Exercise: Diagonals.

Diagonal lines are fairly easy to create in a photograph, in the main they depend on viewpoint, camera angle and perspective, this makes diagonals common in photographs.  Take 4 pictures , which use diagonals strongly, also look for examples in the textbook, make notes of them in the learning log.

I had not realised when photographing this scene, how well the image would fit into an exercise about diagonal lines.  I used a wide angle lens, which has emphasized the linear perspective between the graffiti wall and the Liverpool skyline.  I would also have liked to compare  a picture taken with a telephoto lens.  This would have changed the perspective and given the impression the wall and Liverpool were a lot closer together.   I had to use a 16mm wide angle lens, because it was not possible to get farther away from the wall, so a longer lens was out of the question.


Before setting out to take pictures for this exercise I looked through my course book, looking for examples of diagonals.  Apart from the section on diagonal lines, where the images were obvious diagonals.  I found ten other photographs, of which four were linear perspective, four appeared to have been composed diagonally, and one had a definite line because of strong contrast between light and shade.  In the last one the camera had been tilted to one side therefore making a diagonal line.

This is the first of my four pictures, taken with diagonal lines in mind, again it's linear perspective that makes the diagonal, possibly the multiple lines of glazing bars in the roof help give an impression of distance.  I love these Victorian shop canopies, sadly most of the old shops have long gone.  At least most are in use, if only selling second hand furniture and bric-a-brac.  The canopies like the promenade shelters at New Brighton have all been painted and appear to be well maintained, a credit to the local council.

This photograph has a definite diagonal line in it, formed by the rope and continued on by the steel bar running up to the top of the boat.  There is also linear perspective between the bow and stern of the boat, this is not as obvious because I had used a short telephoto lens to take this picture.

This is some detail I photographed on the side of a bridge.  A very simple image of something that caught my eye, the paint runs are proof that the diagonal row of bolts are authentic and show that I have not just tilted the camera.

I was not sure about this image at first, but after looking at it again I'm reasonably happy that the family group, form a diagonal.  Even though the tower block has some strong vertical lines within it, my eye still goes to the people going down the hill.

Point to the Trees.

We have had a couple of days recently when it's been very foggy, so have been out taking advantage of what I think is perfect photographic weather.  I find it difficult taking pictures in the area near where I live, and love it when the fog comes down, it simplifies the landscape so much.  Trees are a favourite subject of mine to photograph, the fog makes it easier to isolate them from distracting backgrounds.

This was taken at Doddington lake, not far from where I live.  It had been very cold for several days, the lake, which is just in front of the trees, had frozen over.

Across the road from the previous picture is the field where I photographed this lone tree!  That statement is not entirely correct, it is only a lone tree when there is thick fog.

The same tree a couple of days later, I've had to go in a lot closer now to isolate it from some other trees in the field.  Because the fog is clearing, the background is now coming into view.  It is no longer a simple image, like the one above.

Project: Lines.

                                                   Horizontal and Vertical lines.

Go out and look for specific examples of lines and photograph them, starting with horizontal and vertical.  Part of the value of this exercise is that it helps you discover appearances and reach some conclusions about how certain design elements come about.  Produce four examples of horizontal and four of vertical lines.  Try to subordinate the content of the picture to the line.

Horizontal Lines:

A great cup of Tea.

Duke street bridge cafe in the heart of Birkenhead docks sells a very good cup of tea, also I believe the breakfasts are the best around, as yet I cannot confirm that, one day maybe!  It's an honest, down to earth, working man's cafe, no frills, no airs and graces, just good grub served with a smile and a friendly word.  When reading my blog you could be forgiven for thinking I'm obsessed with food, it's not true, however taking pictures can be thirsty work and I seem to be drawn to this area of dockland, looking for subject matter for my course

You would think taking photographs of lines would be easy, I did, or at least I did until starting this exercise.  Yes, lines are everywhere  to be seen, white and yellow lines in the road as an example.  So I photographed them, thinking that was what was required for this exercise.

An early attempt at lines.

This photograph is not too bad, it works best in monochrome.  I noticed the lines in the promenade first then  saw the joggers coming so waited for them to come closer before pressing the shutter.  Looking at this image now, the lines are taking the eye out of the picture, which of course is not what was intended.


    Horizontal lines:

This photograph also relies on a line in the road but unlike the one above this has worked much better.  The red line I feel is vital to this image, I've included a copy without the line, for comparison.  The image is helped by the man walking, his jeans, being a similar shade of blue to the car on the left, give balance to the photograph.  This could also be a picture with two points, so would have fitted in the previous assignment.  However as the exercise is about lines, its strength is still the red line in the road.

Something a bit different now, I saw the above in a vehicle breakers yard, close to Birkenhead docks.  As soon as I saw the lines of car doors, all different colours, I felt it fitted perfectly into this exercise.  Although I am drifting away from my theme, the sea, all the photographs have been taken within the area of the Wirral coast.

The line of tyres are hung along the dockside of the West Float, a part of Birkenhead docks.  I feel this photograph fits the criteria for this exercise, but is not very creative.

I saw these people exercising on New Brighton beach, I felt they had a relationship to the wind turbines on the horizon, their movements being very similar to the rotating blades.  This photograph was taken from the promenade, it would have been better had I taken it on the beach, at their level.  Before I could get  down the steps the training session had finished and the line of people broke up.

Vertical lines:

The Light is a new cinema on the sea front at New Brighton, it's part of a large development which I guess the local council are hoping will revitalise this Victorian seaside town.  The early morning light was catching the side of the new building, highlighting the sign and the dark vertical stripe.  The design of this development is in stark contrast to everything else on the seafront, although not obvious from this photograph, the building is almost white so stands out from everything round it.

The Mersey Arms on the corner of Neptune street Birkenhead.

In complete contrast The Mersey Arms could never be described as bright and modern, it has now become a blank canvas for the local graffiti artists.  The Over Lords I must assume are a local gang. Was black the only colour of paint they had?  Or did they intend their art to match the pub's paintwork!  Looking at this image now, it's the graffiti that catches the eye, however when I took the photograph, it was the black pillars that drew my attention.

I saw the reflections in Birkenhead's East Float dock, and thought they might be a good example of  vertical lines.  On the far left can be seen the Anglican cathedral, across the Mersey in Liverpool.  To the right is a building known as the Central Hydraulic Tower, from here the dock gates and lifting bridges were powered.  The last reflection, made by the two dockside cranes completes the picture. I'd like to think the cranes are lined up because the drivers have pride in their job, it has helped this photograph.  There is a diagonal element to the image, which I hadn't noticed until I looked at it on the computer, maybe it would have been better if I'd used it in that exercise.

Me and my shadow.

This is my dog Millie, it was her shadow that caught my eye, I thought of it as a diagonal image but have changed my mind because the vertical lines in the sand seem to be more dominant, so make it suitable for vertical lines.

Aunt Win

Winnie Wood 1943

Winnie Wood (Aunt Win) had her 90th birthday this year.  I say Aunt, she's not really my Auntie, she is the oldest remaining member of my wife's family, a family that took me in readily in the early 70's.

She is, or was the sister of Kath's dad, Jim, until sadly he died just over 7 years ago. Unfortunately she has the early stages of dementia, she lives alone and with luck and some help should continue to do so.  Aunt Win has been more than willing for me to take her photograph, and was one of the subjects in the first assignment of my course.  Like most people she can give the impression of being a bit grumpy, deep down though, she has a warm heart and a lovely smile, just like the picture below.

Aunt Win 2012

Less is More.

 I'm a member of  Nantwich camera club, so thought I would post some of the photographs that I have entered into the club competitions. The first three are entries submitted last October, they did not do as well as I had hoped, the judge was not  impressed at all, so he gave them low marks.  I have to agree, they were no where near as good as I could have submitted.  Photography club judges tend to have their own particular likes and dislikes.  It can sometimes be difficult to make light of  their comments, photography like art is very subjective, it would not do for us all to like the same things.  Having looked at the photographs again  I can now see the weaknesses in them.  I had made the assumption that as they were colourful, they would make a good photo.   With the benefit of hindsight this is seldom true and that, a simple, minimalist image is very often much stronger.

The next two photographs are included as an example of what I mean, less is more.  Both have done well in  previous years club competitions, if only I could come up with images like these more often!!

Blizzard in Kadriorg park.

A winters morning in Shropshire.

The next two photographs were entered in the club competition last November.  I took a lot more care this time and chose better pictures which paid off, as both prints got second place, I seem to have a lot more success with monochrome.

Awaiting First Aid.

Groynes at Cromer.

Our club have an exhibition of members work at the Nantwich museum every year, each member can enter 4 prints.  I have on display two of the above, "Awaiting first aid" and " A winters morning in Shropshire" plus the photographs below of my two dogs.

Benji.

Millie.

Multiple points.

Because the theme I have chosen for this assignment is the sea and or the Wirral coast, and to make life a little easier, also includes dogs and dog walkers.  This meant keeping the exercise within the constraints of the above was not going to be easy.  I came up with the idea of constructing the still life out of beach pebbles on sand.  There were several problems, the nearest beach was an hours drive away, and having  never done still life photography before I guessed it may take some time, also it was January so therefore very cold. Not ideal conditions for setting up a still life.  I had purchased some bags of pebbles for a project in the garden, so all I needed was some sand.  A bag was soon obtained from a local builders merchant, this was spread out on a big tray in my conservatory, problem solved. The following pictures are the result.

The one I got wrong.

This is an example of how easy it is to spend lots of time doing something, only to find it is not exactly what was specified in the instructions of this exercise.  I had used too many objects to make up the still life. Although I had spent quite some time setting up the above, it was not a complete waste of time, as my second attempt was a lot easier to do.  The following is how it should have been done.

Set up a still life, with a background that is unfussy but not entirely plain.  Use between six and ten similar sized objects, each compact in shape. Fix the camera on a tripod, aimed down at the background.  The idea is to control the composition by rearrangement, not by changing the framing with the camera.  Begin by placing one object; make a record of this by taking a photograph.  Then add the second, then the third, and so on; each time take a photograph.  The aim is to produce a final grouping, which is not so obvious as to be boring (avoid regular shapes), but which hangs together visually. This process will take some time, give it proper thought.

When I constructed the first still life, shapes seemed to be obvious fairly quickly.  I don't know if that was because I had taken so long to do it, or if I had subconsciously been trying to make up shapes from the beginning.  When I realized that I had used too many stones in the original composition, I read the instructions more carefully.  I then tried to place the pebbles in as random a way as possible, it was not easy, only having 10 stones to play with.  I wanted the background (the sand) to be smooth, so I could not just throw them down, also there would be the problem of keeping them within the frame of the camera viewfinder.  In any case I had to assemble the still life one piece at a time.  After looking at the above photographs, it is not until image 6, that a clear shape appears, then only by image 10 do more shapes become obvious.  No's 11 and 13 are included to show some minor changes that were made in constructing  this still life, No 14 explains itself, showing the shapes I see within the final composition.  I have enjoyed doing this exercise a lot more than I ever thought possible, and will certainly do more still life.  I find my second attempt,quite pleasing, a work of art maybe!!