Tuesday 30 November 2010

TAOP - Part 1 - Assignment - Contrasts

This blog post is in relation to the Assignment on Page 47 of the OCA Photography 1 - TAOP course material.

Going through all my previous photographs that I have taken over the years, I really struggled to find any that would fit the description of contrasts. Having only recently started to take my photography seriously, I have hundreds of old photos that just standard snapshots of people or places, but none that could be categorised as representing one theme or another. A good indication of how lacking in direction and purposed my photography was before starting this course.
However I did manage to find a couple of contrast examples, which can be seen in this Flickr set.

Having found out just how aimless my photography has been, I was looking forward to this assignment, about planning and thinking of various ideas that would best suit each of the contrasts from the list, and about trying to take photographs with purpose and meaning.

Some of the themes gave me ideas straight-away, such as the water drops for liquid, and the traffic trails for continuous, and they had natural opposites such as ice for solid. Others were not so easy to think of so I had to wander around looking to different things, trying to think of them in ways that made sense of one of the contrast list.

Overall, I think the photographs are good representations of the ideas and concepts they were trying to achieve, although I am pleased with some more than others. I am particularly pleased with Continuous and Pointed as they best show what there are supposed to represent.


If the thumbnail links are missing, view full images on the Flicker set for this assignment.

TOAP-Part1-A-1         Dark
 Dark
f/5.6  1/8sec  ISO-250  45mm(67mm equiv)

The background and the table are still very dark even though there are three candles, showing just how little light is emitted from the bright flames.



TOAP-Part1-A-2       Light
Light
f/5.6    1/125sec   ISO-250   55mm(82mm equiv)

I tried many different exposures of this bulb from a table lamp with varying levels of brightness. I like how the glass gives the impression of an aura of light around the filament.







TOAP-Part1-A-3      Heavy
Heavy
f/5.6    1sec   ISO-200  52mm(78mm equiv)

The uniformity of the rust on the hammers almost makes them seem
like one large piece of metal, adding to the sense of weight.







TOAP-Part1-A-4      Light
Light
 f/5.6  1/3sec  ISO-250   40mm(60mm equiv)

Here I have tried to indicate the weightless nature of the
feather by resting it gently on a dark fluffy cushion.






TOAP-Part1-A-5        Many
 Many
 f/5.6   1/100sec   ISO-250   55mm(82mm equiv)  +Flash

I had a problem with the flash bouncing off the face of some these coins, so I cut a small slot in a piece of paper and placed it over the flash. I think this gives the impression of looking into a treasure chest, and the way the coins extend beyond the strip of light, and even beyond the frame give the feeling of a large pile.


TOAP-Part1-A-6     Few
Few
 f/5.6   1/2sec  ISO-250   52mm(78mm equiv)  +Flash

By showing that the coin is the only one in the pocket, it emphasises feeling of having so little.





TOAP-Part1-A-7    Pointed
 Pointed
 f/5.6  1/200sec  ISO-200 32mm(48mm equiv)  +Flash

It's not just the recently sharpened pencil that is pointed, the shavings all have a pointy bright yellow edge to them.




TOAP-Part1-A-8     Blunt
Blunt
 f/5.6   1/4sec  ISO-250   55mm(82mm equiv)


Even though the matches are long and thin, the round heads and grouping
them together changes the overall shape to a flat object.









TOAP-Part1-A-9     Liquid
 Liquid
 f/5.6  1/1000sec  ISO-1000  34mm(51mm equiv)

This shot took a lot of trial and error before I got a crisp clean image with a sense of movement and fluidity.





TOAP-Part1-A-10    Solid
 Solid
 f/5.6   1/200sec  ISO-200   55mm(82mm equiv)


I think most people will automatically think of solid ice as a contrast to liquid, and by using a recognisable shape it gives a sense of a solid object rather than frozen water.









TOAP-Part1-A-11   Diagonal
 Diagonal
f/5.6  1/5sec ISO-250  52mm(78mm equiv)  +flash

By showing the dog sat upright, you can tell that this is truly diagonal and not just a tilted shot. I like how the dogs body disappears behind the line, adding to the harsh divide.



TOAP-Part1-A-12       Rounded
Rounded
f/5.6   1/2sec  ISO-250  30mm(45mm equiv)

The rings within the logs add to the round shapes dotted throughout the picture. Converted to black and white and boosted contrast in post production to emphasis the rings.





TOAP-Part1-A-13    Continuous
 Continuous
f/29   15sec  ISO-200  26mm(39mm equiv)

I've wanted to try one of these traffic trail photos for a while so this was the first thing that sprang to mind when thinking about 'continuous'. The wall of the bridge was higher than was ideal for the tripod so I shot this in hand whilst resting on the wall.
 

TOAP-Part1-A-14    Intermittent
 Intermittent
f/5.6   1/30sec  ISO-200  55mm(82mm equiv)

The almost random layout of the car lights and lack of visible road markings makes for chaotic indeterminacy.








TOAP-Part1-A-15    High
 High
f/7.1  1/200sec  ISO-200  55mm(82mm equiv)

The simplest way of achieving a sense of height is to take a photograph above normal eye level, looking back down at the ground. So with that in mind the view from the back bedroom window seemed ideal.






TOAP-Part1-A-16      Low
Low
f/13  1/200sec   ISO-200  32mm(48mm equiv)

The same back street from ground level, lower than normal eye level and looking up






TOAP-Part1-A-17  Black & White
Black & White
f/5.3   1/60sec  ISO-200  40mm(60mm equiv)

I wanted a monochrome looking effect to this photo, so I arranged some white sugar over black coffee in a white mug sat on a black chopping board. The circular reflection from the flash was an unexpected bonus.









 

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