Street Details
The object of this assignment is to demonstrate my understanding of the coursework I have studied to date by photographing a chosen subject from this assignment.
My chosen subject from this assignment is Street Details and below I have included fifteen pictures in accordance with the assignment. Beneath the images I have provided my thoughts at the time of taking each picture along with additional comments and at the very bottom of the assignment I have provided my reflections and a self critique.
1. Single point dominating the composition
Picture 1a – Canary Wharf, London
Picture 1a – My thoughts when taking this picture
The iconic sculpture of Ana Tzarev’s “love poppy” in honour of Remembrance day, Canary Wharf, London. My initial thoughts whilst photographing this huge flower sculpture were to wait until darkness not only for the sculpture but also for the surrounding buildings with their own illumination. During the waiting period I took several photos and I am glad I did because upon night time the illuminated subject became too self centred amongst its surroundings. The lower halogen lights fixed to the base platform totally over powered the surrounding high rise buildings which where only light up from low energy consuming night lights, which was a shame but understandable in today’s green market. I did try and shoot this point from various other angles at night but it had little meaning or recognition as a flower sculpture, other than a nice colour.
Camera, Lens & Settings
Nikon D4 (Full Frame), Lens 24/70, Speed 1/60th sec, Aperture f6.3, Focal Length 36mm, ISO 200.
Picture 1b – Marble Arch, London
Picture 1b – My thoughts when taking this picture
The rear view of the famous Horses Head at Marble Arch, London. I walked the complete perimeter of this bronze head and in my opinion the best shot was of the less popular rear side of this statue, considering the aim of the exercise was to find a single point dominating the composition. From this side the figure has a grater understanding of scale with the trees, Georgian houses and also a double-decker bus in the background, to the immediate left the three fountains also giving an impression of scale to the dominant single point. I also like this shot because it gives an obscurity to the Horses Head and at first its not recognisable as anything until the statues name is revealed, from here one is then able to piece it together and recognise the underside of a horses head. I also wanted to apply myself and photo the subject in a manner that was different rather than the full on head picture that everybody photographs.
Camera, Lens & Settings
Nikon D4 (Full Frame), Lens 24/70, Speed 1/200th sec, Aperture f9.0, Focal Length 36mm, ISO 100.
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2. Two points
Picture 2a – Two buses, London
Picture 2a – My thoughts when taking this picture
In this exercise the objective is to show two points, they could both be identical in shape, size and colour or two dominant subjects of total difference, therefore I have decided to include two examples. Walking around London offers a vast choice of subjects and certain iconic things come to mind such as black cabs, pigeons, monuments, building facades the list goes on and my first example of this exercise is of two near identical points, namely buses. Whilst coming off Oxford street into a side street I noticed two buses parked up, so I walked alongside the busses to gain a better vantage point from the front and composed several pictures. Not knowing the area or even coming from London, a little earlier or later and these two buses would not have been here and I wouldn’t have known to wait and particularly with this part of the assignment in mind, my immediate thoughts on seeing these two buses where some pictures are there for the taking others you have to wait for.
Camera, Lens & Settings
Nikon D4 (Full Frame), Lens 14/24, Speed 1/125th sec, Aperture f7.1, Focal Length 21mm, ISO 100.
Picture 2b – Trafalgar Square, London
Picture 2b – My thoughts when taking this picture
My second picture for this part of the assignment is of two points that are dominant in the photo rather than the first depicting identical subjects. In the foreground we have the bronze figure of Charles James Napier (1782 -1853) general of the British Empire and the British Army’s Commander-in-Chief in India and behind is the bell tower of the St Martin-in-the-Fields English Anglican church (north-east corner of Trafalgar Square). My thoughts and direction for this part of the assignment where to try an show two totally different meanings of the topic “two points.”
Camera, Lens & Settings
Nikon D4 (Full Frame), Lens 24/70, Speed 1/4000th sec, Aperture f8.0, Focal Length 40mm, ISO 200.
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3. Several points in a deliberate shape
Picture 3 – Inside the O2 stadium, London
Thoughts when taking this picture
To find a fitting subject for this part of the assignment was a little harder, I initially thought of pigeons or an elevated view of cars in a traffic jam but neither of these pictures would have satisfied the assignment requirement of Several points in a “deliberate shape.” I did think of roof tops from an elevated building but that never came to fruition as I couldn’t think of a building high enough in an area offering similar styles of roof and I don’t have the budget to hire a helicopter. So for the mean time I parked this subject and moved onto Implied Triangles and Patterns. Having been to several concerts at the O2 stadium I recalled the roof structure being saturated with triangular shaped rigging and also alongside the stadium a very unusual patterned building, so with my mind set my next stop was the O2. Having taking my pictures of the surroundings I decided to venture inside the stadium and right in front of me was a display of blue illuminated balls screaming out “several points in a deliberate shape.” Prior to this picture I had photographed a block of flats at night with several lights switched on but in comparison to this picture it looked dull.
Camera, Lens & Settings
Nikon D4 (Full Frame), Lens 24/70, Speed 1/30th sec, Aperture f4.5, Focal Length 24mm, ISO 100.
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4. Combination of vertical & horizontal
Picture 4 – Outside the O2 stadium, London
Thoughts when taking this picture
This picture of Bruce Springsteen was taken outside the O2 stadium, one of the many iconic rockstar pictures plastered around the outer perimeter walls. This is not my picture of Bruce but the assignment does ask for a “Combination of vertical & horizontal” and upon seeing this picture set behind the stadium structure it just came out at me and to add a little of my own to this picture I have sepiared it. My original picture for this part of the assignment was of a man walking past an illuminated shop front at night with the roller guard pulled down but after seeing this dynamic shot there was no comparison.
Camera, Lens & Settings
Nikon D4 (Full Frame), Lens 24/70, Speed 1/30th sec, Aperture f5.6, Focal Length 24mm, ISO 100.
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5. Diagonals
Picture 5 – The BBC studios, London
Thoughts when taking this picture
When I first saw this picture of the BBC studios, I caught the diagonal building lines, the side glass panels and also the windows, all leading into the curved glass frontage and giving a real sense of movement. I also imagined a ball rolling along one side of the building, traversing around the glass curvature and coming back out of the picture at the same speed, as if part of a giant pinball machine. The concrete paving slabs also add a further sense of movement to this picture.
Camera, Lens & Settings
Nikon D4 (Full Frame), Lens 24/70, Speed 1/60th sec, Aperture f8.0, Focal Length 24mm, ISO 100.
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6. Curves
Picture 6 – The Gherkin, London
Thoughts when taking this picture
Upon reading “Curves” from this assignment, the London Gherkin was my priority picture. It’s a very unique building and in particular it offers a visual delight of compounded curves and looking closer at this building through its outer glass skin we can see that the main support system inside is a fabricated diamond structure. Therefore in this assignment this building could have satisfied curves, triangles and diagonals all in one picture.
Camera, Lens & Settings
Nikon D4 (Full Frame), Lens 24/70, Speed 1/30th sec, Aperture f5.6, Focal Length 24mm, ISO 200.
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7. Distinct, even if irregular shapes
Picture 7 – The City Hall Building, London
Thoughts when taking this picture
The London City Hall Building otherwise known as the Boris Building. Again an iconic building with a fantastic spiral stairway inside but unfortunately I was not able to capture this as the building is closed at weekends. Like other topics in this assignment this building immediately came to mind when reading “Distinct, even if irregular shapes.” The front of the building overlooks the river Thames whilst the rear is a faceted shape, each representing a different floor level. In general whilst trying to photograph any of the big buildings in the heart of London they all have very little breathing space between neighbouring buildings and to capture a shot that incorporates the complete subject is sometimes near on impossible. This leaves little opportunity but to use a super-wide angle lens which naturally introduces a greater amount of distortion and convergence and to eliminate it electronically via software later on can distort the subject even more so, even to the point of ruining the picture. In this instance I was lucky to be able to photograph this building from Tower Bridge with my good old trusty 24/70 hence introducing very little distortion and convergence.
Camera, Lens & Settings
Nikon D4 (Full Frame), Lens 24/70, Speed 1/160th sec, Aperture f8.0, Focal Length 70mm, ISO 200.
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8. Implied Triangles
Picture 8a – Canary Wharf underground station, London
Thoughts when taking this picture
This picture of Canary Wharf underground station incorporates several triangles, I have marked up my objective triangle in red, we could also consider the curved roof line of having various points making up a triangular shape and also the triangle defined in the wall running to the side and beneath the escalator. My thoughts when taking this picture where to include movement outside of just showing diagonals and curves and in trying to achieve this I deliberately set the shutter speed slower than I would normally and waited for the opportunity to capture a person about to embark on the escalator. The camera speed was slow enough to capture slight movement of the person walking but quick enough to almost freeze the people on the escalator.
Camera, Lens & Settings
Nikon D4 (Full Frame), Lens 14/24, Speed 1/20th sec, Aperture f11.0, Focal Length 24mm, ISO 1000.
Picture 8b – Outside the O2 stadium, London
Thoughts when taking this picture
As mentioned above in this assignment the O2 was one of my top priority visits providing several possible opportunities and like the Canary Wharf underground station this roof line picture of the O2 has several triangle shapes in one picture. One of the implied triangular shapes I have marked in red.
Camera, Lens & Settings
Nikon D4 (Full Frame), Lens 14/24, Speed 1/100th sec, Aperture f14.0, Focal Length 21mm, ISO 200.
Picture 8c – Her Majesty’s Theatre, Haymarket, London
Thoughts when taking this picture
This picture was taken of the structure supporting the entrance canopy outside Her Majesty’s Theatre. Although this picture is not strictly an implied triangle as we can visually see the shape without even having to mark it up but I have decided to included it because it is one of the many forms of triangle we see everyday without really paying attention or even noticing, until shown or pointed out to us.
Camera, Lens & Settings
Nikon D4 (Full Frame), Lens 24/70, Speed 1/100th sec, Aperture f11.0, Focal Length 48mm, ISO 200.
Picture 8d – Nelson’s Column, Trafalgar Square, London
Thoughts when taking this picture
This picture of Nelson’s column and the lions really is implied and in this instance I have marked up my implication in picture 8h. My thoughts before taking this picture of London’s Trafalgar square were of Nelson’s column, water fountains, bronze lions and pigeons everywhere, with this in mind a relationship is born between the lions and Nelson column.
Camera, Lens & Settings
Nikon D4 (Full Frame), Lens 24/70, Speed 1/100th sec, Aperture f16.0, Focal Length 24mm, ISO 200.
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9. Rhythm
Picture 9 – Regents street, London
Thoughts when taking this picture
This picture was taken in Regents street just up from Leicester square and is one of the many buildings that offers a sense of visual rhythm. The five arches, the eight upper columns and the five round windows not to mention the other smaller windows all add up in a repetitive way bringing a visual rhythm to the front of this regency building.
Camera, Lens & Settings
Nikon D4 (Full Frame), Lens 24/70, Speed 1/30th sec, Aperture f20.0, Focal Length 24mm, ISO 200.
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10. Pattern
Picture 10 – Oxford street, London
Thoughts when taking this picture
I took this picture by chance whilst walking along Oxford street and this repetitive glass window pattern is situated above a Boots Chemist. For this part of the assignment I had prematurely made up my mind to include the frontage of the patterned building situated alongside the O2 stadium (already on the memory card) but upon seeing this array of smoked glass window and the way the light mesmerizingly bounces off immediately told me that this is the one.
Camera, Lens & Settings
Nikon D4 (Full Frame), Lens 24/70, Speed 1/60th sec, Aperture f6.3, Focal Length 56mm, ISO 100.
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My Reflections
Some days I am on the computer for the best part of sixteen hours, updating the blog site, processing images, backing up pictures or reading various articles and taking notes. Other days I am writing in my sketch journal or out on the coursework with my camera, but having said this I am still enjoying both the exercises and the assignments immensely. With regards to all this input, I am beginning to really understand certain aspects of photography that I never knew or had even attempted before and in relevance of this assignment I would like to think that the coursework I have completed up to now demonstrates this new understanding in my photography.
When undertaking any of the coursework I always write in my sketch journal an ‘approach method’ followed after by ‘how can I best show this’ for the coursework. I then use this knowledge whilst out photographing and if anything alternatively better comes during the shoot I add my comments to both my blog and sketch journal. This did happen whilst in London compiling these pictures and as mentioned above in my method of working I had prematurely decided on my subjects and written them beside each of the topics on a print-out sheet which I took with me (this way I know where to go and can also keep better time if there is a lot to do).
The pictures taken for this assignment were compiled over two separate visits to London, my first visit was not as successful as I had hoped and upon reviewing the pictures on my PC at home I knew I could do better hence visiting London again for a second opportunity.
My picture of choice
I am attracted to this picture for several reasons:-
- The movement of lines and the way that the man about to embark onto the escalator brings you into the picture.
- I like the light, especially the difference between warmth and cold when comparing the two undersides of concrete roof section to the outside world visible through the glass roof.
- This was one of the pictures I took on my second visit. Between visits I took the time to think of a picture by comparing my previous images on the large PC screen and thinking on the lines of what would offer more interest for the viewer and bring more interest into the picture.
Things I have done since my last assignment
- OCS Study visit (Cardiff).
- Michal Iwanowski – Clear Of People.
- Paul Gaffney – We Make the Path by Walking.
- Attend a ceremony by Joe McNally (Photography show NEC).
Current Books I am Reading
- The Photograph / Graham Clarke / Oxford History of Art.
- The Photographers Eye / Michael Freeman
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