Exercise: Busy Traffic

This exercise explores space where people are busy. Typically shopping centres, public buildings, commuting or travelling terminals amongst many. For this exercise we are to try to capture the essence of movement and how the space is used. I chose to try an use some form of motion blur to indicate the motion and busyness. This was a challenging exercise in that not all places are open to photographs being taken.

The first set was taken in an underpass, although people where in constant shot they were not that crammed in as can be seen in the first example with most of the figures too far away.

The second shot taken only moments afterwards works a lot better. In it there are people in the far background, the middle ground and the foreground with some nice motion blur. This was by far the best shot of the small series I took, which I feel works well.

The second set of images for this exercise was taken in a small shopping centre. These didn't work as well as the underpass but do show the milling around of people. The best image is probably the third, this image shows more motion and has varying sized people making it more interesting. They also all seem to be flowing in the same direction which gives more of a flow and less randomness.

 

 

 

Exercise: Making Figures anonymous

In this exercise we are tasked with producing 2 to 4 images that include people in a particular place but having them unrecognisable. This could either be small and many, facing away, in silhouette, partly obscured or motion blurred.

I chose the options of small and many though I really liked the idea of a small silhouette I couldn't quite find one for this exercise but will make a note of this perhaps for the assignment at the end of this section.

The first image was taken in a public garden. I decided to process this one in sepia, not really sure why but the colours were bland so I tried monochrome, but that lacked warmth so I went with sepia and liked the results. I like the framing of this one with the tree to the right and the light in the middle. The man feeding the geese is unrecognisable and at first not really noticeable as he is almost camouflaged into the image, in fact this may have made a better image than the 'Single Small Figure exercise.'

The next image is of iconic London on a warm late summer's afternoon. Having the small unnoticeable many figures gives this image a great deal of scale with the London Eye in the background over Horse Guards Parade. Using unrecognisable figures in images is a new concept to me and one that I think is extremely useful. I have sometimes captured strangers in the distant that 'make' an image but rarely considered adding them to places I have photographed...... I will have to remember these exercises.

Exercise: A single small figure

Starting this module of the course moves us more into people and how they fill space. It is obvious that when a person fills space within an image it gives us more relevance and able to relate to a place, even if we have not been there.

In this exercise we are asked to produce an image with a person in it at distance so that the scale of the image can be realised. Although the notes associated with this section suggest that the figure can be a surprise fore the viewer in having a delayed discovery time for the viewer, it should be fairly obvious. For my choice I took this image in autumn over the Ashdown Forest and although the figures are not a surprise I feel that this captures the essence of single small figure. I was lucky in capturing this one with the autumnal colours and the tree line acting as a doorway.

This is something I have never considered to give scale to an image, without this figure the image would certainly not appear to have as much space as it does as shown below and certainly lacks interest.

Exercise: How space changes with light

This exercise explores how light can affect spaces in which we photograph. This could be how the shadow areas change, which may evening cause the photographer to change the viewpoint of the image. Or in bright light how high contrasting images give a much different feel to images created on an overcast day.

I chose to photograph my study at various times of the day and with various weather outside. Trying to vary the angle where appropriate.

The first image is taken on a bright sunny day with the light streaming through the windows using two angles, the second I think is a better image giving more feeling to space and light.

From the same angle and around the same time of day but taken on an overcast day.

This image is less warm and with the diffused light has less shadow areas and less contrast with the outside. This did not vary as much as I thought it would but is probably due to that fact that the room has a lot of light entering it all of the time.

The final image was taken at dusk with pretty much even light from inside and out leaving a flatter image with the outside exposed the same as the inside and the screens much more prominent as the main source of light.

Exercise: Exploring function

This exercise is about exploring space in the context of its function, that is what it is used for and evidence demonstrating use or activity.

For this exercise I went to the public section of local council offices. These are used by various parts of the community from exercise, entertainment, the library, and of course local information. I took several shots of this scene, trying to demonstrate the space, but then I considered that it is not necessarily the vastness of the space that is important as this has no bearing on its use.

The area in question is a public area for information outside of the office, obviously meant to answer the basic questions and amenities of the building and the surrounding town. To me the leaflets of information were key as were the chairs in which to sit to read the information, so I tried to capture all of this along with the high contrasting light that poured into this glass atrium.

This image works a lot better in the description of the area and focusses in on the information and furniture. Evidence of use is also left behind by a newspaper left on the tables. I am not sure if I have succeeded in this exercise or not perhaps if people were in it it may have a greater bearing.

Exercise: An organised Event

For this exercise I chose another local fete. Unforgettably I had to cut the trip short but I think I managed to capture a couple of reasonable images. The better ones were when people were preoccupied with some of the entertainment. Other images tended to be taken at some distance.

I am starting to feel more confident in capture images of people unaware but still have that bashfulness and air that I am invading peoples privacy.....I just need to keep taking and looking for more opportunities.

Exercise: Standard Focal Length

To complement the wide angle and long focal lengths we are tasked with taking images of people at a standard focal length of 40mm o 500mm. This still involves taking images quite closeup, so hard for people unaware, but rewarding in the fact that the perspective is as it should be.

This exercise I found harder. I do not own a standard lens and I often find myself automatically zooming in and out without realizing. As such I didn't capture too many images on a day out in the sun at a fair recently in this range.

Of the 3 images shown here I really like the last one with the dog pulling away, it seems to have more going on with it. I had to be quick with the camera to capture this one at 28 mm with a 1.6 crop is 44mm.

Exercise: Standing Back

In this exercise we are  to take images of people unaware at focal lengths  between 80mm ad 200mm. This is a lot easier to do with such as large lens as you  are more removed from the subject. This is a great was of capturing people without them knowing, the downside is that you stand out a little more with a much larger lens and will need faster shutter times to compensate for the longer focal lengths to prevent camera shake.

All in all probably the easiest of the exercises to find examples of and to complete. The following two images were taken at the extreme end of a 200mm lens and the final one at 125mm.

A public space

For this exercise we are to photograph people in a public space showing how the space is used. I took the same trip to the coast to explore this and on the day I concentrated more on this type of photography and I found it more comfortable and easier to obtain better images in demonstrating people and space.

Space was abundant in this resort and people were very much separated so it was obvious how people adopted their own space and how they used it. In the first image I could have zoomed in more but I wanted to give a sense of the enormous space so left this at a wide 17mm. This reminds me of 'We English' by Simon Roberts, a fantastic exploration of how we use our space in England especially around the coastal resorts, as I write I am now thinking that I should have revisited his work for more inspiration.

The lady in the image was using her iPad to take pictures of a local wedding party.

Here again are the same couple but taken after another pass later on as they gaze over to the wedding party assembling on the beach.

I took many images of the numerous life guard huts trying to capture an ideal moment in time. As no one was drowning there wasn't much to be done, but I found this one opening up her stretch of the beach and getting the hut into working order by raising the flag; this was my favorite of the afternoon, the signage demonstrating that she would soon be 'On Duty'. This image was taken at a standard length of around 60mm

The following two images I have included as they seem to contrast the day. One with open airy spaces and the other looking quite cramped 

The final image of this exercise I have included really does bring home some of Simon Roberts' work, displaying space and the use of it as a small family sets up camp with chairs next to the peer. Again the wide angle lens capturing the space and the limited use of it, portraying a pleasant family day out undisturbed.

Close & involved

This exercise I thought was going to be the hardest but it wasn't as bad as I had imagined. In it we are tasked with taking images of people with a wide angle lens close up....not an easy task at first thought.

This I found daunting as there is nowhere to hide and it may be more obvious that your subject is fully aware of you taking pictures of them. What I did not expect though was that in using a wide angle lens you can appear to be taking a picture of a scene and not an individual. I realised this by looking through the view finder knowing what I was going to capture and then looking with my eyes tracking the direction the lens was pointing in. Remarkably most of the subjects would be completely unaware that they would in in shot; this was the most valuable lesson learnt from the day.

The area I chose was a coastal resort with a fair number of people but no madding crowds. I noticed and older gentleman and I thought he was going to use the binaculars, this shot didn't work, though I have shown it below all the same.

My favorite shot from the day shortly followed the older gentleman looking out over a veranda to the ocean. Using the wide angle at 17 mm he had no idea I was taking an image of him. It has caught a pensive moment in time, gazing over the ocean and the wide angle has worked well stretching the sky so that the viewer of the image feels that there are there in the scene.

Sadly, this was by far the best image of the day using this wide angle technique. One last attempt that I will show was of an interesting 'rapper' character who must have been hot in the midday sun, but he stayed staring at the sea for ages....

Capturing the moment

This exercise is all about capturing a moment in time. This could be a moment that is predicted or an unexpected moment in time. The art is to judge a scene and look at opportunities perhaps even waiting for opportunities.

This was not an easy exercise for me as a found my self working away from home. Having taken my camera I tried to explore opportunities but sadly the area was a central commercial city and at the weekend was rather devoid of people. The best I could do was to capture wandering lost souls like myself or some of the workers perhaps travelling home.

The first two were of a lady who was obviously herself a tourist, I first found here looking up towards a street sign and then after taking a picture of it. I captured both moments in time, what I should have also captured more clearly was the actual sign she was interested in...

Both of these were taken from across the street using  a 70mm focal length on a 1.6 crop camera.

The only other one I liked from this day was a worker waiting for a bus ride home. To me this captured a moment in time in home waiting for the bus in the background with a wait sign in the foreground counting down. Overall not one of my best days out, I think this was down to local knowledge and poor preparation  Tomorrow I have planned to go to the coast where I am hoping there will be more people.

Exercise: Eye contact & Expression

In this exercise we are tasked to explore eye contact and expression. That is eye contact with the subject and whether it is off camera or on camera. For this exercise I combined it with one of the main session for the assignment, concentrating on head / torso shots.

For most of the shots I used a static tripod moving it around from time to time and varying the focal length a little and lighting.One of the advantages I found that was talking to the subject without having to look through the lens was a lot more comfortable and easier to see and create expression, regardless if this was on or off camera.

This is definably a more creative way of performing a session that I thought went well.

My favourite image of the day was the following. I know that this does not show much of the subject but it has a candid quality to it that is quite warming and unusual. In processing I gave this a high key effect and boosted the contrast.