People and Place: December 2012

Parade footage - Dan Chung

If only I had seen this before I covered the Lord Mayor's show. Looks like Dan Chung got some good footage of this military parade in North Korea.

It has given me some food for thought about how I would approach shooting a parade in the future.

I like the way the moving image is so different to capture than a still. But all these images could be stills. It almost teases you - at which point would you press the shutter button.

Exercise 16: Exploring function

This exercise looks at spaces and makes us think about how they are intended to be used and then translating this to an image.

I have to chose an interior space and think of it in terms of its function. Who will use it? What is it intended to be used for?

I chose a toilet for this exercise and its it intended use is pretty self explanatory. However, I wanted to capture the sink/hand basin too, the soap dispenser and the bin and towels. I have also included the mirrors in this shot which adds to the composition whilst also telling us more about the room's function.

The towel beside the sink has been used providing evidence that someone has been there.

Part 3: Buildings and spaces

Space and function

For this section of the course we are going to look at structures/buildings as an extension of human activity and spaces that are utilised by people.

Fundamentally we are looking at purpose and we can chose to include people in our shots unlike the genre of architectural photography. If we chose not to include people in the shot we can look at evidence of people in the shot.

Architectural photography is concerned with showing space and its function but pays particular attention to constructional techniques etc. Converging verticals and lens distortion are very important for architectural shots.

For this course we will be looking at how buildings and man made spaces are used and how people interact with them.

Assignment 2 feedback

Overall the feedback I received for this assignment was positive. My tutor said that I had a good eye for capturing the perfect moment for a photograph but that more work was needed on my shooting discipline to get backgrounds and framing perfect.

I feel that my choice of lens for this section of the course contributed to the background problems. It is difficult to get the balance right in being conspicuous and choosing the relevant gear. However this is something I will continue to work on moving forward. I feel that only with more practice and experimentation will I find a set up that will be the most comfortable for me.

He also mentioned avoiding visual gimmicks in the future instead relying on the power of the content of the image to relay a message. Again I am pleased to have this feedback because up until now I have been unsure of how far to go in post production. My gut feeling and the images I myself like the most are those that look more natural and tell a story rather than are heavily manipulated in photoshop. Maybe this is a lesson I need to learn and rely more on my own judgement.

Images that were highlighted were

Marching Soldiers

My tutor said that I had captured the action at the decisive moment in this image. The key element being the foot. He compared it to an image of Reni Burri where the woman's heel is the key element. He mentioned the fact that the flagpole is coming out of the Sgt Major's head but that was being picky. I was pretty restricted movementwise for this shot. If I was able to move I may have been able to compose so the flagpole was better placed.

Tour de France

This image highlighted the problems of the backgrounds in the set. Although my tutor did say that this was a superb capture of expression.

I have looked at cropping the shot which I think improves the composition but I could have made a better job of the shot at the time of shooting. I think this is where practice will really come in. Until I started this part of the course I underestimated how quick you have to be to get these images!

Child Soldier

I personally like this shot, but it does have problems in the background like in many of the other images I have taken for this set. De-saturating parts of an image is generally frowned upon by the professionals so it is something I should avoid in the future for this type of photography.

My tutor suggested converting to black and white which is what I had originally done -again I should have listened to my gut instinct.

On the plus side my tutor said that this image together with the majority of my submission is very well seen and just needs a little tightening of technique to reach an excellent standard of street photography. This feedback I really do value and it means I am on the right track. I think all I can do now is work harder and practice more.