Elements of design assignment 2; Single point

Since Wednesday, I have been reviewing the photographs of plants and flowers in order to select those that match the effects that we are asked to present. In this and the following entries, I will review the short list of photos that I have taken relating to each of the ten effects, one by one.

These short listed photographs have all been converted to black and white with one exception.

Image 1: Dandelion

Lens 18 - 70 mm at 18mm: Iso 160 f8 at 1/40th

I photographed this dandelion catching the morning sun, under a tree in Guildford Castle grounds. From the angled viewpoint, the line of bright sunlight not only lights up the flower, but the diagonal line from top centre of the frame to the lower right breaks up the uniformity of the grass background and enlivens the photograph. Michael Freeman suggests in the course notes that the position of the subject divides the frame into areas defined by implied vertical and horizontal lines through that point. To my eye, this effect was more apparent in the photographs of single dolphins or birds noted in my blog of 16th March 2010. In this photograph however, the diagonal line of sunlight seem to direct the viewer from the dandelion towards the bottom left of the frame as if the dandelion were "facing" in that direction.

Image 2: Fallen petal

Lens 18 - 70mm at 18mm: Iso 160 f8 at 1/180th

At the same location, this petal lay on the grass at some distance from a magnolia tree and the other fallen petals. The relatively narrow frame makes the petal stand out. Unlike the first photograph, the more horizontal viewpoint and wide angle lens creates a reasonably strong feeling of perspective.

I have considered this picture to be a "single point" composition even though in the background there is the base of the magnolia tree surrounded by more fallen petals. My reason for this is that these background elements are far less prominent than the foreground petal. It is the petal which dominates the composition for example when viewed at medium distance. Also, cropping out the background does not seem to have a significant effect on the photograph. I decided to retain the blurred background however as I wanted the effect of the tall vertical frame and the feeling of depth.

The shadow of the branches make a triangular shape in the frame and this adds some vitality to the overall composition. This does not have the dramatic effect of the curving line of shadow in the photograph of a house and tree in the course notes on "Using lines in composition".

A significant weakness of this photograph is that the pear-drop shape of the magnolia petal is not interesting enough as a shape to hold the viewer's interest for very long. I think that the picture would have been stronger if I had found something more complicated such as a whole flower head as the point of visual interest.

Image 3: Magnolia petal amongst other fallen flowers

Lens 18 - 70 mm at 18mm: Iso 400 f7.1 1/90th

In this photograph the light coloured magnolia petal has fallen amongst darker toned camelia flowers and leaves. Whilst the magnolia stands out as the single main point in the frame, the background is "busy" with other shapes and forms. Depth of field is also absent as the photograph was taken square to the ground, and this make the picture rather "flat". I would not therefore choose this picture over the previous two.

Image 4: Feather-like palm leaves

Lens 18-70mm at 18mm: Iso 800 f16 at 1/8th (tripod)

The course notes include an example of the centre of a flower as a single point in the frame. This prompted me to look for a similar composition at the various locations I visited. A flower close up was ruled out as the weather was generally blustery outdoors, and I preferred not to spend time setting up a still-life photograph indoors for this assignment. I photographed the interior of this low-growing palm in the temperate greenhouse at RHS Wisley. I was attracted by the feather like leaves and their unusually light colour. The high-key tone of the photograph seems to emphasize the feather-like appearance of the leaves.

In order to keep the detail of the centre sharp, I found that f16 was necessary even at wide angle. I therefore needed to use a tripod for this photograph.

As a composition, the off-centre position of the centre of the plant is without doubt conventional. However, I enjoy the textures and tones of the picture even if it is relatively unoriginal.