Multiple points

This exercise took the form of laying out multiple points to form a still life. As can be seen from the pictures, first one object was added, then another and so on. The final image has ten objects. It was permitted to change the layout as the objects built up, to keep the arrangement interesting.

A still life with multiple points.

The camera was tripod mounted and aimed at a chopping board. I laid out some garlic just to create a little extra interest without it being too distracting. My objects were pieces of pasta.

I started laying out the pasta pieces one at a time, pausing between each new addition to try and keep the composition interesting. It proved quite difficult to do this and I made a few changes along the way. I think the most successful looking group is around the seven and eight pasta pieces. After this the group becomes to big and I found it difficult not to make it look staged. Less than seven pieces and the composition looks a bit 'empty'.

The lines that relate the objects.

The final composition with all objects in place has some direction and movement. There are two triangles visible with an implied third triangle between them. The pasta pieces also seem for the most part to be pointing towards the edge of the board.






The final two images were just a little experiment to see the layout of the objects if they were allowed to fall naturally. Interesting that the second shot almost seems to form a 'two point' composition.

Objects allowed to fall into random position.

The relationship between points

The following two shots are of naturally occurring subjects that have two points  in the frame. The relationship is now between the two points as opposed to the single point images where the relationship was between the edge of the frame and the point.

The relationship between points 1 & 2

In my image 1, the life belt and the bin, the bin appears as the stronger point. It has more mass and the red colour is a lot brighter than the orange of the life belt. It is a close thing though and you may well find your eyes wandering from the bin to the belt and back again.

In the second photo of the benches, the left hand bench is a lot larger and therefore commands the most attention. It is interesting to note that that in both images you tend to exclude the surrounding picture information. As the course book mentions, two points create an implied 'space' around themselves.

To demonstrate the unresolved tension in a photograph, see the image below. The eyes have been placed equidistant from the centre of the frame. N.B. in this particular shot there may be a slight favouring of the left eye due to the lighting.

Unresolved tension between the left and right eye.

Positioning a point

For this exercise I was required to take three images with a single point in the frame. In these images there should be a reason for positioning the point where I do.

Bicycles

The first photograph is of some bicycles left parked on  the local beach. The cycles have been placed just left of centre about half way up the frame. The reason for this framing is the relationship between the bikes and the other very graphic lines in this shot. The balance is achieved through the point of the wood decking on the right and the bikes on the left. At the same time the bikes stand out as being the most 'irregular' shapes and darkest objects in the frame.

 When we draw a horizontal and vertical line through our point we are able to see that the point implies division. In this particular shot I have also drawn a line through the balancing element. Here we can see that the frame has been 'divided' into three vertical strips, each almost a third of the frame wide.

Life belt

The life belt shot has the point placed near the left hand edge of the frame. The reason for positioning it here, is to balance the bold, eye-catching orange of the life belt with the larger and less dominant building on the right of the frame.

There is also a feeling of 'high' and 'low' or 'diagonally opposite' in the relationship between the left and the right of the frame.

The final photograph of the chap walking along the sea front has him placed just right of centre. The reasoning behind this is to give some space in front of the character, for him to move into. I admit it's not the most interesting of shots!

Old man

All three shots go some way to showing 'movement' and 'division'. In particular I think the image of the life belt shows movement very well. I believe that the colour has also a big part to play in attracting the eye in the first place. This is interesting as there is also a strong diagonal running in from the right of the frame - I think the life belt wins and gets the eye's attention!

I think the bicycle shot is a good example of 'division' within the frame.

Points

In part two of the course we are going to look at, and implement the basic principles of graphic design as used in photography. We start with points.

The point in the context of the photograph is a single isolated subject in the frame which stands out from its background. A common example of this seems to be an image of a single boat surrounded by ocean. It is the positioning of the boat in the frame that affects how the photograph is perceived.

Further ideas to explore would include something on the side of a hill, a duck or swan in a lake, a bird or plane in the sky, the moon, a balloon in the sky, a light on a ceiling, something on an expanse of carpet etc.  Lighting alone could create a point. Imagine the beam of a torch shining onto a plain background or the light of an out of shot window falling in a small area of a clear floor.

In each of the images below the point should be focussing our attention which I think it does.

Some examples of points from my old photographs.

Here is an example of a subject being isolated in the frame but too large to really be called a point. The first image of the aircraft obviously is a point but what about the second?

Point & point or not?

Further examples of points:

Point close to the edge of the frame and point situated near the centre.