This assignment brings together the concepts of Elements of Design - the arrangement and geometry of the constituents of a photograph.
I started with the idea of using a trip to Romania to supply a theme but although there are a number of shots below taken there, the quality of opportunity did not arise to select enough images to demonstrate all the elements. Consequently I checked with my tutor whether it is OK to broaden the subject area as follows:
Specifically on Assignment 2, is it important to have all the images of the same subject, e.g. landscapes, or is it OK to use images of, say, street scenes too? The brief suggests a similar subject but this is a good example of where I might have, say, an excellent street scene image that I would like to use alongside a series of landscape images. Is this OK?
The reply was:
You need to work to your strengths, sometimes a unifying theme can be useful, at other times disparate subjects are better. So it's OK.
Consequently the shots below are of a variety of subjects with a common theme of "out and about", there are no still life images for example.
Although each shot demonstrates one element as required, I was interested to shoot images which demonstrated more than one element and to look at the interaction of the elements - few shots are actually solely one element in practice; for example in the course notes a shot of a curved staircase includes vertical stair rails.
The first shot is a single point dominating the composition:
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| f22 1/125 |
This shot was taken in Cabot Circus in Bristol. The protective roof over the centre is an obvious choice for a curves or diagonals shot but I spotted an opportunity for a more interesting shot of a lone balloon trapped on the roof. The image was adjusted in Photoshop to increase contrast and bring out the reflective white curves, and Topaz DeNoise was used to eliminate the resultant noise.
In my view, this works as a single point dominating the composition partly because the shot is much less interesting without the balloon and partly because the roof bars and to a lesser extent the reflective streaks lead the eye towards the point.
As with a single point image, I tried to find a shot that would not be flat. This worked for me as it is a simple uncluttered shot. It includes two points: a candle holder and the photograph and gains depth by the light effect, subtly enhanced by including the natural shelf at the bottom of the frame.
I also took a shot in Romania to demonstrate several points in a deliberate shape:
This is a game of touch - a sort of bulldog as far as I could make out where the participants are arranged evenly around the edge of the painted rectangle and have to run across without being caught by the girl in the middle. Additionally, this shot demonstrated implied lines well, with the girl heading to the bottom right of the frame but looking to the bottom left of the frame.
This image suited well being converted to black and white, thus emphasising the positioning of the children.
The next shot, of a combination of vertical and horizontal lines, was taken of a disused barn in the Carpathian mountains:
The shot has been manipulated strongly in Photoshop to give an almost artificial look; this is deliberate so as to bring out the natural lines in the wood grain as well as in the construction.
I thought about eliminating the diagonal - possible in Photoshop CS5 - but it does add interest and depth without distracting from the main aim of the shot.
The first diagonals shot I include was taken in a forest in the Carpathian mountains; this is virgin forest including a large number of silver birch but also several other species.
I used a wide angle lens - 10mm - for the shot, taken looking upwards, thus creating the diagonals by perspective. The shot would not work as well when the trees are in full leaf - the diagonals are accentuated on bare trees. I used an adjusted Silver Efex Pro2 preset to add interest to the shot. This gave a pleasing result, partly by adding a white vignette to help lead the eye towards the darker centre along the diagonals.
The second diagonals shot is of a woman preparing her land in springtime Romania:
I shot this as the long rake makes for a strong natural diagonal (rather than the created effect of the previous image); there is also an implied diagonal line from her eye to the end of the rake.
The first curves shot was taken on the way to Romania:
Here we have several curves from the bottom and right side of the frame leading the eye towards the wing tip.
I took a second curves shot at Wembley stadium:
The arch must be one of the most photographed icons in the world so I tried to find a different perspective, choosing to show it as almost vertical but leading the eye through a gentle curve to the roof of the stadium, itself curving from top to middle of the shot.
For distinct, if irregular shapes, I took a shot in Romania:
This was taken in Bran castle, a subject with doorways and rooms that are mostly irregular in shape. I used the composition to add further irregularity in the shape of the visible ceiling and including the unusually shaped light fitting.
I used two contrasting images for implied triangles:
This shot of a Romanian woman working her land was taken with a point and shoot camera and the background partially blurred in Photoshop.
This is an inverted triangle with the woman's back as the base of the triangle and the spade point as the apex. There is a strong implied line from her eye to the spade.
Secondly, I include a HDR image taken at Bristol dockside:
Three images taken at EV 0, EV +2, and EV -2 were merged in Photomatix. A large block of flats was removed using Photoshop CS5. The image does give the artificial feel often created by HDR but I think very appropriate for this subject.
The implied triangle is created wholly by perspective in this case with the two outer rails as sides leading to the apex in the distance - the lead in effect is amplified by the rail in the foreground.
For rhythmn and pattern I took two images at the Champion's League Final at Wembley:
This shot is of dancers in the pre match entertainment each carrying an umbrella that is part of patterns that went on to form the Barcelona and Manchester United badges when arranged together.
Rhythmn is dynamic - the eye should move around the image and I think this shot works in that respect. I desaturated the green channel to help emphasise that the shot is about the rhythmn of the dancers rather than the pattern created by the pitch lines.
A more static shot was taken to demonstrate pattern: the Manchester United supporters holding aloft coloured cards representing the team colours. The light was perfect for this shot - the only remaining sunshine in the stadium at 19.40. I cropped the shot to present the effect of the pattern moving off frame in both directions. The image is also a strong diagonals shot.
Lastly, I took one shot in Romania that seemed to incorporate just about all the Elements of Design:
In my view, this works as a single point dominating the composition partly because the shot is much less interesting without the balloon and partly because the roof bars and to a lesser extent the reflective streaks lead the eye towards the point.
The shot of two points was taken in Bran Castle, Romania
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| f4.5 1/15 - held still by wedging camera against a door jamb. ISO boosted to 800 to help exposure |
As with a single point image, I tried to find a shot that would not be flat. This worked for me as it is a simple uncluttered shot. It includes two points: a candle holder and the photograph and gains depth by the light effect, subtly enhanced by including the natural shelf at the bottom of the frame.
I also took a shot in Romania to demonstrate several points in a deliberate shape:
 |
| f9.5 1/350 |
This is a game of touch - a sort of bulldog as far as I could make out where the participants are arranged evenly around the edge of the painted rectangle and have to run across without being caught by the girl in the middle. Additionally, this shot demonstrated implied lines well, with the girl heading to the bottom right of the frame but looking to the bottom left of the frame.
This image suited well being converted to black and white, thus emphasising the positioning of the children.
The next shot, of a combination of vertical and horizontal lines, was taken of a disused barn in the Carpathian mountains:
 |
| f4.4 1/50 |
The shot has been manipulated strongly in Photoshop to give an almost artificial look; this is deliberate so as to bring out the natural lines in the wood grain as well as in the construction.
I thought about eliminating the diagonal - possible in Photoshop CS5 - but it does add interest and depth without distracting from the main aim of the shot.
The first diagonals shot I include was taken in a forest in the Carpathian mountains; this is virgin forest including a large number of silver birch but also several other species.
 |
| f11 1/350 |
I used a wide angle lens - 10mm - for the shot, taken looking upwards, thus creating the diagonals by perspective. The shot would not work as well when the trees are in full leaf - the diagonals are accentuated on bare trees. I used an adjusted Silver Efex Pro2 preset to add interest to the shot. This gave a pleasing result, partly by adding a white vignette to help lead the eye towards the darker centre along the diagonals.
The second diagonals shot is of a woman preparing her land in springtime Romania:
 |
| f8 1/500 |
I shot this as the long rake makes for a strong natural diagonal (rather than the created effect of the previous image); there is also an implied diagonal line from her eye to the end of the rake.
The first curves shot was taken on the way to Romania:
 |
| f11 1/180 |
Here we have several curves from the bottom and right side of the frame leading the eye towards the wing tip.
I took a second curves shot at Wembley stadium:
 |
| f13 1/60 |
The arch must be one of the most photographed icons in the world so I tried to find a different perspective, choosing to show it as almost vertical but leading the eye through a gentle curve to the roof of the stadium, itself curving from top to middle of the shot.
For distinct, if irregular shapes, I took a shot in Romania:
 |
| f5.6 1/30 ISO boosted to 800 to help exposure |
This was taken in Bran castle, a subject with doorways and rooms that are mostly irregular in shape. I used the composition to add further irregularity in the shape of the visible ceiling and including the unusually shaped light fitting.
I used two contrasting images for implied triangles:
 |
| f4.3 1/125 |
This shot of a Romanian woman working her land was taken with a point and shoot camera and the background partially blurred in Photoshop.
This is an inverted triangle with the woman's back as the base of the triangle and the spade point as the apex. There is a strong implied line from her eye to the spade.
Secondly, I include a HDR image taken at Bristol dockside:
 |
| f13 1/60 |
Three images taken at EV 0, EV +2, and EV -2 were merged in Photomatix. A large block of flats was removed using Photoshop CS5. The image does give the artificial feel often created by HDR but I think very appropriate for this subject.
The implied triangle is created wholly by perspective in this case with the two outer rails as sides leading to the apex in the distance - the lead in effect is amplified by the rail in the foreground.
For rhythmn and pattern I took two images at the Champion's League Final at Wembley:
 |
| f4.5 1/90 |
This shot is of dancers in the pre match entertainment each carrying an umbrella that is part of patterns that went on to form the Barcelona and Manchester United badges when arranged together.
Rhythmn is dynamic - the eye should move around the image and I think this shot works in that respect. I desaturated the green channel to help emphasise that the shot is about the rhythmn of the dancers rather than the pattern created by the pitch lines.
 |
| f4 1/1500 - used TV mode in order to minimize movement blur |
A more static shot was taken to demonstrate pattern: the Manchester United supporters holding aloft coloured cards representing the team colours. The light was perfect for this shot - the only remaining sunshine in the stadium at 19.40. I cropped the shot to present the effect of the pattern moving off frame in both directions. The image is also a strong diagonals shot.
Lastly, I took one shot in Romania that seemed to incorporate just about all the Elements of Design:
 |
| f9.5 1/500 |
The shot is of Brasov city centre from Mount Tampa using a 280mm zoom. The image has been adjusted in Photoshop and Topaz Adjust using a painterly effect that seemed appropriate for this cityscape.
As regards the Elements of Design:
- there is clearly a single point dominating the composition - the church in the middle of the plaza;
- not really two points (by definition a single dominating point precludes two points) but the fountain next to the church is prominent alongside;
- several points in deliberate shape: the corners of the plaza
- there are several combinations of vertical and horizontal lines, notably the pattern of the floor of the plaza but also the buildings;
- Diagonals are evident from the roof lines and the road leading top right to middle left;
- the buildings on the right hand side of the plaza form a gentle curve;
- there are many distinct shapes, not least the irregular shape of the plaza itself, broadly but not quite triangular. The buildings in the background form rectangles with adjoining buildings;
- The plaza is a clear implied triangle, and the facing roof of the church and top of the steeple two more;
- Rhythmn is created along the road and the right side of the plaza by the windows;
- Pattern is most obviously the plaza floor and also the umbrellas of the outside cafe.
