Purpose: This assignment focuses on “working the “scene which means making the most out of a scene that catches your attention. The location for this exercise is the corner of a city block. The purpose of the exercise is to learn framing and positioning and to practice applying some composition skills including: Rule of thirds, Filling the frame; Viewpoint; Horizon and Frame within a frame.
Part 1: “Best of” Images
(Click on images and hover to reveal caption information)
Part 2: Ten second tier images
Reflection:
My scene was a small side street in Boston’s North End in October. I started on a side street recommended by a friend but unfortunately, my presence made an elderly woman very uncomfortable—she wondered why I was hanging around for so long and made it clear that I was being recorded. I tried to convince her that I was harmless but--after the exchange the area lost its appeal so I moved on to Margaret Street, a street nearby. It too, was quiet but there was activity at a bar at one end so it wasn’t as much of an alleyway. I had a lot to work with—textures, changes in light, shadows, reflections etc. There was quite a bit to see within the parameters of the shoot. I spent almost 3 hours and then came back to the same street to check out the light in the evening. For most of the shoot I used a my 24-105 mm telephoto lens so that I could vary the focal length as needed. Once the light started to be more challenging I had to change to my 50 mm lens. My favorite images demonstrate a few of the compositional techniques discussed in last weeks class. In images 2 and 4 one can see the rule of thirds. In image 2 the image can be visually divided into three horizontal zones and in image 4 the gray stone sculpture at the top of the archway falls at about the middle third to the image. In both cases the visual divisions help give the image balance and help emphasize interesting elements in the scene. (Images 7, 12, and 15 also utilize the compositional technique). Image 4 of the building with an exterior fire escape would be a good example of filling the frame. I think in this case the elimination of the sky and pavement help give the image energy and strength. Horizon lines in an image ( which for me are often titled!) play a strong role in images 1 and 14. In the first image leading lines of the buildings draw one into the image and towards sky which adds a nice break to the tonal qualities of the buildings. In image 14, I am leaning against the side of a building looking up—a small flag caught my attention. The image isn’t quite what I wanted. If I could have cropped I would have taken out the small pieces of building that are at the top or if I had had someone to catch me from falling over backwards I might have tried to get more of the buildings at the top for more balance. In any event the strong horizon line was key to making the image interesting compositionally. Image 12 (with the vine leaves) was one of a series that I took. I attempted to frame people coming down the road in the bend of the grapevine. None are included here since that wasn’t a success but I was trying the compositional technique of frame within a frame. I attempted throughout the shoot to shoot from a variety of viewpoints—shooting up, down, peering around a corner, using reflection in a car window to show another angle, looking down a few steps to a basement with a lock, looking up the street, looking down the street and then taking the scene at night. For shot variety and interesting visual discoveries in a location changing view point is key. In this shoot, I wish I had shot a few smaller details but I must say that I filled every moment with thinking and trying new angles in my area and yes I slept really well that night!