Technical progress

Previousl I've ignored 'live view' as I needed to focus on other things, including the artistic settings on my camera. Reading through my digital field guide book I read the chapter on live view and discovered the camera can link easily to my laptop which allow me to view the image before clicking, even better, the settings can be changed 'live', which I can use when using my tripod and when zooming in to check the sharpness, this equals a whole lot of fun....who knew?

Inspiration please!

I'm finding it hard to get started with the next assignment, the main reason being the decision regarding choice of flowers & plants, landscapes (which may be difficult at his time of year), raw food materials or street details. Not many plants or flowers around outdoors that might look attractive...garden centre maybe? I've taken a few images but not altogether happy.

Ideas for raw food materials, strawberry sliced in half in 'something' for single point? two points? several points in a deliberate shape?? Then again street images might be good? maybe I could visit a larger garden centre? aaggghhh! I need more time......or a florist!

Excercise: Rhythms and patterns

115_edited-1, a photo by caroline..collins on Flickr.

Repetition has a peculiar but generally strong appeal, particularly when it's unfamiliar to the viewer. The connection is with one of the basic pleasures in music, there is a visual beat to pictures containing a repetitive theme, just as there is a musical beat. Visually, repetition comes across in two ways, as rhythm and pattern. The difference between them is that rhythm is to do with movement across a picture while pattern is essentially static and has to with area. This image of the top of a church tower has a steady rhythm.

Exercise: real & implied triangle (real)

116_edited-1, a photo by caroline..collins on Flickr.

Real triangle: Walkng in Staunton Harold Estate I saw the architechture of the church against the blue sky and took the image of the corner of the tower with an upward tilt of the camera using the bottom of the frame as the bottom edge of the triangle.

Exercise: real & implied triangle (implied)

travis 002_edited-1-1-Edit, a photo by caroline..collins on Flickr.

This is my cat Travis, his eyes and nose create this implied triangle with a dowward apex. I took this image outdoors, cropped it in photoshop elements, but it wasn't quite symetrical, so I used Lightroom to turn the image ever so slightly to ensure it was as level as possible.

Exercise: real & implied triangle (real ish)

108, a photo by caroline..collins on Flickr.

I was looking for a triangle with the apex at the bottom of the frame. After stepping over this stile during a walk I felt it might suit. For this type of triangle my notes tell me to look point the camera down to enhance the trianlge shape but am not tall enough! I think it works though, its almost a combination of a real and implied triangle by not having a 'real' link between the bottom of the triangle at the top of the frame.

Excercise: real & implied triangles (implied)

Soph in tea shop, a photo by caroline..collins on Flickr.

Implied triangle - this triangle converges towards the top of the frame, the suggestion of Sophie about to pour the tea into the cup gives the triangle more movement with the anticipation of action

Exercise: real & implied triangles (real)

IMG_3219, a photo by caroline..collins on Flickr.

Real triangle - inverted

Project: shapes

IMG_3372_edited-1, a photo by caroline..collins on Flickr.

When looking around for suitable images, it wasn't until I started looking for shapes that I realised that triangles are extremly common and actually occur more frequently than any other shape. Triangles always have at least two diagonals, and therefore tend to create a sensation of activity and dynamism.

Project: shapes

A shape is both an outline and enclosure, although the extent to which it appears as one or the other depends very much on the subject and the lighting. Shape, ultimately, defines an object but it can also be implied in much the same way as a line can.

Shapes can be regular or irregular. This means that some are easily identifiable with a simple geometric outline, like a rectangle or a triangle, while others are uneven and appear to fall into a category, in a photograph, the more regular a shape appears, the stronger the part it plays in the composition.

Exercise: curves

steep hill, a photo by caroline..collins on Flickr.

This picture is taken up steep hill, Lincoln. The people walking up the hill around the curve give the image movement. I was using my telephoto lens at the time and wish I'd left my wide angle lens attached as I could have included the cathedral which is chopped off in this frame, next time!

Project: using lines in composition - notes

Now that I have been through the basic catalogue of lines, I am to consder ways of using them to organise or strengthen a compstition. I must remember that the eye follows a line and that it also tries to construct a line from appropriate suggestions as a clear line provides a natural path for the eye, which moves along it. The more active the line, the stronger the encouragement for the eye to follow it, hence diagonals and curves work better in this way than verticals and horizontals.

Excercise: Curves

110, a photo by caroline..collins on Flickr.

As we were walking in the general direction of the car park, I noticed the trafic ahead and the curve of the road, I quickly took my camera, luckily I keep it switched on, I managed to take the photo quickly enough to capture the curve of the road with the cars giving the feeling of movement.

Exercise: Curves

IMG_3431, a photo by caroline..collins on Flickr.

This image is one of my eldest daughter. Although this was an unplanned image it does show a curve that starts at the top right of the image taking the eye to the bottom left of the image following her hair, which also acts as a frame.

Curves - notes

Curves, like diagonals, have a sense of movement and direction, and in some ways can be considered a kine of diagonal line. Because they pull the eye in, they are useful in planned composition. Curves have associations of soothness, grace and legance, and so add these feelings to an image. I had taken a few 'curved' images for this exercise but on further review of them I realised that I was simply taking a literal image of a curve without the sense of movement. I deleted these from my blog and started the exercise again after looking for some examples elsewhere, starting with Bridgeman Educaton.

Cornell Capa - Bolshoi Ballet School

In this picture of beauty, grace, light & elegance, Capa has captured the essecence of ballet. The image shows ballerinas working at the bar with a large mirror further into the picture and at the end of the row. The diagonal gives the image a feeling of action and movement. The mirror shows a juxtaposition of the reality of each ballerina's hard work with the mirrored illusion of effortlessness. Cornell Capa b. Budapest (HUN) 1918. Bolshoi Ballet School, Moscow 1958 Gelatin silver print.

Exercise: diagonals

IMG_2719-Edit, a photo by caroline..collins on Flickr.

This diagonal was taken one very cold morning. I took the image low down at the level of the bench and focused about halfway into the frame. My aim was to capture the delecate frost before it melted away in the brief sunlight.

Exercise: diagonals

trees boot sale_edited-1, a photo by caroline..collins on Flickr.

This image of winter trees was taken by the river severn early on a frosty morning. The eye is led to a building in at the end of the row of trees but I wish I'd moved the branch on the ground, will check next time.

Exercise: diagonals

IMG_3041-Edit, a photo by caroline..collins on Flickr.

The diagonal line is created from the legs in the top left of the frame through to the marks made by the sledge in the snow in the bottom right of the frame. The eye is first drawn to Sophie in the sledge, her posture suggests movement and action I turned the image slightly in Lightroom in order to emphasise the diagonal.

Excercise: lines - leading the eye

leading eye, a photo by caroline..collins on Flickr.

This image shows Sophie climbing the decorative staircase, the viewer looks at her first, then notices that she is looking further up the stair case to the upper right of the image, leading the eye of the viewer, even though the object or person Sophie is looking at cannot be seen.