Project 17: Positioning a point

Take 3 photographs in which there is a single point, placed in a different part of the frame, and justify the reason for the position of the point.
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The yellow padlock is regarded as a point in this photograph. It is placed at the crossing point of the one-third line from the right and one-third line from the top.


The soap bubble is the point in this picture. It is placed at the crossing point of the one-third line from the right and one-third line from the bottom.


A bird's feather is the point in this picture. It is placed around at the crossing point of the one-third line from the left and one-third line from the bottom.

I think these photographs show that the traditional "rule of thirds" works well when positioning a point.
Coincidentally all of the three photographs above have a vertical line near the point. I think the line adds extra stability to the composition because I can feel the point is attached to the line. If there were nothing in the background, I would feel the point is somewhat adrift and might feel something is missing.

Photography is ‘Not A Crime’

http://www.not-a-crime.com/

"Police routinely invoke anti-terror legislation to prevent photographers from carrying out their work, and photojournalists are constantly filmed at public gatherings and their details kept on an ever-growing database. Tourists, particularly foreign tourists, are also targeted by police, as was the case with an Austrian father and son recently who made the mistake of photographing a building of an extremely sensitive nature—Walthamstow bus station.
Put simply, Britain has become a no-photo zone, and so if you fail to comply, you may find yourself liable to attack, arrest or harassment. Recognising that Britain is not the only country where such a draconian anti-photographer culture is developing, the British Journal of Photography is beginning an international visual campaign to raise awareness."

Assignment1: questions and answers

Questions asked when submitting the assignment 1 and the tutor's answers to them.

Question 1.
In this assignment, I mainly focused on the contrasts of graphical elements. In other words, I could only take photographs of tangible things and hence my photographs here only one layer of the meaning. However, some of the themes in this assignment are abstract (such as strong/week, sweet/sour). I would like to become competent to be able to capture such abstraction in my photographs and make them have multiple layers of the meaning. How can I develop this skill?

[Tutor's answer]
With regard to your images having multiple layers of meaning and how to develop this skill. I would first suggest that you find examples of images that do this. Write some brief notes on these images on how the different layers of meaning are present in the images. Remember that the meaning of photographs can be shifted in so many ways - the use of a caption alone can change the meaning. The next stage will be to practice and keep practising with your own work. At first you may find that your images are contrived or awkward but keep trying - it is only with practice that you will develop your own photographic style.


Question 2.
I always take photographs alone and I often feel it difficult to keep an objective opinion on the quality of my own photographs. I think one of the reasons is because I do not have a framework for the judgement. How do the professional photographers develop their own frameworks to judge their own work?

[Tutor's answer]
Your second question is about gaining judgement of your work. Firstly consider if you can get some second opinions on your work - doing this course is one way. You could join a local camera club and if you haven't done so there is Flickr - there is a thriving OCA group on there who are very supportive and offer constructive criticism. The link is:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/ocarts/

One of the best ways to strengthen your own judgements skills is to review other photographer's work - consider why some images work and others don't. By using Flickr or joining photography club you can not only have your work reviewed but can participate in the process.

I hope this helps answer your questions - the key to become an accomplished photographer involves three main strands: keep taking your own images; review your own work; review other photographer's work. The three elements combined will strengthen your own practical skills.

Thousand Portraits

http://thousandportraits.com/

"Our project is a true portrait of Britain created by photographing 1,000 people.
We stopped everyone who crossed our path on the streets of London, excluding nobody, asking the same question more than fifteen hundred times.
In a moment where recession is the main subject of every discussion, it was striking to come across such positive attitude.
This is the true face of Britain."

by Eamon Lane and Carlo Nicora

http://www.1000portraitsbcn.com/en.html

"If we think about the great cities that make up the social imaginary, their emblematic buildings, monuments and places will quickly come to our minds … But this is only the inert part of the cities, great cities are made by the people living there, inhabiting its public spaces.

Through this experience we want to express one of the many possible representations of the city of Barcelona, with its inhabitants as the main characters this time.

For a weekend we walked through the streets of the city, explaining the project and asking people to collaborate in it, until we completed 1000 portraits.

The project is original to the city of London by the photographers: Eamon Lane and Carlo Nicora. We wanted to continue the project transferring it to Barcelona with the intention that by extending it to other cities, it becomes a global project, capable of explaining the large capitals through the portraits of the people that live in them.
..."

by Gerard Franquesa Capdevila and Sergi López Graells

Is the Robert Capa's photo fake?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/photoblog/2009/07/the_whole_story.html

"So it's a fake. Or at least that's the claim by Spanish newspaper El Periodico and followed up in The Independent amongst others.

Robert Capa's picture (above) is known as the falling soldier and is allegedly of a man's last moments during the Spanish Civil War in September 1936. It's a picture that has confounded critics and historians for many years.

..."

International Garden Photographer of the Year 2009 Exhibition

http://www.igpoty.com/Exhibition.asp

The second annual International Garden Photographer of the Year exhibition is now the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, from May 22nd to September 13th, 2009.

International Garden Photographer of the Year 2010

http://www.igpoty.com/

Deadline Nov 30th 2009.

The Press Photographer's Year 2009

http://www.theppy.com/content/results2009

at the National Theatre from 4th July until 31st August

When You're a Boy: Men's Fashion Styled by Simon Foxton

http://www.photonet.org.uk/index.php?pxid=954

17 July - 4 October 2009
The Photographers' Gallery

Hasselblad CFV-39

http://www.photographyblog.com/news/hasselblad_cfv-39/

Hasselblad have introduced the Hasselblad CFV-39, a 39-megapixel digital back for their classic V system cameras.