Exercise: Filling the Frame and Sequence of Composition

I chose to amalgamate these exercises into a single image sequence. The exercise is asking me to consider how I can represent the world through the constraints of the viewfinder of the camera. When I observe the world around me my vision is not consciously bounded like the sensor of the camera.  The viewfinder implicitly limits the world and defines what can be captured. It is a conscious choice then to release the shutter when those various elements are framed to your satisfaction. This arrangement of objects becomes the composition of your image and conveys a message for that instant in time.  This is a personal expression of how I saw the world and in deciding to share this with others I hope that the viewer can engage with it and appreciate the message that it attempts to convey.

The exercise on framing is asking us to look at ways the subject can be examined by observing details or its place in the wider context. It is encouraging us to work the subject from these perspectives. This not only means using different focal lengths to fill the frame or not but also to move around it and to direct the subject if it is a person for example. Now that the subject has been observed from a number of viewpoints I have a sequence of images with different compositions from which I can select the most interesting.

For these exercises I chose to explore an abandoned water pump which I found along a country lane. I did not find a suitable people subject for this exercise.

The pump sits by the side of the road next to a hedge and is slowly being covered with vegetation.  It seems to have been well cared for until fairly recently or it may be in the process of being restored as the spout has been recently painted.

Side on straight view of the pump.

Focus on the details in the head and pillar which has contrasting textures with the lichen, corrosion, black painted spout and the vegetation. I wonder why the spout has been recently painted.

A view of the front and you can see the fixing bolts holding the pump to the pillar and you can just see the handle to the back.

 A closer view of the spout and fixing bolt.

The top view of the with corrosion providing a strong colour contrast.

A close view of the nipple and the corrosion.

This is more interesting in that it explores the shapes of the pump.

 The wider context with the farm gate and farmhouse beyond that the pump may have serviced with water.

The final wider context shot with the farmhouse clearly seen in the background.

I have two favorites in the sequence and those are the fifth image which focuses on the fixing of the pump to the concrete pillar. There are tonal and textual contrasts here between the porous grey pillar encrusted with living lichen and the cold metal of the pump which is corroding with deep reds pushing through the white paint. The ivy or plant struggles between the pillar and post for life which ironically the pump itself supplies with life giving water but will also ultimately corrode the pump into iron oxide.  The next image is the last but one were it gives the viewer the context of the pump. You can see the house it must have supplied water or possibly the farm animals kept in the gate. Whichever option is left to the imagination of the viewer.

Old Garage at Llanrug

I was travelling back from the North Wales Photographic Award ceremony yesterday when I noticed that the garage door at Llanrug was open. You may wonder why that was important? Simply the garage is unique  in that it is relatively unchanged after a 100 years.  It has been photographed many times, including myself and indeed I met Paul Miller from a camera club in Birmingham who was also taking pictures of the building. What was significant to me was that I hoped to meet the owner! I did, who is Dylwyn Parry Jones and is the third generation of the family to own and work in the garage.  He told me that his grandfather was there during the great war serving petrol even before there were pumps.  It was a real pleasure to meet him and talk about such a famous landmark.  He was kind enough to allow me to do a mini photoshoot of him in his garage.

But before we get into the shoot I just wanted to show you why this place is important to me. The image above used his garage as a backdrop and has been my most successful to date and has been accepted into the 155th Royal Photographic Society print exhibition. I have found that my objectives and motivations in photography are evolving all the time and I find that I am moving away from competition photography and more toward documenting people and places in North Wales.

Dylwyn stands outside his garage context shot that connects him to the building.

Then I wanted to get a sequence with him in a more prominent position. I particularly like this mono version standing next to his pumps.

I then wanted to do something a little different with the flashgun. I was looking for a subdued background with a fill flash to make him more prominent. The standard pose with Dylwyn slightly turned toward me with his right hand shoulder turned away and leading the viewer towards the building.  He stands well forward and cuts the horizon making him the focal point.  I like the crossed arms.

We then moved inside the garage and what a fascinating place it was.  The clutter had built up over years and it was great to see that it is still a working garage. I simply wanted to capture him in his working environment.  We then moved into his workshop and that was a treat.

I loved it in there with the accumulation of mechanical bits and bobs over the workbench.  Once again he was happy to work with me.  He even chuckled to himself at the state of the workshop. I then wanted to get a closer portrait shot of Dylwyn himself.

This final image focuses on the person and a little less on the environment.  As I was taking it I noticed the Ted Baker t-shirt and asked if he had any overalls as that would be more relevant to his work.  Ironically he told me that he did not work in them and wore whatever was clean.  The images document him as he  was and I kind of like the branded t-shirt.  I was really pleased to get this little sequence and to find out a little bit of the history of the garage and his family.  This is what I enjoy about photography, the ability to meet interesting people and attempt to capture them in their place.

Project: Speed and Motion

I have thought about this one and wanted to do a couple of little projects as I have not really explored motion that much.  When I consider this it appears to me from a simplistic level you can capture this in two ways.  The first is a hard capture with a high shutter speed that essentially freezes the motion.  This can be effective with subjects that you may not see unaided such such as a kingfisher diving into the water or with  dynamic elements in sport images. But you can be creative with your shutter control to give a better sense of motion by using slower shutter speeds.

The image above was captured with a shutter setting that was faster than the movement of the subjects. This has the effect of freezing the moment and makes it look static. While the composition might be pleasing as the children are walking across the frame in order of height and the little girl has seen something inside the cafe it does not give a great sense of motion.

This image was taken at the Pageant of Power and is an example of an image which gives a sense of motion. The tonal range is limited as it does not have a great deal of separation between the subject and foreground/background but you can see motion blur while the subject remains sharp. Closer inspection will reveal that mud is kicking up from the track, the wheels are also blurred as they are rotating at a higher speed than the shutter. What adds to that sense of speed more importantly are the figures holding on for dear life.

But the course asks us to explore motion at various shutter speeds. While I have a few subjects the abstract subject of the bird in the course notes did inspire me to do a sequence of a seagull.

This first image was taken with a high shutter speed with the result that the subject was sharp through the frame. The eye of the bird is clear and the red ring helps to draw the attention of the viewer. The subjects position does not follow the rule of thirds and is a little central and is not wholly satisfying. The bird was gliding on the wind and was moving slowly and as such a shutter of 1/250th was sufficient to capture it.

The seagull in the image above was moving a little faster and shows the topside of the wings. It is not quite as sharp as the previous shot as the subject was moving a little too fast for a shutter speed of 1/250th. You must be aware of the ratio between the speed of the subject and the shutter speed in achieving your goal.

You can use the shutter to be more creative in giving a sense of motion as these three images hopefully demonstrate. Each was taken with a slow shutter of 1/15th of a second. I chose these images to include the seagulls head as I wanted the viewer to see the contrast between the relatively stationary body against the beating and blurred wings.

This final image is a little abstract as you have to work out that it is a seagull. Of course in this sequence you would work it out. The wing tips are very fluid and the subject is almost feather like in its presentation. It was shot at 1/15th of a second as above but of course it was moving far faster than the shutter.

 

This composite image taken at the same location within 10 minutes and at different shutter speeds and aims show the effect of shutter on motion. The figure on the left is a hard capture at 1/500th of a second and is frozen. The second figure is almost ghost like with a shutter speed of 1/10th of a second. The final figure appears blurred and may not be the most effective capture of motion as it occupies that subtle space between the first and second figures at 1/100th.

The final sequence concentrates on sports.

1/1250th

1/1000th 

The above images capture the high speed motion of the wake boarders. But the slower the speed of the shutter the more surreal they become. The high shutter speed is more effective in capturing the subject whose facial concentration adds to the mood of the image as does the frozen wake of the water behind them.

1/250th 

1/50th

In the above examples the slower shutter speed is less effective in capturing the figure which looks blurred and surreal while the background is sharp. But a slow shutter pan can be used to achieve the opposite effect by tracking the subject through the viewfinder as you take the picture. The final image now gives a sense of the wake boarder zipping through the frame.

1/160th

I will do another sequence on motion before the end of the month just out of interest. The shutter can be used to capture motion in different ways. You can use high shutter speeds to freeze the action which is effective in dynamic sports or high speed subjects. Slower shutter times can be used to create abstract shapes from subjects moving at speed or blur the background while keeping the subject sharp as used with panning. The options are up to you as creativity is only bounded by your imagination and the limitations of the camera. It is just knowing how to use those limitations to your advantage in creating something different.

Llangwnadl Church Photo Essay

While I was in the Church for my OCA focus exercise I decided to do a little photo essay of the interior of the Church for myself.

This is a three image stitched HDR panoramic. The distortion in the image is a consequence of the extreme stitching process as each image has an 11mm focal length. Each individual image is made up of a four sequnce bracket taken at 2EV steps. It was processed in Photomatix Pro and Photoshop. I wanted to capture the sense of space and colour in this unusual church.

A single frame of the seat cushions which are had embroidered in Welsh. The wide angle shot gives a sense of space, while the cushions lead you and through to explore the interior and windows in the background.

Working the theme of the prayer cushions. The red as a primay colour catches the eye and is in front the alter denoted by the circle in the back ground. The cushion reads, 'Duw Cariad Yw', God I love Thee.

The simplicity of the reading table under the window caught my eye. The wicker cross in the window was a lovely detail. I wondered if this would work in mono?

There is a certain mood in mono but it is the chair that is an interesting element.

The electrical socket on the wall is a distracting element. But image sitting at the table reading the bible with the window to guide you to the heavens.

The most pleasing element for me in its simplicity is the wicker cross in widow. The window itself has some broken panes.-This is my favorite image.

I will have to do some external shots to complete the set.

Project: Exercise Focus with Aperture

This is my first exercise for the OCA. It is asking us to use selective focus with the aperture set to its widest setting. The series of images are shot at f/2.8 at Llangwnadl Church in North Wales. The subjects are the kneeling cushions which are written in Welsh. The selective focus point lets me pick out which cushion I want the observer to be able to distinguish as each has a different written message. Of course for this exercise the idea is that the point which is in focus is in sharp relief to other elements in the image such that you are guiding the obeserever to the point of interest. This can be in any point in the image, for, mid or background. If you wanted the whole scene to be observed you would shoot it at f/22. Another point to note is that my 24-70mm 2.8 has a wonderful bokeh at this setting which gives a light vignette to edges if the image which helps guide the eye to the point of interest.

The point of focus is the first cushion which is embroidered with the Welsh word 'Cariad' which mean sweetheart.

The emphasis has shifted to the second which says 'Gogowiant yn y Goruchaf' I will have to double check its meaning.

The third has the empahsis on the third cushion which has no text but has the shape of the Celtic cross.

Time Team Photo Essay

I was privileged enough to go along to a Time Team dig in Rutland last week and took the opportunity to do a bit of documentary work and some portraiture.  It was a little intimidating to ask all of the principal figures on the show if I could take their portraits and of course given time constraints I got basic images. I have a series that encompass aspects of the shoot. Each image have different qualities that appeal to me.  From the perspective of simple shots I like those which have a sense of quality which is different to compositional  elements within the frame that tell a story.

These images of Tony Robinson are a fusion of place and basic portraiture. The colour version is a better representation for a number of reasons but in essence it boils down to separation of the subject. In the mono version Tony is caught up in the background which is quite cluttered but stand out better in the colour version which his helped by the primary colours of his shirt and skin tones.

The images of Phil are similar but the separation of the figure works in both, the first is helped again by the primary colour of the shirt.  The mono version is aided by the blue which becomes  near black.  The background is lighter and less cluttered and allows the subject to stand out more effectively.  The latter image  also partially captures a sense of place and tells you that there is an old building and that some archaeology activity is occurring.

This image for me tells the story of the production side of the event. It has fours layers of depth and human interaction.  In the foreground you have the director who has the attention of the cameraman in the middle ground as well as Tony in the background but critically it is the monitor which tie all these elements together in the form of the final result i.e. the actual shoot.

This image also exhibits the same qualities of depth and was the final scene of the shoot. But the production side is only one element as it is the archaeology itself which is the heart of the Tie Team. The following series of images hopefully tell their own stories.

The above image is Tracey working in her Trench while Connie a winner from the Time Team club who was allowed to experience the dig gives a sense that she might be daydreaming of being an archaeologist one day.

An integral part of the archaeological process is in the cleaning and identifying the finds that come from the trenches.  Here the finds are being cleaned and carefully returned to the trays which they came from which are numbered and identified by specialists so that they can be tied to a context of period by their depth of discovery.

The incident room plays an important part in tying together the different investigative branches of the archaeological process.  In the foreground Jimmy pieces together the latest geophysical results (ground analysis) to determine if any structures can be detected even before a shovel is put into the ground. This helps to identify areas that should be explored.

Interaction here between the producer Tim Taylor and the shows presenter Tony Robinson while some of the crew wait for the outcome of the discussion in the background. What the topic may be I will leave that to your imagination.

No series of images would be complete without the archaeological process in action. Phil Harding is caught in mid shovel throw as he excavates in trench one.

It is not all hard work for some there is a wait until needed. The digger operator who has been a part of the team for years catches a few zzzz.

The final image in the story catches the sense of place. This image should conceivably been first in the series but I have left this until the very end.