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.

The relationship between points - some more photos

I have been taking so many photos this last weekend for the various exercises in this part of TAOP, that I omitted to consider these two which I shot on Monday.  The first are two windows in the side of a "Post" mill.  It seems that this mill is the smallest remaining Post mill in Essex - it was built in 1756 and is in the rather picturesque village of Finchingfield.  I confess to having a soft spot for mills and maybe see a project brewing around them.  Anyway here is the photograph:




Mill windows:  ISO 200 100mm f18 1/200

Here I find that the lower window is the dominant point, not only because it is slightly larger, but also because I took the photograph at an angle and the weather boards have a slope from right to left, leading the eye to the lower of the two points.



Eagle Owl:  ISO 400 300mm f5.6 1/640

Eagle Owls are my favourite bird of prey and I have been fortunate to have been able to fly them on several occasions.  Here the points are the eyes and quite clearly the left hand point, in the bright area, is dominant.  Having said that, the eyes are extremely dominant in this photo and I have left it as shot - uncropped - hence I consider them valid as points.   

Exercise: The relationship between points

This proved to be a rather challenging exercise.  As noted in the text for this exercise, it is not quite so easy to find normally occuring situations where there are two points.  These were very much "found" situations, though for two of the photographs I did look specifically for that opportunity to arise.

Below, I have provided three such situations and in all three of them there is unequal balance between the points, with one being substantially more dominant than the other.  In two of these, the larger point was dominant, but in the third, the dominance was much more due to the positioning within the frame and also other factors within that frame.



Cows:  ISO 100 47mm f5 1/320

Here the cow is definitely the dominant point, primarily due to size.  The suggested movement and the visual lines draw the eye to the calf, which is the lesser point.


Light spots:  ISO 1600 70mm f7.1 1/100

My visit to Castle Hedingham provided this pairing.  Both of the light spots are in the lighter part of the frame, so the eye is drawn there looking at them equally.  However, there is a difference between the two, and the more "solid" spot of light has become more dominant.  The eye returns to that spot, refusing to linger for long on the lower, split spot.



Picnic:  ISO 400 130mm f5.6 1/1000

Here I found that tight groups of people become points.  I was hoping that this effect would happen, when I viewed the picnic area from a window near the top of the tower at Castle Hedingham.  I found that the group at the top of the frame was initially dominant, however, the lines in the grass seem to act as a pointer to the lower group and it seems difficult to get back to the top group.  The lines provide downward movement in this photograph.  


Exercise: Positioning a point

Following an examination of a number of previously taken photographs, this exercise called for taking three photographs where there is a single point positioned differently in each.  For each photograph I have drawn in the division and the movement on the smaller of the two images.


My submission for this is below:

Daisy:  ISO 200 105mm f7.1 1/125

Here there is strong movement from the much darker area in the bottom right through to the lighter area in the top left where I positioned the daisy (and attendant bee).  The flower is positioned close to the edge and this gives strong movement to the photograph.

Elk:  ISO 400 105mm f4 1/125

Here I positioned the subject centrally in the frame as shown by the division lines.  The elk was a wooden, almost two-dimensional "sculpture" which I came across in the woods at Marks Hall in Essex.  As such I considered that it was apt for the subject, the "point" to be central.  However, there is a secondary frame created by the trees which I have drawn above and this seems to reposition the point to a lower, off-centre position.

Castle window:  ISO 1600  28mm f5.6 1/30

 Taken in Castle Hedingham, this, I consider to be the strongest image of the trio.  A point of light seems to be a very powerful "draw", but also in this photograph this is reinforced or strengthened by the use of the diagonals which lead to the window.  The point is positioned slightly off-centre and this provides the movement and depth to the image.

Project: Points

Points are described as being the most fundamental design element in a photograph.  This ranges from a single point and how it is positioned within the frame through to multiple points and the relationships between them. In the first exercise I am looking at single points as a design element and in the first instance, looking at some of my photographs which I had taken prior to this course.

So, what might constitute a point?  My thoughts on this are that probably anything might constitute a point; its the relationship between the subject and the frame or the "whole" which determines whether something is a point. In the course notes, the example of a stone barn is clearly large, but its the relationship between it the rest of the frame which makes it a "point".

Some easily definable points:

• a "point" source of light - the sun at sunrise or sunset or a light bulb or a church window;
• a point by virtue of colour contrast, where a small part of the image is in a contrasting colour to the rest;
• duck/s in a pond.  There might be multiple objects, but in a close group, which become a point due to the relationship between them and the overall image;
• as in the text, a boat on the sea;
• a detail, such as a keyhole in a door.

I found that the more I thought about this, the wider the scope of the definition of a point.

The project calls for a review of some prior images, so I searched some of my collection and selected the images shown below:


Barcelona Square ISO 200 35mm f20 1/160

In the first of these images which I selected the point is a couple sitting on some steps in the square.  The eye is immediately drawn to the two people, helped also by the diagonals created by the pavement. 



Beach:  ISO 200 50mm f18 1/160

Here I was drawn by the lady in the bright pink blouse with her child.  She stood out for me and this is the image which resulted.  The eye is drawn to the subject and helped again by the tyre marks in the sand which lead the viewers eyes to that point.  Being close to the edge of the frame seems to strengthen that "pull" towards the subject.

Chicago wall:  ISO 400 28mm f9 1/250

 This is a portion of a very large wall - being the side of a typical old Chicago building.  The large poster, which seems small in the image, immediately draws the eye.  Some of the structural detail in the wall is very linear and this helps in drawing the eye to the poster.

Castle chess:  ISO 200 85mm f16 1/160

 Taken in the grounds of Framlingham Castle was this giant chess set.  I had considered several different positions for this, but this one was the most successful.  Even though there is a square patch of grass in the way of the natural eye movement to the chess set, the high contrast black and white of the chess set overcomes that hurdle and provides a strong focus.

Bangkok window cleaners:  ISO 200 300mm f14 1/125

 In this image, the "point" is in the top left and just happens to be at an intersection of different lines in the structure of the building.  The positioning towards the edge of the frame, really seems to draw the eye strongly towards it creating a dynamic in what otherwise would be a pretty static composition.