Recap from Lifetime Learners Lesson 2. Assignment 2. Prepare for Lesson 3.
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I thought of a couple of things I wanted to emphasize when discussing composition and didn't mention.
1) Camera position. This is crucial to framing. An image taken from above the subject or from a worm’s eye view can produce a dynamic image. But, think of Dorothy’s photos of her dogs and how they might be improved if she had kneeled to take the picture at their level. The same with children.
Bromley. Photo by Jim Kahnweiler
Follow this link to Minden Pictures for examples of low angle, eye level images of feral rabbits on Okunoshima Island, Japan: https://www.mindenpictures.com/gallery/feature-stories/1058/2682/2203/0/rabbit-island-by-yukihiro-fukuda.html
2) And, I didn’t present a good example of leading lines. These are picture elements, often curves and converging lines that move the viewer’s eye from the foreground into the image toward the horizon.
Leading lines. Before processing. Photo by Jean Jacobson
Leading lines. After processing. Photo by Jean Jacobson
The Tetons and the Snake River. Photo by Ansel Adams
Chateaux Kyserberg. France. Leading lines. Before (L.) and after processing. Photo by Jim Kahnweiler
Tuolumne River and Tuolumne Meadows in winter, Yosemite National Park. Photo by Joshua Cripps
Also, I should have emphasized framing as a compositional technique. Natural and structural elements can frame the center of interest and help bring the viewer's attention into the image. The center of interest need not be completed surrounded by a literal frame; partial framing works, too.
A Walk Through Paradise Garden. Photo by W. Eugene Smith.
Taos Church, New Mexico. Photo by Ansel Adams
Florence framed by the entrance to the Piti Palace. Photo by Jim Kahnweiler
Vineyards in the Valley of the Moon, Santa Rosa, CA. Photography by Jim Kahnweiler
Assignment 2.
Use your a smartphone or regular camera, to make a series of images with intent: decide what you want to photograph--it can be highly specific or broadly defined. If you want, construct a still-life with objects found around your home, or beach, or anywhere; the idea is to build a photograph. Or, find objects and-or people with red, white, blue; or green, white, orange; or red, black, yellow. Or, subjects with clearly defined converging or intersecting lines or curves. Or, reflections, patterns. Abstract. Realistic. What you feel. These are just suggestions. Anything goes, as long as you are deliberate in your selection. Post your best 6 or fewer to Google Drive; remember your logic or inspiration to share during discussion.
Lesson 3: Control the Camera
Exposure: Relation between shutter speed, aperture, ISO
How to evaluate exposure: histogram, clipping warnings, view result
Review this website: https://petapixel.com/2016/06/25/comprehensive-beginners-guide-aperture-shutter-speed-iso/
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See you Tuesday
