The Word Becomes Art

This exercise was more challenging than I anticipated, and, therefore, has been quite time consuming. The task sounded quite simple: to find a view with depth and take a series of 5 or 6 photos, gradually zooming in. Then to create a final image for my sequence. I found a place in the park’s walled garden which I thought would work well, as there is a series of wooden structures, against which plants have been trained, along a path which leads to the arched exit from the garden. Initially I saw it when I was out without my camera, so I took a series of images on my phone. I didn’t plan to use them for this exercise but I wanted to get a feel for whether the choice of location would work  I didn’t choose any particular settings for these photos, except for gradually zooming in. I had two sources of frustration: firstly, the lines or the vertical struts, the cross pieces and the paving slabs were all at different angles. It was hard to compose the photos because if I lined up any one...

This exercise is about different ways to compose a photo using the gridlines feature in the viewfinder. My first task, therefore, was to find my gridlines! Im glad this exercise prompted me to do so as they’re very helpful for lining things up, although I don’t find them easy to see in some situations, depending on the colours and tones of my subject. Using the screen to compose a photo is an alternative option, where the larger size makes things clearer. My visual impairment does make seeing and using the settings on my camera more challenging, but I’m gradually finding ways to get around this. It just means I’m slower at mastering the features and techniques I can use. Our task here was to take a good number of photos, composing each one in one section only within the grid. For example, I could compose a photo in the top left rectangle and not be concerned about what was going on in the rest of the frame.  I began by practicing at home, working systematically by focusing on a sub...

For this exercise there are two parts: firstly, to take a series of photos with diagonal lines, which lengthen the frame, and can either lead to something within the frame or straight out of it, and often convey perspective; secondly, to take a series of photos which use lines to flatten the frame, with horizontals to disguise depth or with close-ups to create more abstract compositions.  I will include more photos than usual in this exercise because, having take quite a number of both types of photo, I’ve learnt a lot about composition by visually researching my own photos. I will include some photos that I would normally discard because they have taught me something about composition. As there are quite a lot I want to include, I will make only brief notes on each one, identifying my main learning point. Initially I was quite pleased with this photo, but, reading the course materials, I can see the way the diagonals lead the eye away from the house   This composition seems b...