Illustration - Evidence of action

I have been slightly puzzled by this exercise. The suggestion is to produce evidence of action with a photograph of something that has fallen or broken. My thoughts have wandered over various potential subjects:-

- letting my bicycle fall over (gently) and taking its picture: I rejected this idea as I felt that current overcast conditions would result in a drab photograph.

- tipping foodstuff such as seeds or sauce on a surface or breaking an egg: rejected as I could not visualize the composition or colour contrast to create some visual interest.

I glanced through The Photographers Eye (Michael Freeman) in particular the chapter on "Moment". In this he discusses applying Henri Cartier-Bressons concept of a "decisive moment", as well a the patience sometimes needed, in other situations, to obtain the desired composition.

By "evidence of action", I understand that in this exercise the photographer should convey pictorially to the viewer that some activity is taking place or has taken place. Cartier-Bresson's photograph of a man about to step into a puddle would be a prime example. Michael Freeman's photograph of a small child thrown high in the air is also a potential model.

Reviewing my own recent photographs, one of the situations akin to Michael Freeman's example was some photographs that I took a some boys playing football on an Indonesian beach in the late afternoon. In order to clearly show the moving figures, I placed myself on the shore side so that the players were in silhouette against a softly lit sea and sky. The challenge was to obtain photographs where the ball was clearly visible and the posture of the figures conveyed a feeling of movement. Naturally, these photos lack the emotional impact of a small child beingthrown high in the air.

Soccer on the beach 1

Nikon 18-200mm at 95mm: Iso 200 f7.1 for 1/200th second

Soccer on the beach 2

Nikon 18-200mm at 95mm: Iso 200 f7.1 for 1/250th second

Another situation where "action" was clearly in evidence was in taking photographs of the fireworks in Edinburgh. This was a situation where patience and luck played a significant role, as the fireworks were only set off in two short bursts over the course of the evening. I waited quite a considerable time for the unpredictable moment.

Looking for potential subjects over the past weeks, many fallen or broken subjects do not have a strong element evidencing action. For example, a fallen tree or branch in a woodland scene after a windy night conveys a placid feeling rather than a feeling of action. Maybe if I had found a tree that had fallen over in the road, this would have had a sense of immediacy that I was looking for.

I did not come across a scene where there was a sense of action typical of photo-journalism. I have taken a photograph of something broken, but the situation has relatively little drama.

Frost damage

Nikon 18-200mm at 50mm: Iso 320 f8 for 1/15th second

Observations

The surface of this plant pot had broken away overnight after the recent frosts. I felt that there was some visual interest in the jagged shapes of the fallen pieces as well as the texture of the pot which is catching the light.

I chose to photograph the pot as I found it, without rearrangement. I tried various viewpoints to show the damage. Higher viewpoints showed the jagged shapes of the fallen pieces more fully, but the sides of the pot were less prominent. This low viewpoint shows the sides of the pot best. I also like the way the fallen pieces can be seen piled up one on another at this low angle.

The pattern on the blue china pot is quite strong visually, but on the other hand the colour and pattern provide background contrast for the right hand side of the pot. I think that the pot provides a better background than the bricks.

I cropped the right hand edge of the original frame a little as I wanted the area of blue pattern to be no more than necessary. I did not crop the top of the frame as the presence of the few green bits of grass are important in showing that this is a plant pot. The photograph becomes quite abstract if the top of the pot is left out of the frame.

Conclusion

Travel photography has been one of my main photographic interests. One of the similarities with photojournalism is the need to capture events happening in the surroundings. Anticipation and timing of reaction are vital skills.

Based on our recent trip to Indonesia, I feel that I am more focussed in such situations, and my photographs are improving as a result. Naturally, however, there is still that feeling of regret about the rather larger number of good shots that I missed getting.