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.