Assign 2 Final

8/6/2019 Assign 2 Final

1/17

Assignment 2:

Elements of Design

Leopoldo de Castro The Art of Photography Assignment 2 Page 1


2/17

All the pictures have been taken in RAW format and processed with camera RAW. In some cases

this means just the automatic process, but it generally includes cropping where it is considered to be

necessary, and some contrast and colour enhancement.

All the relevant EXIF data of the pictures has been added below each one, and in some cases even

edited and modified, because this data did not reflect the wireless triggering of the flash. It is noted

that where the Canon 5D has been used the EXIF data shows the name of the previous owner of the

camera (I bought it second hand).

The general subject of the assignment is flowers, and care has been taken to have all the pictures

placed in this general context.

Many of the pictures have been taken at home without any studio material, and with the

corresponding limitations implied by that fact. The ones that have not been taken at home, wereshot in different places in the Netherlands and always within the time period of the corresponding

unit of the course (in other words, no one has been taken before starting with the exercises of the

second part of the course).

Following the tutor instructions none of the pictures has been converted to B&W. Also following

the recommendations of the tutor, many different things have been tried out for each shot, and every

shot has been taken with the intention of fulfilling the corresponding task header (no 'a posteriori'

classifications).

Last but not least, I have tried (also following my tutor advise) to put as much of myself in every

one of the photos, and even in the snapshots (e.g. the ones taken in the flowers auction), the ones

chosen (in most cases coming from a burst with the camera) have been trough an attentive selection

process. These are likely the points where I need more improvement.

The text under the photos are shortly describing part of the things tried and not tried, but for a more

detailed comment, to see the process, and some other results visit the blog: http://leopin-

socalcos.blogspot.com/



3/17

PREPARATION OF THE ASSIGNMENT

The assignment is so broadly defined that becomes difficult. In the beginning I was feeling like a

blind man trying to find a deaf man in an open space. Every one of the shots was planned well in

advance and carefully meditated in terms of the execution. One of the problems was that during the

whole block I did a lot of technical experimentation, but always focused in the method andexecution but forgetting the message.

It was nonetheless better than the first assignment in terms of the boundaries (this time at least I

knew some of the things that I should not do).

However, if I am honest I prepared the assignment more motivated by the fear of the future

evaluation and a possible crash than for the pure enjoyment, which os probably not correct.

I read the following books:

Michael Freeman, "The photographer's eye", ILEX, 2007

This one particularly useful to understand the rhythm and pattern concepts.

R. Mapplethorpe, "The complete flowers", teNeues, NY, 2006.

Many ideas for photographs came from this book. There are many other things that I would have

loved to try, or to further experiment with, such as the flowers with smoke, and different light

angles to provide different shadows within the same photograph.

Fil Hunter, Steven Biver, Paul Fuqua, "Light Science & Magic. An introduction to photographic

Lighting", Focal press (Elsevier), 2007, Third Edition.

From this book I learnt some of the characteristics of light and it influenced the locations for taking

the photographs (in terms of the light source), and that's also where I got the idea for the home

made lightbox and some of the flash experiments.

I ordered two more books, one of K. Blossfeldt and one of E. Weston, but they didn't arrive in time,

so I browsed the web for some of their photographs.

I also visited several flower shops and watched the kind of vases thy use (in fact, that is where I

bought the ones that can be seen in the photographs, and some more that I didn't use at the end for

the simple reason of lack of time).



4/17

Single point

Camera: Canon EOS 5D

Lens: EF70-200mm f/4L USM

Shot at 200 mmExposure: Manual exposure, 1/25 sec, f/8, ISO 100

Flash: Off, Did not fire

Date: July 30, 2011

This is a created photograph, where both the elements and their positions have been

carefully staged so that their addition is telling a simple but nice and suggestive story. The

point is the flower, which is given further prominence by the water and glass bowl around it,

one could even say framing it. The flower is pin sharp (the picture was shot with the camera

on tripod). The stem of the flower, and the scissors, slightly out of focus do not detract from

the prominence of the flower in my opinion, and they create some nice triangles adding notonly to the narrative, but to the composition. I personally like the colour combination of the

orange flower with the blue cardboard in the background. The location was also selected to

have natural light coming from a window on top and diffused (through a fabric), and to

avoid any harsh and undesirable shadows or reflections.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos5d/http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/canoneos5d/


5/17

Two Points


Lens: EF28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USMShot at 100 mm

Exposure: Manual exposure, 1/4 sec, f/11, ISO 100


Date: July 7, 2011

Shot with the camera on a tripod and the light coming from a window (on top of the

composition) above. The reflections of the vases have been blurred with photoshop because

they were considered disruptive and detracting from the main elements in the frame (the

flowers). The whole picture is staged. Many different versions of the same subject were

taken (and many of them are in the corresponding entries in the blog). I like a lot this simplearrangements with plain backgrounds and where the flowers and the vases become the main

and only subject. These shots were inspired by the book R. Mapplethorpe, The complete

Flowers, teNeues, NY, 2006. The black background emphasizes the flower colors and

shapes. The photograph transmits me a feeling of solitude and sadness, which os

surprisingly contrasted with the use of strong colour flowers (red and pink, no less) and

vases.......however the black and blue background trigger the sadness feeling in my opinion.

I prefer simplicity and minimalism in the compositions.



6/17

Several points in a deliberate shape



Exposure: Manual exposure, 1/13 sec, f/6.3, ISO 100


Date: July 7, 2011

Again a carefully staged photograph. Black cardboard on the floor under a window, the vase

in position, I added the flowers one by one (with different trials), and fixed them with tape.Then I added the water. The camera was on a tripod focusing downwards (as perpendicular

to the ground as I could to have a depth of field that allows all the flowers in sharp focus) .

The flowers form all kind of shapes but basically they are a triangle with the basis on the

lower part of the frame.

It is noted that the flowers could be blurred (not focused, or moved) with no effect in terms

of the presence of multiple points, however, because I like the flowers I prefer to see them

focused.

What I se in this picture is flowers escaping from darkness and moving to the light. It seems

that they are blossoming from the water in the vase and approaching the camera.



7/17

A combination of Vertical and Horizontal lines


Lens: EF28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM

Shot at 135 mmExposure: Manual exposure, 1/160 sec, f/5.6,

ISO 200


Date: July 7, 2011

This picture is different from the previous ones in many aspects. It was shot ouside with

natural light and no tripod, and the background is not so plain. Additionally, these are

flowers on living plants. Shot on a cloudy and windy day. One of the things that i probably

should have tried is to increase the depth of field so that all the lavender flowers are sharp

(and the background still unsharp).



8/17


9/17





Date: July 10, 2011

As usual, all of them taken using a tripod, and processed in camera raw. The white balance

was dramatically modified, cropping, levels, contrast and some color boost. This second one

was taken with an additional light (apart from the one coming from the 'lightbox' ;) ) of a

zenith flash activated manually at minimum power.

As it can be noticed immediately the light of my home made lightbox is far from being

homogeneous (or uniformly diffused), but I like the results nevertheless............



10/17

Curves



Exposure: Manual exposure, 4 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100


Date: July 12, 2011

Camera on tripod, main light coming from a window above and falling in the stems, not so

much in the white background. Flash manually triggered slightly from the left side. One of

the things that I could have tried (but I realized long later) was to use a mirror on one side

and to point the flash so that part of its light would hit that mirror, and then I would have

double shadows (and more curves). I also tried many other things such as use several flash

shots from different positions with a snoot......some of the other results can be seen in the

blog. The stems look like snakes looking at the viewer and each of the three mysterious

shadows have the shape of an inverted number three.



11/17

Distinct, even if irregular shapes


Lens: EF50mm f/1.8

Exposure:Manual exposure,

1/60 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100Flash: Off, Did not fire

Date: July 9, 2011

This photo shows many

things such as triangles or

diagonals and it has in my

opinion, as a whole, a nice

mixture of different (straight

and curved) shapes. In thelower right part of the frame

the top of a socket can be

seen, but it is not very

remarkable because it is in

the shadows, and I think it

does not disturb too much.

The photo coveys to me a

feeling of rest and balance,

harmony by the end of the

day......although the triangle

formed by the stems of the

flowers is inverted, I think

the thick vase with the water

give stability )it doesn't look

likely that the triangle

moves left or right. The

position, flowers and vase

are staged.....thus, although

it might look a natural

snapshot it isn't really it.



12/17


Lens: EF70-200mm f/4L USMShot at 91 mm



Date: July 9, 2011

I also used the few minutes of nice light to experiment with other objects such as this candle

support.......

The photos were taken with the camera on tripod. In this second one, the flower vase and

the candle support are on top of a pile of books, because the light was moving up (as the sunwas coming down in the horizon).

Insects, water and flowers they go well together, they are linked naturally to each other, and

they are also linked in our minds.

The shadow of the insect candle support is framed by a nice triangle and surrounded by

other triangles. The shadows (particularly the flower shadow) are strong diagonals. The

composition has some symmetry as well, which to me provides balance (flowers in the

middle, insect to the left, insect shadow on the right).



13/17

At least two kinds of implied triangleThese were the most difficult ones of the whole assignment.



Exposure: Manual exposure, 1/160 sec, f/5.6,ISO 400


Date: July 15, 2011

This one was shot in daylight

with the camera hand held.

Not only the main flower has

a triangular shape

(abstracted), but the smallerone on the left of it, and

stems also form triangular

shapes. The focus in this

photograph could be a matter

of argument....would it be

better to focus on the stem?

Or to have a little more depth

of field?....well I like it as it

is!!!

The light tones of the flowerare very remarkable against

the dark background. The

photographs induces in me a

feeling of intimacy and also

isolation (may be because of

the unsharp background).



14/17


Lens: EF17-40mm f/4L USMShot at 17 mm

Exposure: Manual exposure, 1/20 sec, f/4, ISO 800Flash: Off, Did not fire

Date: July 15, 2011

This one was shot in a flower auction in Westland (The Netherlands), so the subject is still

related to the overall subject of the assignment (flowers). Many triangles can be seen but the

two more important ones in my view are created by the ceiling structures with basis on the

horizon' line, and the other one with the horizon line and the two fences in perspective (an

inverted triangle). This photo was taken with the camera hand held and processed in camera

RAW (levels and black point shifted in order to reveal some details in the dark parts). The

emptiness and darkness of the corridors contrast strongly with the lit busy part in the

middle, where the flowers are. No human figure is present, and the right moment was

chosen for this, because it would focus all the attention of the viewer.



15/17

Rhythm



Exposure: Manual exposure, 1/30 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800


Date: July 15, 2011

Also shot in the flower auction (see the blog for more details), I believe that this photo

transmits rhythm in a number of levels. First, the sets of boxes within every container level,

then the row of containers (horizontally), then the rows of flowers between the rows of

containers (vertically and a bit in diagonal)......

Taken with the camera hand held in difficult light conditions, with the camera strongly held,

and the elbows on a fence (like the ones that can be seen in the previous photo). The f

number could not be lowered (for the focal distance), and looking to the focal distance and

the shutter speed it is a miracle that it is not blurred (although the lens is stabilized). It could

be argued whether a lower ISO value could be used.



16/17

Pattern



Exposure: Manual exposure, 1/160 sec, f/5.6,ISO 400


Date: July 15, 2011

I think that it can be argued whether or not actually represents pattern (or rather rhythm).

Certainly there is a repetition of the little white (almost hexagonal) bunches of white little

flowers, but they leave empty spaces in between and specially close to the borders of theframe. The little insects (where the focus was actually set) adds some variation, and it is

easily remarkable (not because of the size, but because of the red colour).

Taken with the camera hand held, in day light, but late in the evening (with the sun quite

low) and under the trees (again the ISO value could be a matter of argument). White and

green are almost the only tones (apart from the little red point of the insects). It seems as if

the white spots are moving from the centre to the sides of the frame, where they disappear.

When I see it my eyes move with no particular direction all through the frame looking for

something, until they find the reddish little insects, where they rest.



17/17

FINAL NOTES ON THE ASSIGNMENT

The photographs that I personally like the most are the ones for the different even if irregular

shapes. These photographs say more of me, in my opinion than any of the others. I also feel proud

of the ones for rhythm and pattern because I think that I was able to understand the difference by

myself.

On the more negative side, I have to learn to communicate more with every picture individually,

and with the whole set of the assignment.......I concentrated a lot in doing different things instead of

focusing in a message. It is always difficult to show our own feelings and to express them properly,

but this will be my own challenge for the next assignment.

Difficult assignment not only because of the fact that I was not used to see in terms of the design

elements (lines, points, etc...) but also because of a lack of a specific destination. By the end, just

before the delivery time, I was exhausted.


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Assign 2 Final