Elements of design assignment 2: Pattern

Image 29: Seedlings

Lens 18-70mm at 18mm: Iso 320 f 8 at 1/160th

This is another photograph that I took whilst sheltering from the rain in a greenhouse at Loseley House (see also image 14). I thought that the variety of shapes in this mixed tray seedlings might be effective in black and white.

However, the pattern of the different trays is not particularly striking when viewed from afar. Mid-tones predominate in the image and the leaf textures only stand out for a few of the trays.

I tried further cropping to just a handful of the more striking leaf shapes, but this did not enliven the picture to a significant extent.

Image 30: Young plants

Lens 18-70mm at 18mm: Iso 320 f 8 at 1/250th

I photographed these young plants at the same location.

In this case, the circular pots contrast well with the dark soil in black and white creating a strong and attractive pattern. The individual young plants also stand out clearly against the background. Each one is however slightly different and the viewer can spend some time moving around the picture.

One of the plants is in poor condition and has almost disappeared. I considered whether it would be better to exclude this part of the photograph to create a more "perfect" selection of plants. The revised version is as follows.

Image 31: Young plants - revised version

The characteristics of the picture have not been fundamentally changed. The remaining plants still have enough variety to make the picture interesting.

On balance however, I think that the original vertical frame is more lively than the almost square shape of the revised version. I therefore prefer the original version despite the imperfections.