Assignment 1 Contrast With Tutors Comments

Photograph with both Black and White


Sweet

Sour

Smooth

Rough

Moving

Still

Solid

Liquid

Few

Many

Small

Large

Intermittent

Continuous

Rounded

Diagonal

I found this assignment quite difficult as you had to firstly picture the contrasts that you want to use and then identify the appropriate shots. It didn't work for me just taking photos and then deciding on contrasts.

Tutor Report Form

Student name:	Nicholas Beck
Student number:	504014
Course/Module title:	The Art of Photography
Assignment number:	1

Overall Comments

This is a good 1^st assignment with well communicated themes and simple graphic compositions.

I like the sunny feel to the assignment and the way that bold shapes and colours dominate the frames. 

This is a successful first step on the module showing good technical and compositional skills.  If there is one criticism of this work it’s that some of it is just too simple and too graphic.

Feedback on assignment

Continuous

This long, smooth stretch of motorway does express its theme well.  I like the way you’ve removed (or is this for real?) the white lines from the road to eradicate any intermittent trace.  It emphasizes the smooth continuity of the road well.  

Intermittent

The railway tracks offer a good visual symbol of intermittent rhythm. It’s a pity you didn’t find a section of track that was clear of obstructions – here the overhead cable supports, and the buildings on the left are a bit too distracting.  Once you’ve settled on an idea – either because you stumble upon it or because you recall it in memory – try then to find a good example that strongly emphasizes the subject as well as the theme. 

Diagonal

This road sign offers a strong diagonal pattern in red and white.  The composition looks a little too high, but it’s reasonably uncluttered and direct in impact.

Rounded

Another road sign like a round disk against the sky.  Blue against blue works quite well here.  Try framing tighter to reduce background distractions like the trees when shooting purely for information.

Few

A lovely macro shot of these daisies with the primary graphic point well placed on the left in sharp focus and face-on.  This leads well to the defocused daisy and the white spots in the background.   Once again, you have photographed in a lovely summery light.

Many

This multiple shot of daisies filling the frame works ok, but a higher viewpoint over the flowers would have given you a bit more impact.  This side viewpoint tends to feel like a background that needs something in it – like someone lying in the grass etc – as all the ‘faces’ of the flowers are pointing up.  You can resolve this issue by framing a single or few daisies in the foreground facing the camera. 

Small/Large

This pair work very well together with the connection being the little boy.  It’s a pairing about ‘boy dreams’ typically of cars etc, and the impact of the overwhelming Jeep in comparison with the toy is strong. 

The small photo is simple and graphic, like much of the work here – clean, central composition, full sunlight, no distracting shadows and a clear plain background. 

The large photo doesn’t manage the clear background as well, some shallow depth of field could have helped you by defocusing the houses in behind the Jeep.  But you have managed to make this Jeep look like it’s ‘holding’ the boy as the boy’s hand was holding the toy car.  It’s a very nice touch that the boy is covering his eyes – eluding to dreams – as if the Jeep just suddenly appeared!

The lighting is interesting.  Obviously these photos were taken during a period of sunny days and normally the deep shadow of the Jeep would seem an unusual choice because it de-emphasizes the car.  But here you’ve placed the boy in the light against the Jeep’s shadow to make him stand out well.  And the dark shape of the Jeep appears large and looming.   

Liquid

This is a good attempt at trying to photograph the ‘liquidity’ of water.  I think the problem with this is the overwhelming green background is very hard and flat.  It’s an interesting and very striking graphic choice – the green.  But it does detract from the subtle forms of fluidity.  Blue and white would seem the obvious choice for images of water.  And black does allow you to bring out the highlights and edges of reflections well.  

On another note, you have done well to capture the flow of water and the bubbles, as well as these forms in the shadow.  And it’s nicely composed in the frame: glass on the left, with the diagonal shadow leaning to the right.

Solid

As above about the green.  The ice here does look solid in connection to the liquid image.  That green background is well worth saving for something more pertinent. 

It’s a good idea to think around a subject when you’ve decided on one.  Briefly brainstorm about the colours, forms, shapes, concepts that come to mind when you think of ‘liquid’ or ‘solid’.  This may bring up ideas that you can combine. 

Moving

Another very clean, graphic composition with the boy on the right, his shadow leaning in a V shape to the left.  Good colour and light control here, the blue T-shirt goes well against the green.  His smile comes out well as a primary graphic point. 

The boy’s face is too much in shadow – a little fill flash could have filled the shadow and added to the summery atmosphere. 

There is a line top of frame.  Try to avoid such lines and other distractions by checking your shooting environment. 

Still

The boy at rest, once again with his hands over his eyes – adding a sense of a game to this photo. 

It’s a simple, central composition with a clear all round grass background, showing again your good eye for visual clarity.  Perhaps this is another photo that is too simple, too clean, with too little happening.

Rough/Smooth

These two fruits clearly belong together.  Although here the smooth peach is against a very textured grassy background. 

Be aware that whatever background you choose will affect the reading of the central subject.  So here, why have you chosen grass?  It’s not really about grass, it’s about fruit.  You needed a clear background like a smooth white or black to say nothing so that the fruit’s texture and smoothness could be emphasized. 

Sweet/Sour

I like this ‘studio’ set up, which shows good all-round even lighting and strong simple graphic composition.  Even the diagonal line in the background doesn’t detract from the effect.

I like the economical way you’ve used the same set-up and just changed the lemon to sugar – which is very communicative in itself.

Black & White

A well chosen, once again very intrinsically graphic subject, of chess pieces on a board.  Good use of shallow depth of field here to single out the foreground pieces in a ‘check-mate’ stance I guess, with lovely soft focus in the background. 

About composition: when you place two graphic points of equal strength side by side, you need to equalize the frame around them.  Here you have these two pieces on the left side.  It would’ve been better to have the white piece a little closer to camera, creating a line that continued to the other pieces, rather than sort of see-saws from one to the other. 

In a double portrait you want this sort of ‘seesaw’ action, but here you’re trying to include the background shapes.   

Learning logs/critical essays

If your blog is your learning log, then it is lacking in any written material.  Try to reflect on your working process: why you chose a subject, what you did technically that was interesting, what worked visually and what failed. 

Also, look at other photographers and try to respond to their work.

Suggested reading/viewing

Have a look at the photography on photo.net and make notes about what you like there and how you could make similar images. 

Good luck with the next assignment.

Tutor name:	ROBERT ENOCH
Date	11th June 2010
Next assignment due	30th August 2010