During my preparation of this assessment I have tried to vary the locations, subjects and photographic approach as much as possible. I have found it quite hard to choose pictures for the categories, and some photographs that I took (with the category in mind) I have abandoned altogether. I find that I am quite critical with my work, but if I ignored all photographs that I found fault with I would have no work to submit.
The pairings that I have chosen to represent are:
Smooth - Rough
Many - Few
High - Low
Light - Dark
Strong - Weak
Straight - Curved
Diagonal - Rounded
Large - Small
Still - Moving (as a combined contrast)
Smooth
A box of marbles, smooth to touch. Smooth shadows and a shallow depth of field to soften the image.
Rough
The bark of a Stone Pine. Rough in texture with large plates of bark and depth in the creases.
Many
Many windows. Many buildings. Nothing is in short supply and built to the grandest of scales. The towers of Canary Wharf dominates the London skyline.
Few
Few buildings with few windows. A lonely coastal location situated at Lee Over Sands. A small collection of building in a wildlife reserve.
Few buildings with few windows. A lonely coastal location situated at Lee Over Sands. A small collection of building in a wildlife reserve.
High
High tide at Brightlingsea. The sea covering the promenade with a lighthouse in the background. This is the sight of a paddling pool that is replenished every high tide.
Low
Underground station concourse at Canary Wharf.
Light
Having just read "Light Science and Magic. An Introduction to Photographic Lighting (3rd edition) by Hunter, F" I had to try a simple light setup. A White background and a glass surface to reflect off.
Dark
Big Ben at just as the sun had set. A bit of a tourist photo I admit. A long exposure at night capturing a bus light trail.
Strong
A WW2 Pillbox used as anti-invasion defences. A squat concrete fort that were located at strategic points. With thick walls they were designed to take punishment from incoming enemy fire.
Weak
A daffodil unable to stand for itself, the fragile stem broken with ease. (I found it like this.)
Straight
A straight tunnel with a straight light trail with hundreds of vertical straight lines on the back wall.
Curved
The London Eye. Another tourist image. The curve of the wheel and the curve of the pods taken at a different angle to the normal shot.
Diagonal
Hungerford Bridge with pillars converging at the at top with wire braces to the bridge. The lights on the walkway crossing each other making more diagonal lines.
Rounded
Colchester Zoo seal enclosure. The rounded perspex tunnel allowing viewing from beneath the water.
Large
Shopping at Kingston. A Large shopping centre with a large array of shops. A place my wife often visits.
Small
A small flower. With a shallow depth of field and overshadowed by a tree in the background for perspective.
Still/Moving
A man stood still while the world carries on around him. Two clocks remind us of time, contently moving but often stands still.
Report
Having received my report on Assignment 1, I am generally pleased with all that has been said.
I won't copy the report word for word, only parts that are useful for me to learn from and to show where my mistakes have been made. The report is broken down into:
Overall Comments
Feedback on Assignment
Learning Log
Suggested Reading / Viewing
Targets For Next Assignment
Overall Comments
..."I think the layout of these Contrasts might have worked better with the shots being arranged nest to each other and possibly in the same format they may have been even more effective. Keeping them consistent might further emphasis the differences within the photographs."... ..."On occasions you were shooting with literal differences rather than visual differences - bear in mind we are not necessarily looking at the items themselves but at there qualities."...
During my preparation of this assignment the thought of presenting the images next to each other would have had more impact with the contrasts. The problem that I had was the images that I had selected weren't constantly in the same format ( this was also picked up) and I wished to keep the images selected. The points picked up were considered but as I wasn't sure whether the photographs would be viewed in pairs or as single images I took the option that was easier for me. I should have realised with a title of "contrasts" then the images would have to be viewed next to each other for impact.
Feedback on Assignment
(I have included the images again to save scrolling back to the top of the page.)
Smooth
"You got my interest straight away as I was sure this was going to represent Many - but I like your reasoning for Smooth - you make some extremely apt remarks about both the depth of field and the softness. I would add that the reflections themselves show the item is shiny and therefore smooth. Appropriately the complete opposite applies to Rough and that is self evident why the contrast works so well."
Rough
Many
"Your second offering of Many and Few work extremely well in my eye. Supported by the fact that the first shot is associated with wealth, modernity, cleanliness and urban lifestyle. You have paired this, to great effect, with a seemingly run down small observation post in a rural setting. I thought this was a very good contrast. You could argue that it is One and not Few but that might be being pedantic."
Few
High
"High is only high if you understand the concept of high and low tide and therefore is less effective to me. Would a young child understand? They probably would had you stood next to a lamppost looking up with a wide angle lens so that the perspective and the chosen viewpoint exaggerated the "feeling" of high. Likewise Low could be High because you are looking up. You and I know this is underground because I know the location. But does it "look" low?"
My thinking behind High was that the railing running into the picture is normally associated with a path. It would be to protect people from danger. With no path in sight shoes that the water level is higher than normal. Also in the background the water leaves only a small spit of land for the lighthouse to sit on.
I accept that because I had knowledge of the state of tide at the time of taking the shot may blinker my thought process behind the viewing of the image, and therefor would like to replace it with the following image from the London Eye.
Low
The terms High and Low can only be assessed as a point of view. Taking the picture above as an example... It's high at the top therefore it's low at the bottom. If I were to take a picture from the top of the escalator towards the location of the current viewpoint the previous statement would still be correct. Having said that I do agree with my tutor with the image "Low" as it is the location that is low not the concept of the above image. I would like to replace it with the following image.
Light
"Again, you describe the background and surface as white - for you knew they were intended to be white. However the webpage background is white - your photo is grey. If you really want to sell the concept of Light the elements of the shot should, for the most part, be pale and your subject is actually made up of black outlines and a mid tone liquid. An interesting exercise in lighting but one that (for me) does not visually depict Light. Dark is far more effective because the majority of the image is dark - the darker the image the more successful this photo would be - by definition. It would be best summarised by seeing Dark as a low key shot and Light as a high key shot."
I could not agree more with my tutor on the comments relating to Light. Seeing and thinking of what you see are two different things. I would like to replace the original image with the one below.
Dark
I have adjusted the levels of the image Dark and would replace it with the following.
Strong
"I think Strong and Week would both benefit from some heavy cropping. That way we might see the hard thick walls and infer String and we would focus in on the daffodils heads looking down onto the broken stem laying down. To get the contrast across "visually" it needs to be apparent to the viewer clearly. T think the point Michael Freeman is making on page 47 in the second paragraph - A leadweight may be heavy but does it look heavy and if so, why?... We know weights are heavy but what if they were sprayed yellow..." etc. The best shot works visually and truly conveys the contrast effectively."
In response to the above comments I have cropped Heavy. I believe my tutor would probably wish it to be cropped more, but I think this would change of the whole image totally. I hope a compromise I suitable.
Weak
Straight
"Straight clearly straight (especially if the bike lane is cropped out) because there is nothing else for the viewer to mis interrupt. Curved would be even more "curved" had the light caught the rim of the wheel. In the way Diagonal has the light running down the bridge supports and again in rounded. These are the prominent and obvious focal point in the composition.
Curved
Diagonal
Rounded
Large
"I recignised the Bentall Centre straight away! Because the viewer has a sense of scale - thanks to the people on the lower ground floor, we know it is large. Likewise the scale of the flower is brought out by the low cut grass and the big tree/bush (?) in the background. A good set."
Small
Still/Moving
"You finished the assignment of well by perfectly capturing Movement and Still together. The use of the slow shutter speed visually depicts movement rather than people "frozen" by the fast exposure. Excellent."
When I was planning the submission of this assignment I placed the contrasts in an order that (to me) was the weakest to strongest images and pairings. I am aware why more advice was given for the images in the second quarter of the assignment and understand why my Tutor made the comments that he did. I should have been able to pick up on the points myself.
Learning Log
...."It is good practice if you can clearly show that you have looked at othe photographer's work, visited galleries or exhibitions. You could add a seperate section on your blog perhaps. But I think your reading list is an extremely clever idea!"
Suggested reading / viewing
General Collections to broaden your interest (don't feel you have to buy them all, just select a couple....)"
*20th Century Photography. Taschen
*The Photobook. Phaindon
*50 Photographers you Should Know. Prestel
*Life, The First 50 Years 1936-1986
(All ordered, most read...)
Targets For Next Assignment
..."keep on as you are."
I have enjoyed this first assignment. I have enjoyed learning for me and not just another course for work. (though they will still have to happen).
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