Saturday 21 May 2011

Hoppé Portraits - Society, Studio & Street

Well, this week I finally made it to the exhibition - on a Thursday evening during one of the National Portrait Gallery's "Late Shift". Before talking about the exhibition, I would just like to mention the concept of the "Late Shift".  This is the most innovative idea I have come across for a long time.  On Thursday and Friday evenings, the Gallery is open until 9pm, with a bar in the main foyer, a DJ playing some great music (on the day I went) and a variety of other activities.  There is a lovely relaxed atmosphere which really helps in viewing the exhibitions.

The first thing which struck me about the exhibition was how prolific Hoppé was - I imagine that the photographs which were on display were only a part of the main collection.  Some of the photographs were original vintage photographs and some were modern reprints - however this did not detract from the pleasure of viewing them.

So what were my impressions.  Hoppé captured the spirit of the subject, whether the androgynous look of Vaslav Nijinsky (1914) image here, the confidence of a young Margot Fonteyn (1935) see image, taken after her first major performance at the age of 16, or the thoughtfulness of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (1912) see image here. With regard to much of his early work, there is a soft quality in the vintage prints which just could not be reproduced in digital.  This is not just due to the very wide apertures used by Hoppe, but also the materials of the period, such as the gelatin silver prints.

One of the most exciting series of prints in this exhibition, was "street" which was Hoppe's venture into street photography, sometimes using cameras which were hidden inside brown bags with a hole for the lens!  It is, however, a great insight into English and in particular, London, life.  Here were some of my favourite photographs:

British Museum Underground Station (1937) see image here, for me the curves of the tunnel, the positioning of the man looking at the advert and the light pouring in from the end of the tunnel come together just so well that I am constantly drawn to it.

Sandwich Board Man (1945)  see image here  There is a tremendous dignity of the Indian person who was carrying the advertising boards.  Clearly he is on a the street, but the use of the wide aperture and the low positioning of the camera, give the man such great importance.

Tuesday 10 May 2011

Assignment 2: Planning and execution

Well, I have at last arrived at the point where all the exercises and projects which lead up to the assignment have been completed and its time to get going with the assignment.  I have been working up to this in the background and have set myself the task of completing this assignment within the grounds and in the barns, garden, grounds of Cressing Temple as well as some of the activities going on in there.  I feel that doing it this way and basing it around a pretty small area, will be quite challenging and will provide some photo-journalistic feel to the assignment.

Exercise: Rhythms and patterns

Following on from the preceding commentary, is an exercise where the brief asks for at least 2 photographs; to convey rhythm and to show pattern.  I have taken several photographs in my quest to demonstrate this and have chosen two of each as representative.

Rhythm

Barn wall:  ISO 200  105mm f14 1/125
 I have given this image a tight horizontal crop as I feel that this works well and accentuates the design so that the viewer's eye can move from point to point in a rythmical way.  To make this work, I have taken this at a slight angle and compressed the perspective using a telephoto lens setting.  By using f14 as the aperture, I provided sufficient sharpness across the image.  The eye movement is from black post to black post and some lingering with the brickwork framed by the posts.
Mongol bows:  ISO 400  84mm f4  1/60
A pretty "neutral" arrangement of the bows arranged in a tent at a medieval fair.  The angle / curvature of the bows is such that the eye is led across the frame from left to right.  I used the widest aperture available to me on that lens as I wanted to reduce and remove distractions from the background, however this was not entirely successful.  Again, I have used a tight crop to match the flow.

Patterns

Arrows:  ISO 200  65mm  f4  1/1000
 The photograph of the arrows standing vertically in a container has created a significant pattern.  I used a shallow deoth of field to try and add to the abstract quality of this pattern.  A tight crop gives the suggestion that there is more to this pattern than can be seen immediately.  This certainly works for me!

Leather bags:  ISO 200  35mm f5.6  1/125
 This time the pattern is made up of clearly visible and identifiable objects.  They are suspended on a grid and by cropping, the suggestion is that there are more bags to be seen and that the pattern extends beyond the present boundary which I have imposed.  In my view the pattern works with a limited number of objects and the viewer can try to organise them into shapes.

A bit of both?

Footpath:  ISO 200  24mm f16  1/80
Within the walled garden in Cressing Temple, the footpaths are made of this brick, herringbone design.  When I took this shot, the sky had clouded over, so I enhanced this slightly in Lightroom, giving an extra 1/2 stop exposure and moving the left hand side of the histogram until black clipping just occurs.  The effect has been to give greater clarity to the design.

The question is whether this shows rhythm or whether it is a pattern.  I shot this initialy with pattern in mind, however, looking at it on the screen there seems to be more than just a suggestion of flow across the frame, in both directions.  Therefore should this be classified as rhythm?

Project: Rhythm and pattern

Rhythm has been defined in our text as dynamic repetition and pattern as spatial repetition.  What does this mean?  When we want to have the viewer's eye move across the frame or photograph we need to establish a sequence across the photograph which conveys movement.  An example of this from some of my previous photographs could be:

Beach Huts: ISO 200  160mm  f16  1/250
 In the photograph above, I have reproduced it cropped to emphasize the rhythm or movement across the frame.  Even though these are static objects, the differences in colour create a flow across the frame.  This was shot at an optimum aperture to ensure sharpness and good depth of field, whilst still providing a good shutter speed to ensure lack of camera shake.

Pattern is very much static and not neccessarily ordered.  There is no flow so the eye takes in the whole.  Ideally patterns would fit the frame to ensure there is no distraction.  Patterns would also have large numbers of individual items, whether actual items, shapes or patches of colour.

Peacock:  IS0 200  80mm  f5.6  1/125
In the photograph above I have used an old image of a peacock which I have given a tighter crop to emphasize the pattern and to contrast it with the photograph which shows rhythm.  The tight frame also suggests that there is more of the pattern available.

Project: Circles

The text says that circles are less easy to find and they are dependent on real objects.  They are a powerful boundary and carry greater weight of importance compared to other design features.


Ring:  ISO 800 100mm f5.6 1/500
 In the photograph above, despite there being an implicit triangle in the design, whose boundaries are the tree branches, the Gunnera plant on the left and the lake edge, it is the lifebelt which leaps out of the photograph.  I saw this image in precisely that way - unfortunately in my haste I did not consider the camera setting which I had used - an ISO of 800 was unnecessary here.

Red Cabbage Tree:  ISO 200  105mm  f8  1/200
The cabbage on this vegetable stallattracted my attention - even though we have the strong, white core of the cabbage pointing inwards - diagonals - the main design feature to me are the concentric rings provided by the cabbage's own structure.  The shallow depth of field, created by the close up and use of a telephoto setting adds to ensuring that the focus of the viewer's attention is the heart of the cabbage.

Door decorations:  ISO 200  28mm  f9  1/80
I consider this to be an example of an implicit circle which has been created by the "ring" of metal "flowers" arranged on this door.  The eye is not distracted by the shape to the right, it is always led to the centre by virtue of strength of this circular arrangement.  I used a square framing to this image as I felt this was the most appropriate way to present it.  Somehow, circles work well in a square, perhaps because they have, in common, a regularity and tightness of shape.

Project: Rectangles

Rectangles to me are solid frames within which there may be something else.  They reflect the "frame" of a "negative" and are strong at providing structure and order to the image.

To us, frames are typically doors and windows, so there may be a suggestion of something else within.  Use of rectangles and the more specialised form of rectangle, the square, are a design device of splitting the overall frame into parts, the most classic of these being the Golden Section. As a consequence, because this organisation is no longer implicit, rectangles need to be positioned carefully in order to have a well designed image.

Red Door:  ISO 400  35mm  f10  1/125
 The door and window is an architectural rectangle which successfully further sub-divides the frame into into sections.  Here the door is balanced by the white window which is located nearer to the centre of the frame.

Shop in a church:  ISO 2500  90mm f5  1/50
 This rather curious juxtaposition of a goldsmith's shop in the front facade of St Mary's Church at Moorfields caught my eye because it all seems to be contradictory.  However from the design perspective, it is full of rectangles so a useful illustration here.  The top third is a rectangle in itself, bounded by the frame, but also contains the two frescoes which themselves split that rectangle into two parts.  The shop front is split into three main parts - the sign and then the window and the much darker area of the doorway.  The sale signs and other advertising are all in rectangular format as well, though I consider these to be more points of interest rather than part of the main design.

Boxes:  ISO 2500  55mm  f5  1/80
 The streets are full of rectangular shapes - you just cannot get away from them.  Here my eye was caught by the black telephone box which was conveniently bounded by the rectangular pillars.  The background is yet more rectangles - the metal screening and then the building with its windows.  I placed this telephone box centrally to exagerate the mass suggested by the black colour.  It almost seems to act as a pivot for the two stone pillars on either side.

Shopping Mall:  ISO 2500  105mm  f5  1/40
This shopping mall has a concentric rectangular design.  It feels much more enclosing, than if it was rounded, the regularity, almost bellows-like, providing for a very stable structure.  This photograph, and the next one, provide examples of the rectangle as a frame within a frame.  The outer frame of photograph providing the boundary and telling the viewer that there is something within and theen in the case of the mall above, a concentric series of frames leading the viewer through to the end-point.

Palma street:  ISO 640  105mm  f4  1/125
 Hear I framed the side street by using the archway created by the building and the road / pavement in the forground.  A picture within a picture - the outer structure provides a framing for the woman walking past - herself creating a triangular shape, and then the eye being drwn in to the lighter part, through a series of rectangles created by the buildings.

Home decorations:  ISO 800  24mm f5.6  1/25
Here the rectangles are in fact the edges of box shapes which house various shells and other materials to be used in decorating a room.  The edges provide order to the more random shapes contained within.  This is one of the functional design devices, where rectangles provide a sense of order to their contents.

Project: Shapes - Triangles - other examples

I thought at this point to add some more examples of implicit triangles.  It was fun looking for these and the results I wanted to share here.

Triangle 1:  ISO 200  300mm  f16  1/125
 An opportunist photograph above with the children unwittingly creating an implicit triangle.  The rill flowing from a higher lake to the formal lake was stepped enabling them to be at different levels.  The long focal length has flattened the perspective creating a very obvious triangle.

Medieval cloth:  ISO 3200 35mm  f4  1/50
 At this moment, as the seller was organising her rolls of medieval cloth in one of the barns in Cressing Temple two triangles were formed.  A smaller triangle with her head as the apex and the base being the roll of cloth which she is holding and the much large triangle extending from there down to the base of the photograph itself.  The larger triangle being caused through perspective and the use of the wide-angle lens.  The location was at the back of the barn with very little natural light.  I used Auto WB here and have since considered altering this, but did not like the effect of additional blue and the warm colour was much closer to the feeling I had when there.
 
Preparing Onions:  ISO 200  310mm  f5.6  1/2500
 Here the implicit triangle is formed through the arms leading to a point in the onion on the chopping board.  This device helps to focus the viewers attention on the subject which is the action of slicing an onion.  I focused carefully on the fingers and had the aperture fully open in order to have as shallow DOF as possible.

Sunday 8 May 2011

Exercise: Real and implied triangles

The brief is to produce two sets of triangular compositions, one using 'real' triangles, the other making 'implied' triangles.

Real

The triangles:  ISO 200  285mm f5.6 1/400
The above photograph is that of a detail from a medieval uniform as used by re-enactors.  It attracted me due to the triangle within triangle shape.  As this was a flat subject, I used fully open aperture to ensure I had a good shutter speed to ensure sharpness.

Cressing Barn:  ISO 200 16mm f16 1/30
A corner of one of the barns in Cressing Temple was used to illustrate the creation of a triangle through verticals converging towards the top of the frame.  I used an extreme wide angle to exagerate this perspective effect, ensuring that all parts of the photograph were sharp by using a small aperture around the "sweet spot" for the lens.

Cathedral walls:  ISO 100  28mm  f13  1/80
Here I used an inner corner of the cathedral to make an inverted triangle in the sky.  The walls of the building converging outwards enabling this effect to be captured.  In order to exagerate the effect, a wide angle lens was used and a medium aperture, here ensuring sharpness.

Implied


Weights 1:  ISO 400 58mm f6.3 1/40
A quick shot of the weights I use in weighing out ingredients for cooking, the heavieast weight defining the pinnacle of the triangle.

Weights 2:  ISO 400 105mm  f7.1  1/25
Here I have re-arranged the weights inverting the triangle giving the apex at the bottom of the frame.

Colchester Waits:  ISO 3200  35mm  f4.5   1/50
A "Shawm Band" which was performing at the Medieval fair in Cressing Temple agreed to pose for me to help me create triangles.  Here I wanted to create a double triangle, one, inverted, constructed with the faces of the performers and the second, using the face of the seated performer as the apex and then expanding outwards using the feet as the base.

It was quite dark inside the barn, so I used a high ISO and remained on auto colour balance, however I had to tweak it in Lightroom as it was still overly warm.

Project: Shapes - Triangles

The text says that "in theory at least, triangles of one kind or another can be found photographically in many places".  That is at least until you try to find them and they become incredibly elusive! 

Triangles, whether physical or implied, give structure to a photograph and therefore the viewer can clearly see what is intended.  It is equally true whether the photograph is that of fashion or a family portrait.  It could also be a landscape or a still-life.

An exhibition I went to in January of last year had many examples of the use of triangles in some of the most successful or iconic photographs.  The first of these is that of Sienna Miller, photographed for American Vogue in Rome, 2006 by Mario Testino.  It can be seen here. Sienna Miller in her dress creates the triangle.
In the photograph called Friends of the Spanish Press, 1968, by Malik Sidibe, even though the group portrait has 4 subjects, the structure is such that a triangle is formed.  It can be seen here

The photograph, The Qajar Series, 2001 by Shadi Ghadirian, seen here, makes use of an inverted triangle, joining the faces of the two women to the small table below them which is covered by a white table cloth.  As the image is in black and white, the link between the faces and the table is natural.

Don McCullin used triangles in many of his constructs, for example, the photograph of the shell-shocked soldier in Vietnam.

Exercise: Implied Lines

The brief required me to:
  1. look at the two photographs, the bullfighting scene and Threshing Corn in Sicily, and find the implied lines, sketching them for the purpose of the learning log;
  2. perform the same analysis on three of my own photographs; and
  3. take two photographs where the following kinds of implied line lead the eye:
  • an eye-line; and
  • the extension of line or lines to a point.
1.  Text photographs
Bullfight
In the Bullfight scene above the implied lines converge into the centre of the photograph.  There are two lines directly associated with the bull's movement, the eye-line of the matador and the lines constructed through the "sticks" supporting the red "flag".  I have also made use of the curved line traced in the sand to extend into the "stick" held in the matador's left hand.  This adds strongly into the dynamics of the photograph, bringing the focus into the centre.


Gottard Schuh, Threshing Corn in Sicily
The implied lines in Schuh's photograph are primarily eye-lines.  I have constructed these on the photograph above.  The most dynamic of these are the ones from the two horses, which, combined with the angle of their bodies provide a strong perception of their movement in a curve.  This is added to by the feeling that the farm-worker  is at the pivot of this curved movement and this is addressed through his eye-lines leading to the horses' hooves.

The main eye-lines of the lead horse and the farm-worker create a triangle adding a further design element to the photograph, bringing order and structure.

2.  Analysis of own photographs



Wood carver:  ISO 3200 70mm f16 1/30
This photograph of a wood carver in Thailand is a straightforward image.  The eye-line clearly takes us tothe point of what he is doing - carving intricate patterns and sculptures in a block of wood.  The lines of his hands and the motion of his hammer provide further accent as shown by the arrows.  There is also a triangular structure created with the lines of his arm, torso and eye-line.

I was shooting indoors, so had a high ISO setting, but here I also wanted to show some movement if possible, so I used a fairly slow shutter speed.  The downside of this is that the f-stop is higher than I would have wanted, bringing a distracting background more into focus.



Group photo:  ISO 200 300mm f6.3 1/1000
This photo is all about eye-lines.  The girl at the front of the row had taken a group photo from that position.  With the exception of the lady on the right, all the eyelines lead to the camera providing , as well a small inverted triangle of two ladies and the man in the group.  This ensures that the point of interest through these implied lines is the camera.  All of this is further accentuated by the close grouping and the way the hands, arms and shoulders create further lines in the same direction.

The photograph was a candid "street" photo, so I took advantage of the structure as it happened - The aperture was one stop in from fully open - this also ensured I did not suffer from camera shake at this point. 


Black and Orange:  ISO 500  28mm  f3.5  1/60
Another straightforward image.  The Buddha's eyes leading to the orange flowers.  I liked the monochrome look here and kept my aperture wide open as I wanted the accent on the flowers, throwing the Buddha slightly out of focus.  The closeness of the wide-angle lens at this point further brought the flowers to the fore and pushed the Buddha into the background.  The main connection being established through the eye-line.

3.  Newly taken Photographs
Battle:  ISO 200 400mm f5.6  1/1600
 The photograph of the two lady re-enactors at a medieval fair at Castle Hedingham has the eye-lines leading to a point out of frame. This is also supported by their stance.

I was using the lens at its widest aperture as I was keen to throw the distracting background out of focus and also provide a fast shutter speed to freeze the action and, in this case, I also wanted to have no camera shake.

Walled garden:  ISO 200 24mm  f16  1/30
Taken at Cressing Temple, the lines initially established by the bench and the brick flower border on the right are continued into the distance to the tree growing above the wall.

The implied lines are accentuated by using the wide angle lens and, as I wanted to ensure sharpness throughout, I used f16 as my aperture, knowing that this would give me a good DOF.


Saturday 7 May 2011

Project: Using Lines in Composition

Up to this point, we have been examining lines in their own right and how they add to composition.  So:
  • Horizontal lines - these give breadth to a photograph and there is also implied strength and stability;
  • Vertical lines - these naturally provide height, but there is also implicit strength and power;
  • Diagonal lines - these provide strong dynamics and tension.  Through this tension there is drama;
  • Curved lines - like diagonals, these provide movement, however instead of the direct movement associated with diagonals, these are more graceful and smooth and could suggest relaxation.
In the previous exercises, these have been generally complete, however lines can also be implicit.  In other words they may either be incomplete or they can be suggested through movement, direction in which a person, animal or any object which has sight associated with it, is looking. 

The purpose of all of these is to endeavour to convey a story to the viewer, by leading him, using these methods in the direction where you consider the focus of the photograph exists.  Of all of these implied lines, I consider those constructed as a result of where an individual is looking to be the most powerful.  This is so as we have a natural affinity to a person's eyes, or that person's line of sight.

Taking an example, using one of my favourite photographs by Robert Doisneau - Fox Terrier on the Pont des Arts.  This is a rather curious title as the dog, though in the photograph has really very little to do with the photograph.  There is a great number of questions about the artist, the nude he appears to be painting and the extension of the nude in the painting through to the foot which can be seen just past the artist's left knee.  All of this is very important to the construct, but for me, the highlight is the man with the dog and the lines down which he is looking.  We cannot see his eyes, but these lines, or his line of sight, are constructed by interpreting the angle of body and the position of his head.  The big question is, is he simply trying to see the painting on the easel, or is he trying to look around the easel at the nude woman (perhaps) on the bench.  A copy of this photograph can be seen here.

Thursday 5 May 2011

Inverted Triangle!

Reading through the May edition of the Journal of The Royal Photographic Society, I noticed the photograph below, which I felt supremely illustrated one of the design concepts discussed in this part of TAOP, namely that of the inverted triangle.

This photograph by Scott Barbour was the inaugural winner of the Wisden & MCC Cricket Photograph of the Year Award.  The images were all about capturing the the joy, spirit and essence of cricket.  To me, this photograph has great dynamism and the photographer caught the delta or V formation of the team members running towards the bowler at just the perfect moment.  The strength is not just in that, but also in the powerful dynamism of the inverted triangle.


More photographs from this competition can be found at http://www.lords.org/latest-news/news-archive/wisden-photo-of-the-year-2010,34,PS.html

Curiously, or perhaps not, the second-placed photograph of 4 players forming a triangle whilst making an "appeal" is also incredibly powerful.  This underlines how the triangle as a design element is visually so powerful.

Wednesday 4 May 2011

Succesful preparation for Assignment 2

It seems as though I have jumped ahead of myself, but my trip to Cressing Temple proved very fruitful despite there being a very poorly attended antiques and collector's fair in progress.  I believe I have obtained a good set of images which fulfil the criteria for Assignment 2.  The most difficult one to find was an image which demostrated the relationship between two points.  I am not entirely happy with what I have so will revisit that.  Another image which is causing me trouble is that for rhythm.  I have an image, but did not consider my camera settings adequately, so the net result is an image where all of it is not in focus.  That will have to be re-done before submission.

I am planning to go there again next weekend to complete and correct the images.  I noted that there will be a Medieval Fair held there, so there may be good opportunities for some "Street Photography" as well.

I am also re-reading the relevant sections of "The Photographer's Eye" to ensure I have correctly understood the design concepts.

Next weekend is going to be really busy as I am now away from home for the rest of this week, so do not have much opportunity to progress things.

Monday 2 May 2011

Preparing for Assignment 2

I have really got into this section and thoroughly enjoying it.  Looking ahead to Assignment 2 I am considering taking these in and around one Cressing Temple.  Cressing Temple are two barns and a walled Tudor garden. This is one of the most important sites containing traces of the Knights Templar and has a lot of interesting features which I am hoping to use for the assignment.  If nothing else, working in a small area will focus my mind on the task in hand.  I will shortly be visiting Cressing Temple to survey the site and maybe even make use of the fine weather and available time to compile the required set of photographs.

Exercise: Curves

The brief for this exercise is to take 4 photographs which use curves to emphasise movement and direction.  Curves are another form of line and these can take in circles.  Where circles are found, these are more used in the form of a cone where attention is drawn by using a conical perspective.  The photographs below illustrate curves used as a design element.

Benches:  ISO 400 32mm f10 1/80
The benches I found in Colchester town centre - a brilliant design feature by the town planners for a change!  I found that these were visually very powerful, the curve grabbing you and projecting you off the end!  I used a wider angle here to exaggerate the curve and the flow which was repeated by several such benches being lined up along the pavement. 

Castle Hedingham:  ISO 400 190mm f16 1/250
 Here, in a source of much inspiration for me, I found the grass in the moat area, following the line of the moat and directing the viewer to the bridge at the end.  I used a longer focal length to compress the scene sufficiently to give greater value to the bridge and in particular its arches, which themselves suggested circles, thereby giving greater depth into the photograph.


Mansion door:  ISO 200 300mm f8 1/320
In this shot I am experimenting with using a circle to draw the eye to the central object which is the door to the mansion in the grounds at Castle Hedingham.  I am using the trees and shrubs to form a circular window through which the door is being viewed.
Staircase:  ISO 800 16mm f3.2 1/30
Circular staircases are a natural curve which draws the viewer along and, as in this case, up the stairs.  I have, here exaggerated the curves by using the 16mm end of my wide angle lens.  There is strong movement and direction up the stairs taking the viewer to the top left.

Exercise: Diagonals

The brief required 4 photographs demonstrating diagonals in different situations. 

Most diagonals are formed as a consequence of camera angle and perspective.  In addition, I have found that the diagonals are exaggerated with the use of a wide angle lens.  I have seen these aggressive diagonals referred to as "one-point perspective".  One area where this is used today is in architectural drawings.

Researching this further, mostly through Wikipedia, I found that in 1021 a modern optical basis of perspective was given by an Iraqui mathematician named Alhazen.  He explained in his "Book of Optics" that light projects conically into the eye.

By the 14th Century, Rennaisance artists started making use of perspective as the book became available in Italy.  Perspective in art flourished in Italy, particularly in Florence.  At the same time, artists elsewhere were still struggling with the use of perspective in painting.  My examples below are all of one-point perspective.


Castle Hedingham:  ISO 100 24mm f11 1/100

Lake at Castle Hedingham:  ISO 200 28mm f14 1/60


Valdemossa ISO 1600 45mm f6.3 1/25


Colne Valley:  ISO 200 24mm f11 1/160


Sunday 1 May 2011

Exercise: Horizontal and Vertical Lines

The purpose of this exercise is to discover lines and how they appear to the eye and to the camera.  Some of the lines would be clear man-made objects, othere less so, being created by appearance alone.

Horizontal:
ISO 200 67mm f5 1/320
 The rivets on the exposed steam engine boiler created a lot of opportunity and thought.  Even though I deliberately shot this in a vertical format, I feel the pattern created by the rivets is in a horizontal plane.  I believe that this influenced by two things:
1.  the highlight in the upper third which runs horizontally; and
2.  the reinforcement plate which is at the base of photograph.

Of the two, the highlight, to me, has the stronger effect.

ISO 200 28mm f10 1/80
 A man-made landscape at Marks Hall shown above.  There is a walled garden and brickwork forming the bank of the lake.  To me this shouts horizontal lines and there are plenty - doubled in the reflection!

ISO 200 300mm f14 1/200
  Lines created through blocks of colour, though the mist has taken the vibrance away from the sky, however, there are clear lines formed at the division between the blocks of green and yellow.

ISO 200 67mm f8 1/160
 Again, though shot in a vertical format, I feel that here there are strong horizontals formed from the steps which then lead to the apparent platform and bannister railings.

Vertical:
ISO 1600 105mm f10 1/30
 The levers in the signal box provided an opportuntity to have a mass of individual objects lined up tightly with some tightened perspective.  This certainly provides strong verticals, but also diagonals leading into the shot.
ISO 100 105mm f9 1/10
 I was having a bit of fun with purpose.  there were lots of trees in the woodland in the grounds of Marks Hall, but I wanted to accentuate the vertical nature of these Douglas Firs by moving the camera vertically during exposure.  This ends up with a strong vertical feel.

ISO 400 100mm f11 1/250
 I used this photograph previously in the exercise where relationships between points were examined.  Here the lines created in the grass by the lawn-mowers and viewed from a height, provide the vertical lines.

ISO 200 300mm f16 1/125
 A mix of the man-made in the rill which had been constructed joining the ponds at two levels and the opportunistic shot of the youngsters themselves creating shapes and also adding to the vertical lines.  Using the long focal length of 300mm has flattened the perspective and changed the slopes into verticals.

Exercise: Multiple Points

The brief is to set up a still life using 6-10 compact and similar-sized objects and record this as it is built up "one-by-one".

Looking around the house, there seemed to be very little in the way of suitable objects to be used for this, so eventually I decided on some nuts which I duly purchased.  Setting this up definitely proved to be one of the most difficult exercises I have done.  Starting with just the one bolt I struggled to see how it would develop from there and I changed the arrangement around several times.  One of the most dificult design decisions was whether to have this in a compact or an expanded arrangement.

The first Bolt:  ISO 400 105mm f8 0.5 sec

A second bolt is added:  ISO 400 105mm f8 0.4 sec

And the Third...: ISO 400 105mm f8 0.3 sec

Number 4 is added:  ISO 400 105mm f8 0.3 sec

And the 5th - this time a pair treated as one:  ISO 400 105mm f8 0.3 sec

The 6th bolt - a larger one!:  ISO 400 105mm f8 0.4 sec

The 7th movement:  ISO 400 105mm f8 0.4 sec


And the final pair as well as some adjustment:  ISO 400 105mm f8 0.4 sec
I started using pairs of bolts to give the objects greater significance - this helped the "look" of the arrangement.  Finally I looked at the lines which related the objects and found several triangles joing the various bolts together.  This can be seen below:

"triangles"
To me there were several triangles - the primary relationship seemed to be governed by the size of the objects which can be seen joined above.