picture, indicate lines and shapes that connect the objects


I decided to use shells for this exercise as they are all similar in shape and size, but different enough to add interest to the picture. The background I used was an old desk which in hindsight was too distracting with all the marks on it.

1.

2.

3.

I begin to form a rough triangle shape with the shells, with one placed closer to the first shell than the other.

4.

5.

I start to make a curve with the shells. I place the 5th shell closer to the 3rd and 4th ones to make them look closer and separated from the 2nd shell while still keeping the curved line within the picture.

6.

I place the next shell away from the others which I think further emphasises the curved line. This also creates another triangle together with the first and second shell.

7.

The next shell creates a connection with the sixth shell and also to the first and second shell. This makes the triangle less clear but still interesting with the new connections.

8.

The new shell creates a strong line and also emphasises the triangle between the 1st second and sixth shells. The curve also becomes more prominent.

9.

10.

This is the last picture showing the lines that connect the shapes. The blue lines indicate shapes and the red indicates lines. The two main shapes I found were between the main shells that formed a curve around the first shell and the small triangle at the top left of the frame. I think there were different shapes and lines connecting the shells but these are the ones I felt were strongest.

Here is another example using the same set up and objects:

In conclusion, I felt this exercise was important in showing me how the relationships between objects in the frame can be made and broken by moving them even slightly or adding other objects. It also showed me how lines and shapes can be made through actual contact with the objects or implied by the way they are placed within the frame.

Points: Positioning a point

Project- Points
Exercise 1: Positioning a point
Aims: To take 3 photo's each with one point positioned in different parts of the frame
             Compare and note the different effects

In preparation for this project, I took notes on possible subjects, each with one main point in the frame. I have also decided to convert all the images I use for this project to black/white as advised in the introduction. I think it will help me focus more on the points and less on colour or lighting- though both should still be given consideration.
These are my notes for the project:

1. 

This picture shows the subject in the centre of the frame. I would normally try to stay away from positioning the main point in the centre of the frame, but I think for subjects such as this hare or, for example, birds in flight, any other composition would look awkward. 

2.

This image shows the point just off centre which I think gives an interesting and dynamic effect to the image. There is just enough space on the left side to create a pleasing composition but with not too much space as to distract viewers or make the picture unbalanced. The subject is positioned roughly in line with the thirds as I have shown below:

3.

This image of a coin in the lower left side of the frame demonstrates the last extreme of positioning the point: close to the edge. I think this rarely works in a photo which has only one point because there is so much empty space around the subject and seams to throw the photo off balance. This does not mean to say however, that I should completely rule this composition out as it may work better than some of the more commonly used positions. 

In conclusion, I think where you place points in the frame is very important because they essentially guide the viewers eyes to different parts of the picture, and depending on where they are placed, they could make or break the effect the photo has. 

Assignment 1:Contrasts

Assignment 1: Contrasts

The aim of this assignment was to take 8 sets of images which showed contrasts in different ways and one picture with two contrasts.
Initially, I found it very hard to think of appropriate pictures for the assignment, and ended up getting frustrated and left with hardly any ideas. I had to stop and approach the task from a different angle. I started by brainstorming for each category which worked better than simply waiting and hoping to find something that would fit into one of the pairs. This way, It was easier to get ideas for both images in the pair, not just one. Even with this technique, It was still challenging to find subjects for some of the contrasts.

The Contrasts I chose were:
Many/Few
Continuous/Intermittent
Long/short
Much/Little
Pointed/Blunt
Rough/Smooth
Soft/Hard
Straight/Curved
Transparent/Opaque- 1 Image


Many/few

1a. Many.  f/18  2sec  ISO-100

1b. Few.  f/5.6  0.77sec  ISO-100

I decided to stay with the same subject for this pair. For "Many", I scattered the pins and positioned the camera so they filled the frame. I think this better emphasises the point because you don't know exactly how many pins there are, but from what you can see, there are "many". For the "Few" picture, I left 3 pins and positioned the camera a little lower. For both, I used a tripod and light from the nearby window.


Continuous/Intermittent

2a. Continuous.  f/4  1/125  ISO-200

2b. Intermittent.  f/5.6  1/30  ISO-220

Continuous and Intermittent were both unplanned and I wasn't originally going to include this category as after finding the train lines for continuous, I could not find a suitable picture for intermittent. The picture for Continuous was taken from a bridge overlooking railway lines. I immediately thought of Continuous or Straight, but at that point I didn't have Intermittent or Curved. I deliberately left out the horizon line for the railway lines as I felt it better conveyed the sense of the lines running into the distance.  I found it very hard to find a picture for Intermittent, as I really didn't want to go for more obvious subjects like dashed road markings. I converted to black and white because I found the background distracting and I think it also makes you focus more on the raindrops and not through the glass.


Long/ Short

3a.  Long.  f/14  5sec  ISO-100

3b. Short. f/16  1.6 sec  ISO-100

I'm not completely happy with both these pictures, though I'm not sure why.  They were both taken in the same conditions as Many/Few using a tripod and light from the nearby window. I chose to include the ball of string for Long and to have it continuing out of the frame. I cut off the end of the string for Short and took the picture close up and with a wide aperture. I felt this better conveyed "short" as you can see how small the piece of string is, and therefore how short it is.

Much/Little

4a. Much. f/5.3  1/120 ISO-400

4b. Little. f/4.2  1/60  ISO-200

Again, I'm not really happy with these, I think it might be the colour or the angle. I used the same subject and conditions for both pictures. I would have preferred to have used a plain white plate, but at time, I couldn't find one. I wanted to show "much" and "little" as the biscuits before and after they were eaten.

Pointed/Blunt

5a. Pointed.  f/5.3  1/60  ISO-100

5b. Blunt.  f/5.3  1/125  ISO-200

I was originally going to use the "Pointed" picture for "diagonal" but felt it better suited pointed, because after all, forks are sharp and pointed. I thought that crossing the forks and adding the water droplets added more interest to the picture, and used a wide aperture to emphasise the sharp edges. I found these metal traffic bollards and thought they would be ideal to use for my "blunt" picture. I think their bright colour also makes them stand out and you can clearly see their shape against the grey background.

Rough/Smooth


6a. Rough.  f/5.6  1/200  ISO-400

6b. Smooth. f/9  2.5sec  ISO-100

Rough/Smooth was one of the easiest category's I found to get idea's for, though both I think are a bit obvious. I had had the idea of tree bark for "rough" since starting the assignment, so the only problem I had was finding a suitable tree. I was at first going to crop so only the bark was visible, but I think that leaving the green background helps to give some sense of space and scale, even if it's not much. I used a wide aperture to focus on part of the bark to help draw the viewers eye to the rough texture. The picture of the eggs was taken indoors using light from the window. Again, I think the idea is not very original, but I do like how smooth the eggs are, especially in contrast to the bark, so didn't want to pass up the opportunity to use them.

Soft/Hard

7a. Soft.  f/5.6  1/30  ISO-250

7b. Hard.  f/6.3  1/60  ISO-200

I had decided on using a stone wall for "hard"-provided i could find one- but I found it more challenging to find a subject for "soft". I considered using a feather, but didn't have one to hand at the time, so I started thinking about cotton wool and similar objects as being "soft" and fluffy. I didn't chose cotton wool because apart from being plain white, it is fairly shapeless and would have been difficult to make an interesting picture from. So I chose cotton buds, as they at least have some form and would not be just a mass of white. I focused on the front few buds, using a wide aperture to help with the "soft" feel, and making sure to keep some of the colour in between the white ends to separate them. For the "Hard" picture, I travelled to my local town to find stone walls, and after taking a selection of pictures, chose this one to represent "Hard". I like the rough texture and the grass growing on top of it, which makes me think it must be "hard" to support the ground above it.

Straight/Curved

8a. Straight. f/10  1/30  ISO-200

8b. Curved. f/4.5  1/400  ISO-200

Straight and Curved were both unplanned images I took whilst walking around town, originally looking for Rounded and Diagonal objects. The metal cover of a shop front immediately caught my eye as an image for "straight", though now I think it was a bit of an obvious subject to use. I positioned the camera close to the surface to give a more interesting perspective and to draw attention to the lines. I saw the double yellow lines around a mini roundabout and although I had considered finding road lines for "straight", I liked the way they curved smoothly with road, mirrored by the also curving pavement. I was going to keep the picture in colour, but chose to convert to B/W because I found the grass and bushes in the background very distracting. Incidentally, it also made the lines on the road stand out which I think added to the effect of the image. This, I think is my favourite picture in the series.

Transparent/Opaque- Contrast in 1 image

9. Transparent & Opaque. f/10  1/1000  ISO-400
This was the first picture I thought of when planning the assignment, which came as a bit of a surprise to me- I had thought this one would be the hardest to get ideas for! I filled a glass with water then poured a little milk into it. I took pictures at various stages of the mixing liquids and it took a few attempts to get the result I wanted, but in the end I am fairly happy with the picture. I think it could be improved both technically and compositionally but I am still pleased with the effect of the image, and think it appropriately conveys the subject.

In conclusion, I am pleased overall with this assignment, though I still think there is a lot I could improve on. I need to work on the technical side of my photography as well as my creativity and being able to think original ideas, but I'm sure that will come with time as I continue the course. On the other hand, I am starting to think more about the pictures I take, and I'm also experimenting with a wider range of subjects and techniques since starting the course.