Assignment 2: Elements of Design

Introduction

The brief for this assignment was to shoot a series of 10-15 thematically based images incorporating elements of image design.  For reasons of convenience and personal interest, I chose to shoot city scenes in Satwa, a residential area for South Asian and Philippine laborers.  The neighborhood is sandwiched between two tonier areas of town, Jumeirah Beach and Sheikh Zayed Road.

I spent three days shooting at different times, including late morning, mid-afternoon, and twilight.  In the Part Two course notes, author Michael Freeman suggests shooting (or processing) in black-and-white in order that color not distract from the elements to be practiced.  As I followed this suggestion with the exercises, I thought it best to complete the assignment as I began.  

All images were shot in auto mode on a Nikon D5100 with a Nikkor 18-55mm.  Post-processing was done in Lightroom.

The Images

Single Point dominating the composition
I shot this rather offhandedly, but it turned out to be one of the most compelling images of the set.  This seems to be a good example where center placement of the subject works to great advantage.

Two Points
Through two panes of glass we view two chairs,    above which hang two color swatches, suspended from them the faces of the President and Vice President of the UAE.  The chairs are flanked by shelves of fabric samples.  About the only asymmetrical item in the photo is the clerk.  I tried removing him in post processing but the result wasn't satisfactory. I went back to the location, but it was too early in the day and there was too much light reflecting off the glass.  In the end I decided it was honest to leave him.





Several Points in a Deliberate Shape
Implied Triangle
Rhythm
This image is the happy result of looking over my left shoulder as I walked down the alley.  Here two rows of satellite dishes form an implied triangle, drawing the eye to the apex middle left.









Two points
Diagonal (implied)
These mannequin heads serve as scarecrows in a small home garden.  Shot from this angle, there is an implied line of sight from one head to the other.











Curve
Finding curves in a city is not easy, unless you are prepared to shoot close-up.  This water tower provided one of the few opportunities to shoot something curvy from a distance.












Curve
Horizontal and Vertical Lines
Implied Triangle
I include this photo mainly to demonstrate how finding curves in an urban environment seems to be a mater of shooting close-up.  The two images that follow are details of the mosque. The triangle is formed by the two cars, the apex pointing at the mosque.









Pattern
Pattern seems like a fairly element to achive simply by shooting close-up, or through cropping. The first of these two photos seems more interesting, but the second more accurately achieves the desire effect.

Diagonal
The arm of this crane is almost a curve.

Distinct shape

The interior of this traditional wooden fishing boat provides a selection of horizontal, vertical, and curved lines in a rather atypical shape.

Diagonal

Perspective here creates strong diagonal lines.

Rhythm
Rhythm has been the most challenging of the elements.  Here I could achieve the effect only by cropping out a substantial portion of the background, which if included reduced the effect of a series of panels illustrated with vaporous athletes leading to a real person waiting for a bus.






Combination of Horizontal & Vertical Lines
A construction sight shot just past sunset forms a set of back-lit boxes.

Diagonal
Horizontal & Vertical Lines
A Dubai Metro station as seen from between two of the highrises on Sheikh Zayed Road, bordering the Satwa neighborhood.

Observation

Being able to get out and explore the neighborhood of Satwa was a refreshing break from research and writing required in my job and a parallel degree course.  As I noted in my previous assignment, the most difficult aspect of these projects is trying to find specific examples to illustrate each element.  I have found this to be true in any number of creative areas, particularly in teaching.  It is almost always a frustrating experience to start out with the idea of searching texts for particular linguistics elements.  It is usually easier and more fruitful to approach the text with an open mind and see what elements suggest themselves as teachable.  The same principle seems to apply to the subject one chooses to photograph, that it is more rewarding to let the subject suggest what types of shots are possible.  As a beginning photographer I realize I need to actively look for elements in order to familiarize myself with the language of imagery.  This doesn’t make the process any less frustrating.  My approach to this project was to simply walk the neighborhood and shoot what appeared interesting, keeping in mind the elements that I needed to demonstrate, but not purposefully hunting them.  Fortunately, I seem to have found all, or at least most, of what was required.

Altogether I spent perhaps five hours walking and shooting Satwa.  I produced 269 images, from which I have presented 16 for this assignment.  A number of additional photos from this series have been posted at my blog, No Realities. 

Documentation

Part Two Exercises on Learning Blog

Additional Photos from this Series

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31 August 2013

Summary of Tutor Report and Revisions

The tutor writes that the major problem in this assignment is technical, though practical and conceptual issues are also noted. 

Technical:  The tutor says that

1. images of the satellite dishes and the mosque were slightly underexposed
2. images should not be watermarked
3. images should be submitted full-sized
4. image of the boat does not have sufficient depth of field

Numbers 1-3 are valid points and I have made the necessary revisions for assessment. 

Regarding the lack of sharp focus on the boat (#11 in the revised submission), I can’t say that when shooting this I had any purpose other than meeting the requirements of the assignment for a subject with a distinct shape.  I was unaware of the unfocused areas until I saw the image on the computer and quite frankly do not remember thinking anything about it until receiving the tutor’s report.  The same is true of the cup.  To me the image works fine as a document of a graphic subject.  While I’m not sure why the lack of focus is problematic, I can understand why the cup might be a distraction. But I can also see some benefit to its presence.   The cup adds a bit of asymmetry.  It connects what is otherwise a decontextualized collection of lines and shapes to human activity.  It suggests the lines and this shape have some function (though not perhaps related directly to a paper cup).   This is not what I considered while shooting it, and frankly I am thankful for the tutor for mentioning the cup as it again raised my awareness of the smaller details in my images.  For the purpose of assessment, I decided to keep the image as originally submitted as a document of my experience and a reminder of the need for greater mindfulness. 

Practical:  The tutor suggests shooting more frames, of capturing as much variety in composition (created by the movement of subjects) in order to have a better chance of getting just the right balance of elements.   This comment is made in relation to the image of attendant at the car as well as the image of the construction site (#14 in the revised submission).  This is a perfectly acceptable suggestion and is a practice I have been consciously attempting to develop.  For the purpose of this assignment, no revisions based on this suggestion have been made. 

Conceptual:  The tutor notes that the image of the waiter and the car may not be the best example of a Single Point Dominating the Composition.  Obviously, I was thinking along different lines when I first put the assignment together.  The objection is noted and the photo removed from the revised submission.  It has been included, however, in the folder of images. 

Other Revisions:  On revisiting the assignment I removed the black borders to create a cleaner look. 

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