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.

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.

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.


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.