The basis for the assignment is one of the most fundamental principles in design: Contrast
This is not contrast in a restricted, purely phtographic sense, where it means the range of brightness, but contrast between all qualities. Brightness is just one of many, some of them obvious and graphic, such as point/line and straight/curved, others that describe the material of a subject, such as transparent/opaque, and yet others that are less tangible features, such as sweet/sour or loud/soft.
The following photographs are my interpretation of what best expresses the extremes of different contrasts: rough/smooth, straight/curved, diagonal/rounded, few/many, blunt/pointed, moving/still, soft/hard, small/large, the final photograph in this selection show two contrasts in one photograph curved/straight.
Showing posts with label Assignment 1: Contrasts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Assignment 1: Contrasts. Show all posts
Wednesday, 11 January 2012
Rough
Tree bark - this photo was taken in the grounds of the Staunton Harold Estate, with the light casting just enough shadow to show the depth of the bark. I wanted the whole frame in focus so kept the aperture at f8.0 1/160
Tutor feedback
Rough/smooth work well as a pair and as individual images. You have chosen a day with good lighting conditions to shoot the rough bark image. The side lighting generates the shadows that give the feeling of relief and texture. You have wisely chosen a reasonable aperture and shutter speed to keep the image sharp. Filling the frame as you have concentrates the eye on the bark but also, in an odd way, makes the image rather two dimensional to my mind (in spite of the good lighting) and lacking in reference points to how you normally 'see' a tree trunk that is the cause. There is little indication of size - is the trunk 5 or 6 feet across, bigger or smaller than this? Does it matter and impact on the feeling of roughness? Would it have been better to have included a branch coming out of the bark?
Tutor feedback
Rough/smooth work well as a pair and as individual images. You have chosen a day with good lighting conditions to shoot the rough bark image. The side lighting generates the shadows that give the feeling of relief and texture. You have wisely chosen a reasonable aperture and shutter speed to keep the image sharp. Filling the frame as you have concentrates the eye on the bark but also, in an odd way, makes the image rather two dimensional to my mind (in spite of the good lighting) and lacking in reference points to how you normally 'see' a tree trunk that is the cause. There is little indication of size - is the trunk 5 or 6 feet across, bigger or smaller than this? Does it matter and impact on the feeling of roughness? Would it have been better to have included a branch coming out of the bark?
Smooth
Sugard almonds - Several versions of my 'smooth' photo were taken, I tried a white background, dark background, throwing in a different coloured stone amongst the sugared almonds to give a different focus point. My main issues though were not with the subject but with the light, opening the aperture, changing the sensitivity, I tried various ways of eliminating shadows and even leaving shadows in, I eventually settled on this photo after assembling the almonds on top of each other, taking the 'object' outside using a stack of close up lenses at 45mm. f5.6 1/60
Tutor feedback:
The smooth image is another good one - I think you were wise to go for the natural light of the 'outside'. The large expanse of open sky acts as a huge light source that gives even but directional lighting from above that has resulted in the accentuation of the smooth shape of the almonds. The narrow depth of focus throwing the almonds behind the main one out of focus brings a soft fuzzy feel the the image that emphasizes 'smooth'. It's difficult to see the exact point of focus and it may be that using many close up lenses has resulted in nothing being 'pin sharp', I would have tried for getting the rim outline of the central almond sharp. Printing out an 30x40 image to form part of an exhibition may well bring out any shortcomings of focus. As such it's always a good idea to consider what the final outcome of an image is going to be. An image in a book measuring 12" by 10" is going to have different requirements to an image that is 2 metres by 1.5 in an exhibition. Also, I might have wetted the almond to make it glisten as a way of emphasising the smoothness, all these are just idea. You have got a good image here.
Tutor feedback:
The smooth image is another good one - I think you were wise to go for the natural light of the 'outside'. The large expanse of open sky acts as a huge light source that gives even but directional lighting from above that has resulted in the accentuation of the smooth shape of the almonds. The narrow depth of focus throwing the almonds behind the main one out of focus brings a soft fuzzy feel the the image that emphasizes 'smooth'. It's difficult to see the exact point of focus and it may be that using many close up lenses has resulted in nothing being 'pin sharp', I would have tried for getting the rim outline of the central almond sharp. Printing out an 30x40 image to form part of an exhibition may well bring out any shortcomings of focus. As such it's always a good idea to consider what the final outcome of an image is going to be. An image in a book measuring 12" by 10" is going to have different requirements to an image that is 2 metres by 1.5 in an exhibition. Also, I might have wetted the almond to make it glisten as a way of emphasising the smoothness, all these are just idea. You have got a good image here.
Curved
Quantum Leap Scupture, Shrewsbury, Shropshire. This photo captures a small portion of this huge twisting concrete sculpture on the bank of the river severn. I wanted to capture a simplisti photograph which emphasised the shape of the segments with is achieved with the sky showing between them along with the shadows falling from one to the next. f9.0 1/75
Tutor feedback:
Curved/straight - another good pair of contrasting images. They are well exposed and composed. But I do feel that they are a little ambiguous in their illustration of the topic: both have a very strong very similar diagonal components to their composition and so in one sense could be illustrations of 'diagonal'. The curved image is an image of curved objects and uses this to covey they impression of 'curvedness', how is this a better image to illustrate this trait than say the sugared almonds?
Tutor feedback:
Curved/straight - another good pair of contrasting images. They are well exposed and composed. But I do feel that they are a little ambiguous in their illustration of the topic: both have a very strong very similar diagonal components to their composition and so in one sense could be illustrations of 'diagonal'. The curved image is an image of curved objects and uses this to covey they impression of 'curvedness', how is this a better image to illustrate this trait than say the sugared almonds?
Tuesday, 3 January 2012
Straight
Nottingham Canal towpath. These steps leading down to the water by the lock caught my eye as when looking through the viewfinder, straight lines can be seen in the whole of the frame in one direction or another including the brick building in the background. This photograph gives the viewer the feeling of lighness desending into shadow, as with each step downard becoming a little darker down to the dirty canal water. f5.6 1/50
Tutor feedback:
The straight images does as you say have a multitude of straight lines and as such is a good direct illustration well executed (I can't get away from that very stron diagonal).But what about a more oblique interpretation; 'straight talking', looking 'straight in the eye' - being unevasive, 'going straight' keeping off crime or drugs, the list goes on and on, and one secret to great imagery is finding a way to make yours stand out from the crowd of more obvious ones.
Tutor feedback:
The straight images does as you say have a multitude of straight lines and as such is a good direct illustration well executed (I can't get away from that very stron diagonal).But what about a more oblique interpretation; 'straight talking', looking 'straight in the eye' - being unevasive, 'going straight' keeping off crime or drugs, the list goes on and on, and one secret to great imagery is finding a way to make yours stand out from the crowd of more obvious ones.
Diagonal
Old Lace Museum, Nottingham. This neglected tudor house has lovely diagonal beams. My intention was symetrical balance which was easily achieved with the beams acting as a grid. I initially photoshopped the shadows out from under the edge of the roof but deceded to leave alone as the shadow sets off the weeds growing out of the guttering and also gives the photograph a feeling of 'glumness' that seems to suit the neglect of the building. f5.6 1/40
Tutor feedback:
Diagonal/rounded - both of these are well executed images - I love the symetry of the diagonal image. But I just don't think it's a good illustration of the topic - I think that your straight image could well be thought of as the diagonal image - a little obvious perhaps but perfectly reasonable. I feel the beams that you refer to as 'diagonal' are more 'curved' to me and form an arc.
Tutor feedback:
Diagonal/rounded - both of these are well executed images - I love the symetry of the diagonal image. But I just don't think it's a good illustration of the topic - I think that your straight image could well be thought of as the diagonal image - a little obvious perhaps but perfectly reasonable. I feel the beams that you refer to as 'diagonal' are more 'curved' to me and form an arc.
Rounded
Great Hall, Woolaton Hall, Nottingham. This window shows the inner circles of the frame for my 'rounded' photograph. f5.0 1/500
Tutor feedback:
Your rounded image I feel is much better - the frame is filled with 'rounds' not only in the individual windows but in the arch above them. I like the crop that you have used cutting into the circles at both the bottom and at the top.
Tutor feedback:
Your rounded image I feel is much better - the frame is filled with 'rounds' not only in the individual windows but in the arch above them. I like the crop that you have used cutting into the circles at both the bottom and at the top.
Sunday, 1 January 2012
Few
Baked beans on porcelain - I intially took several photos of a sprig of grapes with a 'few' grapes still attached, I had problems with lack of adequate lighting to remove shadows and it was too wet to take my object outside. Later considered the concept of the 'few' baked beans, I put them on a porcelain plate and was able to take my object outside for natural lighting, I kept the tin in the background out of focus to draw the eye of the viewer to the 'few' beans, leaving the can out of focus f5.6 1/50
Tutor feedback:
Many/few - I like the thinking around the 'few' image but have a couple of points: First I am not convinced that the beans are sharp. There could be a variety of reasons for this:
* you may have been using the lens at it's maximum aperture, stopping down a couple of stops would have improved things.
* hand holding the camera with a shutter speed of 1/50th may have introduced some very slight camera shake.
Second, I'm not conviced about the imagery here. Yes I think it's ok but I feel that a lot of other thoughts would pass through the people's minds looking at this image. I grant you that a 'few' may be one of the thoughts, but it would be accompanied by alot of others and the trick is to reduce the number of other thoughts. I think you could have conveyed 'few' better by photographing the two or three beans left in the bottom of the tin.
Tutor feedback:
Many/few - I like the thinking around the 'few' image but have a couple of points: First I am not convinced that the beans are sharp. There could be a variety of reasons for this:
* you may have been using the lens at it's maximum aperture, stopping down a couple of stops would have improved things.
* hand holding the camera with a shutter speed of 1/50th may have introduced some very slight camera shake.
Second, I'm not conviced about the imagery here. Yes I think it's ok but I feel that a lot of other thoughts would pass through the people's minds looking at this image. I grant you that a 'few' may be one of the thoughts, but it would be accompanied by alot of others and the trick is to reduce the number of other thoughts. I think you could have conveyed 'few' better by photographing the two or three beans left in the bottom of the tin.
Many
Tin of pins with coloured heads. I selected a macro lens in order to get as close as possible and keep the whole frame in focus. f2.8 1/60
Tutor feedback:
The 'many' image works for me - like the rounded image this image just shouts 'many'. I like the way that you have filled the frame with the pins. The image is interesting in its use of pins with coloured heads. You could have used plain pins and although the message would perhaps have been the same, it wouldn't have been so pleasing to look at.
Tutor feedback:
The 'many' image works for me - like the rounded image this image just shouts 'many'. I like the way that you have filled the frame with the pins. The image is interesting in its use of pins with coloured heads. You could have used plain pins and although the message would perhaps have been the same, it wouldn't have been so pleasing to look at.
Blunt
Wooden post, Staunton Harold Garden Centre. This photograph shows the blunt end of a wooden post. I first took the photo of just the end of the post but it wasn't clear what the photo was supposed to be so I altered my position to include more detail. I considered this photo to be very simplistic and contemplated processing the photo to remove the green of the metal stand but changed my approach after reading an article by Michael Freeman about perfection and wabi sabi - an appreciation of the imperfect. f5.6 1/100
Tutor feedback:
Blunt/Sharp - again, you have chosen to use the attributes of an object to illustrate the topics. There's nothing wrong with this, I only want you to think about a topic laterally as a way of opening you up to other possibilities of using photography as an illustrative medium. Your blunt image is fine as the contrast to the sharp image but if viewed just by itself I feel it is less effective.
Tutor feedback:
Blunt/Sharp - again, you have chosen to use the attributes of an object to illustrate the topics. There's nothing wrong with this, I only want you to think about a topic laterally as a way of opening you up to other possibilities of using photography as an illustrative medium. Your blunt image is fine as the contrast to the sharp image but if viewed just by itself I feel it is less effective.
Pointed
Bayonets, Woolaton Hall, Nottingham. This photograph was taken to capture the pointed ends of the bayonets hanging high on the wall of the grand hall. Initially I included the handles of the bayonets, not only did this require me to need a wider lens but also the picture didn't say 'pointed' as well as this photograph focussing soley on the sharp ends. The arrangement of the bayonets also gives a pleasing shape to the photo. f5.6 1/15
Tutor feedback:
Your sharp image is a good one and uses a good display of sharp objects - but you have made it work well by how you have framed the display. Well done. But again, I am a little worried about how sharp the image is, looking at the image on flikr the tips of the bayonets seem definetely out. I'm not sure is this is due to you using maximum aperture, a slow shutter speed with the camera being hand held.
Tutor feedback:
Your sharp image is a good one and uses a good display of sharp objects - but you have made it work well by how you have framed the display. Well done. But again, I am a little worried about how sharp the image is, looking at the image on flikr the tips of the bayonets seem definetely out. I'm not sure is this is due to you using maximum aperture, a slow shutter speed with the camera being hand held.
Moving
Funfair ride, Victorian Christmas Market, Nottingham. For this photograph I wanted to capture the movement of the ride as it spun around at height. I took this vertical shot to demonstrate the height of the tower. I kept the tower off centre and in focus and set the shutter speed to 1/8 with a aperture of f14.
Tutor feedback:
I think the moving image works well, you have made good use of the slow shutter speed to blur the movement of the chairs but have kept the tower sharp. In addition to this you have cropped and framed the tower well to make a good image, well done!
Tutor feedback:
I think the moving image works well, you have made good use of the slow shutter speed to blur the movement of the chairs but have kept the tower sharp. In addition to this you have cropped and framed the tower well to make a good image, well done!
Still
Zebra 'trophy' Woolaton Hall, Nottingham. I took many photographs of the 'trophy' heads from a buffalow to a walrus. The main issue I encoutered was the shadows created by the lighting and the height of the subjects, this one being just below ceiling height. Also a challenge was restricted space in the room as there were many cabinets mostly filling the room. I focused on the eye of the zebra filling the frame as best I could given the lack of space to manouvere. f4.0 1/60 I also need to increase the ISO sentisivity due to the low light.
Tutor feedback:
The converse image is also great, I love the thought behind the image, a once moving animal renown for its movment stuffed and hung on the wall, quintessentially still - it's dead! There some 'interesting' shadows being cast by the head, I don't know if this was due to ambient lighting or what, I would normall try to minimise these somewhat.
Tutor feedback:
The converse image is also great, I love the thought behind the image, a once moving animal renown for its movment stuffed and hung on the wall, quintessentially still - it's dead! There some 'interesting' shadows being cast by the head, I don't know if this was due to ambient lighting or what, I would normall try to minimise these somewhat.
Soft
Snow leopard cubs, Twycross Zoo. This photograph was amongst many taken of the snow leopards and their cubs. I focused on the eyes of the cub near the middle of the frame. The photo is balanced by the cubs each looking in the opposite direction and snuggled together with the softness of the fur across the bottom of the frame. The photo was taken using a telephoto lens at 300mm, f7.1 1/400. I carried out some processing using adobe photoshop in order to remove the metal enclosure in the background.
Student feedback:
The soft I feel is less successful. It's a perfectly good image but I wonder if soft is really the main attribute conveyed here. Also I think the image is slightly over exposed and in your post production removing the enclosure you have introduced some artifacts - on the end of the cub's nose, around the forehead and ears.
Student feedback:
The soft I feel is less successful. It's a perfectly good image but I wonder if soft is really the main attribute conveyed here. Also I think the image is slightly over exposed and in your post production removing the enclosure you have introduced some artifacts - on the end of the cub's nose, around the forehead and ears.
Hard
Dry stone wall, Calke Abbey, Staunton Harold Estate, Derbyshire. I took this photograph on a field walk. I took a few photo's of rocks for my 'hard' shot, but settled on this one of the wall. My intention was to fit the frame with all of the stones in order to make the photo to feel solid. f7/10 1/99
Tutor feedback:
The hard image works well again you have used the attributes of an object to depict the topic. Also you have used the same technique as the 'rough' image ie filling the frame with the subject.
Tutor feedback:
The hard image works well again you have used the attributes of an object to depict the topic. Also you have used the same technique as the 'rough' image ie filling the frame with the subject.
Small
Pins on a black background. I took several versions of this 'pins' photo using a macro lens. I settled on this photo that shows 5 pins with different coloured heads and focused on the middle pin. There is a reflection from the black surface which I feel adds some depth to the photograph. f3.2 1/60
Large
Cooling tower, Radcliffer on Stour, Nottingham. I wanted to fit as much of the tower as possible into the frame with an objective of emphasising the widest part of the tower. f5.6 1/320
Friday, 30 December 2011
Curved and Straight
Magistrates Court, Nottingham. I had already found my curved/straight photograph but changed my mind when I took this photo as there are many of straights and curves. f5.6 1/125
Tutor feedback:
Another good image and one that again relies on a literal depiction of the topics - that's not to say this is, only it's a little obvious and there will be many other similar illustrations the trick is to find a way to make your images stand out from the others.
Tutor feedback:
Another good image and one that again relies on a literal depiction of the topics - that's not to say this is, only it's a little obvious and there will be many other similar illustrations the trick is to find a way to make your images stand out from the others.
Tuesday, 27 December 2011
Assignment 1 - Tutor Report
Tutor report
In addition to Graham Clarke’s book - the Photograph I think another useful
The next assignment is all about elements of design and how to use them in
Student feedback:
This image of 'blunt' has been amended taking the advice of my tutor, I've increased the contrast of the end of the wooden pole and added a vingnette effect
Overall Comments
I think that you have got some good images in your assignment. I like the way
you have thought carefully about what it is you want to photograph;
concentrated on this and excluded other material from the image. Great!
You have taken the trouble to come up with some good compositions for what
on the face of it are some straight forward ideas. Your images are by and
large sharp - although some may seem a little suspect - and well exposed.
The image files that you have attached to your email are however, small -
averaging around the 50 - 60 k. While this is fine for quickly viewing the whole
image on the screen, I would find it useful to have larger size files to work with
rather than downloading the original files from your flickr site.
You will also need to think about this aspect when considering how you are
going to submit your work for formal assessment. If you are going to rely on
electronic images rather than physical prints then the assessors will
appreciate quick and easy access to top quality, high resolution images. While
I appreciate you have these on your flickr site, downloading them from here is
fairly laborious and time consuming and you may want to think about how
assessors can navigating through the images quickly and easily.
Inevitably, there are areas where I think you can improve on and I’ll go into
these in my commentary on the individual images. The main thing to bear in
mind is that this is your opportunity to experiment with ideas and techniques
and develop your own style. A key attribute to go hand in hand with the
experimentation is to recognise issues, develop solutions and learn from
mistakes. Everyone makes mistakes and plenty of them.
Also worth mentioning is that I don’t believe there is a right and a wrong way
of doing things - there are different opinions and there are bound to be
different points of view. I may well say things that you disagree with - that’s
fine but it is important to be able to put forward a cogent to support your
views.
My style of commentary is to pose alternatives, ask questions and suggest
where I think improvements could be made; this is to give you the chance to
think about alternatives. It is then for you to decide if you agree or not.
While you have some good images, I think that some of them are too literal in
their interpretation of the topic. This assignment is concerned with expressing
the ESSENCE of each contrast in pictures. It isn't enough, as some student
do, just to photograph something big or some thing small, or something high
up and something low down. It is the ESSENCE we are after, the feeling of
height or smallness conveyed in the picture. The assignment is intended to
open your eyes to the main characteristic of a subject and explore how best to
interpret this visually.
Another point is that I believe each image ought to illustrate the topic on its
own without being viewed in conjunction with the other image of the pair.
Many students rely too much on being seen as a pair. If viewed alone some
loose their effectiveness. I think that you have by and large avoided this. Well
done!
Assessment potential (after Assignment 1)
“Formal Assessment: You may want to get credit for your hard work and
achievements with the OCA by formally submitting your work for assessment at the
end of the module. More and more people are taking the idea of lifelong learning
seriously by submitting their work for assessment but it is entirely up to you. We are
just as keen to support you whether you study for pleasure or to gain qualifications.
Please consider whether you want to put your work forward for assessment and let
me know your decision when you submit assignment 2. I can then give you
feedback on how well your work meets the assessment requirements.”
Feedback on assignment
Rough/Smooth
These images work well as a pair and as individual images. You have chosen
a day with good lighting conditions to shoot the rough bark image. The side
lighting generates the shadows that give the feeling of relief and texture.
You have wisely chosen a reasonable aperture and shutter speed to keep the
image sharp.
Filling the frame as you have concentrates the eye on the bark but also, in an
odd way, makes the image rather two dimensional to my mind (in spite of the
good lighting) and lacking in reference points to how you normally “see” a tree
trunk that is the cause. There is little indication of size - is the trunk 5 or 6 feet
across, bigger or smaller than this? Does it matter and impact on the feeling
of roughness? Would it have been better to have included a branch coming
out of the bark?
The Smooth image is another good one - I think you were wise to go for the
natural light of the “outside”. The large expanse of the open sky acts as a
huge light source that gives even but directional lighting from above that has
resulted in the accentuation of the smooth shape of the almonds. The narrow
depth of focus throwing the almonds behind the main one out of focus brings
a soft fuzzy feel to the image that emphasises “smooth”.
It’s difficult to see the exact point of focus and it may be that using many close
up lenses has resulted in nothing being “pin sharp”. I would have tried for
getting the rim outline of the central almond sharp. Printing out an 30x40
image to form part of an exhibition may well bring out any shortcomings of
focus. As such it’s always a good idea to consider what the final outcome of
an image is going to be. An image in a book measuring 12 inches by 10 is
going to have different requirements to an image that is 2 meters by 1.5 in an
exhibition. Also, I might have wetted the almond to make it glisten as a way of
emphasising the smoothness. all these are just ideas. You have got a good
image here.
Curved/Straight
Another good pair of contrasting images. They are well exposed and
composed. But I do feel that they are a little ambiguous in their illustration of
the topic: Both have very strong very similar diagonal components to their
composition and so in one sense could be illustrations of “diagonal”.
The curved image is an image of curved objects and uses this to convey the
impression of “curvedness” How is this a better image to illustrate this trait
than say the sugared almonds? One thought that I did have was to use
photoshop to purposely morph the stones into a curved shape that people
would recognise as being manipulated into a curved shape - see my
suggestion:
You may think that this is an undue and inappropriate use of post production
manipulation - it’s for you to think about and decide what you think.
The straight image does as you say have a multitude of straight lines and as
such is a good direct illustration well executed. (I can’t get away from that very
strong diagonal).
But what about a more oblique interpretation: “straight talking”, looking
“straight in the eye” - being unevasive, “going straight” keeping off crime or
drugs the list goes on and one secret to great imagery is finding a way to
make yours stand out from the crowd of more obvious ones.
Diagonal/Rounded
Both of these are well executed images - I love the symmetry of the diagonal
image. But I just don’t think it’s a good illustration of the topic - I thin that your
straight image could well be thought of as the diagonal image - a little obvious
perhaps but perfectly reasonable. I feel the beams that you refer to as
“diagonal” are more “curved” to me and form an arc.
Your rounded image I feel is much better - the frame is filled with “rounds”.
Not only in the individual windows but in the arch above them. I like the crop
that you have used cutting into the circles at both the bottom and the top.
Many/Few
I like the thinking around the “few” image but have a couple of points:
First I’m not convinced that the beans are sharp. There could be a variety of
reasons for this:
• you may have been using the lens at it’s maximum aperture, stopping
down a couple of stops would have improved things,
• hand holding the camera with a shuter speed of 1/50th may have
introduced some very slight camera shake
Second, I’m not convinced about the imagery here. Yes I think it’s ok but I feel
that a lot of other thoughts would pass through people’s minds looking at this
image. I grant you that “few” may be one of the thoughts, but it would be
accompanied by a lot of others and the trick is to reduce the number of other
thoughts. I think you could have conveyed “few” better by photographing the
two or three beans left in the bottom of the tin.
You may disagree totally with me and that’s fine but as I mentioned in my
opening remarks you need to have a good argument to support your thoughts
and at present your commentary accompanying the image doesn’t go into this
aspect. all it does is to explain “what” you did, not “why”
The many image works for me - like the rounded image this image jsut shouts
many. I like the way that you have filled the frame with the pins. The image is
interesting in its use of pins with coloured heads. You could have used plain
pins and although the message would perhaps have been the same - many -
it wouldn’t have been so pleasing to look at.
Blunt/Sharp
Again, you have chosen to use the attributes of an object to illustrate the
topics. There’s nothing wrong with this, I only want you to think about a topic
laterally as a way of opening you up to other possibilities of using photography
as an illustrative medium. Your blunt image is fine as the contrast to the sharp
image but if viewed just by itself I feel it is less effective. Also, the end of the
post isn’t quite sharp.- you have used an unsual positioning of the “blunt end”
in that it occupies only the bottom half of the frame. Did you consider
vignetting the top of the image? You could also increase the contrast of the
end of the post to emphasise the rings in the wood. - see my example and
make up your mind if you think it
helps.
Your sharp image is a good one and
uses a good display of sharp objects
- but you have made it work well by
how you have framed the display.
Well done. But, again I’m a little
worried about how sharp the image
is. looking at the image on flickr the
tips of the bayonets seem definitely
out. I’m not sure if this is due to you
using maximum aperture, a slow
shutter speed with the camera being
hand held, a lack of “sharpening”
being applied to the image or what.
What ever it is you need to look into
this.
Moving/Still
I think that the moving image works
well you have made good use of the
slow shutter speed to blurr the
movement of the chairs but have
kept the tower sharp. In addition to
this you have cropped and framed the tower well to make a good image. Well
done! The converse image is also great. I love the thought behind the image:
a once moving animal renown for its movement stuffed and hung on the wall -
quintessentially still - it’s dead! There are some “interesting” shadows being
cast by the head I don’t know if this was due to ambient lighting or what. I
would normally try to minimise these somehow.
Hard/Soft
The hard image works well again you have used the attributes of an object to
depict the topic. Also you have used the same technique as the “rough” image
ie filling the frame with the subject. My comments are similar - the image is a
bit two dimensional. Also you could swap the two images round and argue
that the tree bark could be illustrating hard and the stone wall illustrating
“rough”. I realise this is being a bit harsh on you but I’m only pointing out how
you perhaps need to get away from a literal illustration of the topic. From our
previous experience of stone we know it is hard and your image relies on this.
It’s a perfectly good image. But, what you need to be starting to develop is
how to use photography in a different way to illustrate something. Look at a
familiar object or topic in a different way. Using a different example- war there
are many well worn images showing the brutality and suffering but some
photographers concentrate on different aspects - look at some of Tim
Hetherington’s work.
The soft I feel is less successful. It’s a perfectly good image but I wonder if
soft is really the main attribute conveyed here. Also I think the image is slightly
over exposed and in your post production removing the enclosure you have
introduced some artifacts - on the end of the cub’s nose, around the forehead
and ears. See my darkened
image and see if you think
this is better.
small/large
The small image is a good
one and I think the large
image is fine but again you
are relying on prior
knowledge of the objects
tower and how small/big
they are.
I like the arrangement of the
pins and the narrow depth of
focus makes an interesting
image.
I like how you have filled the
frame with the tower but wondered if you could have introduced some other
reference point - a figure perhaps - to give a comparable reference point to
illustrate size.
Combined image
Curved and straight
Another good image and one that again relies on a literal depiction of the
topics - that’s not to say this is, only it’s a little obvious and there will be many
other similar illustrations the trick is to find a way to make your iamges stand
out from the others.
Learning Logs/Critical essays
Your learning log is good in that it is recording what you are doing and going
into how you feel about things. It’s good to see you getting along to exhibitions
and reading what I think you need to be logging is how other photographers
have tackled things, what you feel about this - agree/disagree, like/dislike but
more than this , go into why as well as what
.
For example in your blog commentary about the exercise cropping, you
comment on what you think will improve things and record how you tried to
crop out the path in the foreground but decided against this because it “took
the balance away from the photo”. I would suggest a couple of things - do
some research on the maritime museums looking at how other photographers
have cropped their images and comment on how they compare and secoond
perhaps go into mre detail about what is it that is “out of balance” is it lack of
contrast between the grass and pavement or what?
Suggested reading/viewing
In addition to Graham Clarke’s book - the Photograph I think another useful
book is Simon Shore’s The Nature of photographs as it looks at different ways
of looking at and understanding photographs. I have mentioned Tim
Hetherington and in particular his work documenting the war in Afghanistan
would be worth looking at and by comparison Donovan Wylie’s recent work
Outposts also in Afghanistan but from a very different perspective.
Pointers for the next assignment
The next assignment is all about elements of design and how to use them in
producing a photograph. You need to focus on going into more detail about
your thoughts behind your images - you do show that you can produce
interesting images - this is an opportunity to develop these aspects and
experiment with composition and framing.
This image of 'blunt' has been amended taking the advice of my tutor, I've increased the contrast of the end of the wooden pole and added a vingnette effect
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