Assignment 2

About the assignment
I have tried to have the assignment in mind wherever I go with my camera, but it has taken some time to finish it. I spent some time trying to find out which of the themes to use, and finaly decided to mix them all. I found it a little limiting to just use city life or food as subjects. A couple of the photographs are  from my archive. The images are not snapshots, and I had a specific plan before I captured them. I found them relevant to this assignment. On this assignment I used photographs that have some kind of personal meaning to me, not just the elements described in the text. That is a little risky. The viewer may not have the same feeling. But just that is the challenge with photography. The most challenging  about the assignment is the writing. I am not used to describe my feelings about my photography. And certainly not in english:-) But that is the way to learn, I guess!

Assignment 2:

Elements of design

One point

I decided to use landscape.
I wanted something simple. The rock is standing out from the rest of elements. It is captured with a Nikon D800 on a tripod. The lens is a 24-70mm f/2,8. I used cable release  and mirror lock-up to prevent camera shake. A polarizer and a graduated  ND-filter is also used. The last to prevent the sky from burning out. I personal like the simplicity and the quiet mood in the picture. It was one of two usable picture from that day, and I spent much time walking around the lake to find the composition I preferred.















Two points

From the same day, and same place as the first image, but slightly different viewpoint. The nearest rock is actually the fundament for the tripod in the previous image. This image does not have the same quiet mood as the first. The rocks in the lower left corner is somehow disturbing the calmness of the scene. I  still think the image work. The rocks fills the foreground and leads the eyes to the rest of the elements in the frame. I also found the colors a little distracting and chose to convert it to mono. The texture on the rocks stands more out when converted to black and white.
The image is not as successful as image one.

















Multible points in a deliberate shape

This mage is captured this summer i Provence, southern France. It is one of my favorite places to photograph.
About 20 frames was captured and I tried several compositions. I had a hard time trying to place the elements in some kind of pleasant order. Ideally a higher viewpoint would possible work better to make the foreground elements stand out. But the sky would probably suffer, and I wanted the sky to balance the image. I used aperture 13 to get some depth of field. D800 on tripod








Horizontal and vertical lines

The horizon and the row of flowers indicates the horizontal lines while the stems on the flowers makes the vertical lines. It may not be the clearest example of vertical and horizontal lines, but I like the soft, subtle lines in the picture. I used a 70-200 mm lens wide open to get the soft effect I wanted. I am impressed with the way the camera  handles the difficult lightning conditions. I don't think my older D300 could capture the subtle tones in this scene.








Diagonals #1

I shot a number of images with diagonals. Train tracks, buildings and gravestones have all been captured during the last month. But I settled with an image that also have some life in it. The boys where looking for frogs and couldn't care less about the photographer. I find my eyes following the diagonal lines to the boys, then to the faces and back to the reflections in the water.  It is quite obvious that the boys are looking for something, and not posing. I could have used a more typical image with clear diagonal lines present, but this picture has a better feel to it. I also find it more dynamic then my other pictures. It is a more interesting  image because of just that. As with a lot of my images, I find colors distracting when I want to point out a specific shape in the composition.

Diagonals #2

The separating walls in the box is making the diagonals and brings some depth to the image. I really like the strong colors in the spicy powder.
I also have a composition with vertical and horizontal lines of the same subject, but that did not have the same dynamic feel. I could possibly have created more depth by choosing a lower point of view.
I think the image works ok.
I couldn't justify converting this to black and white:-)











Curves #1

One of my most personal photographs. It is my seven year old son checking if his diving mask is firmly positioned before a jump. He did this procedure every time before the jump. I found this very amusing, and wanted to capture the beautiful curves. Maybe a bit to personal, but I couldn't resist.

I used D800 with 70-200mm f/2,8 wide open to isolate Sebastian from the surroundings.

Curves #2

I tried to frame the image with the leafs as curving objects in the bottom. The dragonfly kept using the same landing spot again and again. I used D800, 70-200mm and a converter to get close enough. The bokeh is good enough to isolate the curving leafs and the dragonfly from the background.

Distinct, even if irregular, shapes

Archive image from Dubai 2010. I tried to frame the building inside the circular roof construction. 

The image is full of different shapes and lines. That is the reason why I wanted to use it in this assignment.

The warm light on the right side of the image adds a warm tone to the otherwise cool mood. I used Nikon D300 on tripod,  aperture of 16 and a shutter speed of 20 seconds to capture the scene.

Implied triangel #1

One of my absolute favorite photographs. The light is let through the transparent fabric in the ball and makes it look like some kind of planet. The triangle is made up of the two girls and the ball in the middle of the frame. Silhouettes is widely used in photography, and should be used careful. I like the dreamy feeling in the image, and decided to use it as the first implied triangle shot. I used D300 handheld and a 70-200 mm tele zoom to capture it. I underexposed deliberately to ensure the silhouettes. I  had a low viewpoint to separate the girls from the horizon.

Implied triangle #2

Another personal image. My daughter was willingly posing for me on this shot. The idea was that the eyes, nose and mouth should make a triangle. The eyes and the top left corner also has he shape of a triangle.

I used D800 with a 50mm f/1,4 lens to blur everything beside the eyes. The 50 mm lens is one of my absolute favorite lenses, and can be used very creatively. Again, a very personal image, but with a clear thought about the composition.  

Rhythm

A field of sunflower is my choice for the first rhythm picture. The flowers almost have a human look.
Its like thousands of faces is staring at the sun. I tried many different compositions, both vertical and horizontal. I think this picture had the best rhythm. It was a very colorful image, and as often, I converted it to black and white to keep focus on the composition.



















Rhythm #2

Again the French food is in focus.
I think the olives in the jars is making a rhythm in the picture. And the large spoons is almost like notes dancing from the bottom of the frame to the top.
Maybe not as strong rhythm as in the prevous image, but I still think that it gives an almost musical, rhythmic feel.


























Pattern

I spotted this beautiful artwork in the entrance of a local art shop in a small mountain village in the provence area. The work immediately got my attention. I think it makes a great pattern. The face is the main point of interest. I tried several compositions with straight and diagonal lines. I settled with the straight lines. The image was then converted  to mono in photoshop.

Summary
My wedding photography business has kept me busy with both photography and retouching this summer. That is, of course, a positive thing. But the study has suffered. I have tried to bring my camera with me at all times, and I finally have enough photographs to finish the assignment. Since the purchase  of Nikon D800 in april, I have shot over 10 000 images.
I personally like the photographs in this assignment better then those used in assignment 1.
I have used far more energy and time on this assignment. The most rewarding part of the assignments is the thinking. It forces me to look for the elements of design. Composition is the one thing a photographer must  master. A poor composed image is still a poor composed image even if the technique is great. The techniques in photography is possible for most people to learn.
I find it very inspirational to see how experienced photographers like David Noton, Ansel Adams, Morten Krogvoll, and Richard Avedon compose  their images. I find the photographs that I have visualized in my thoughts more successful than the ones I make spontaneously. It certainly is  rewarding to capture a good picture you have planned ahead.
I have learned a great deal of the assignment. And I have discovered that I used many of the elements of design before I started this course. I just wasn't aware of it.
I will use it more