The following is a direct copy and has been Pasted in for future reference from the Art of Photography coursework PDF Doc. (pasted in Maroon)
4 photographs total
Curves, like diagonals, have a sense of movement and direction, and in some ways can be considered a kind of diagonal line. Because they pull the eye in, they are useful in planned composition. Curves have associations of smoothness, grace and elegance, and so add these feelings to an image. For this exercise, look for and take four photographs using curves to emphasise movement and direction.
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Equipment
Nikon D4
24/70 f2.8 lens
70/200 f2.8 lens
Tripod
Method
For this exercise I have shown a variety of curve related pictures, please see the images below.
Note – all pictures have been compressed hence there will be a quality reduction when enlarging.
Picture 1 (Bluebells – Curves)
This picture was taken with a 70/200mm lens, aperture of f5.6 and a speed of 100th sec. ISO 200, focal length 82mm.
This picture of a bluebell shows a series of two ‘directional’ curves, one directly at the top of the stem and the other lower down branching off.
Picture 2 (Coliseum, Rome – Curves)
This picture was taken with a 70/200mm lens, aperture of f9.0 and a speed of 125th sec. ISO 200, focal length 70mm.
A picture of one of Rome’s most famous land marks The Coliseum. As we can see from the remains of this building it has curves ‘movement & direction’ almost everywhere.
Picture 3 (Night time on the road – Curves)
This picture was taken with a 24/70mm lens, aperture of f22.0 and a speed of 15 seconds. ISO 4000, focal length 70mm, with a tripod.
This picture was taken at night standing on a local bridge over looking a main dual carriageway. The picture gives both ‘movement’ from the traffic and a sense of ‘direction’ from the curvature of the road, it also draws the eye toward following both coloured light trails into and from the distant corner.
Picture 4 (St. Peters, Rome – Curves)
This picture was taken with a 24/70mm lens, aperture of f3.5 and a speed of 1/6th sec. ISO 250, focal length 24mm.
This picture was taken of one the many arches inside Saint Peters Cathedral, Rome. Like the picture above of the coliseum it has curves ‘movement & direction’ almost everywhere.
What have I learnt from this exercise
From this exercise I have learnt that when taking pictures inside buildings it is very easy to end up with converging lines. I did attempt to correct the picture taken inside Saint Peters but it started to distort and became unnatural looking, so I left it alone. I have also learnt that pictures have ‘movement & direction’ within the diagonals and curves the portray.
Thoughts and Reflection
I enjoyed this exercise, especially the picture taken of the cars passing at night on the road, the last time I took one similar was with film about 25 years ago.
stingray493 