Title: Implied Triangles

Exercise: This exercise was focused on creating compositions with implied triangles. Firstly, create still lives that feature implied triangles, one with the apex near the bottom of the frame and one with it near to the top. Then arrange people in a group picture in such a way that their faces or bodies form a triangle.

Approach: I was tidying my desk and came across the tube of pencils. I had worked with them before for other photos and started arranging them in a shape that suggested a triangle. I also experimented with a number of different backgrounds but settled on this more neutral colour. In terms of the inverted triangle I felt a bit lost for a while and then read the exercise on real triangles which suggested using perspective. Suddenly the edges of tables, worktops and books all formed triangles. I then used the books I was reading to create the image. The final arrangement was a shot I took at Graeae’s performance of the Garden in September; it made me think of triangles at the time.

Title: Implied Lines

Exercise: Select any three photos of your own and find the implied lines in each. Consider the direction of these implied lines and if any are particularly dominant.

Approach: I analysed the two images provided in the workbook and then looked through my recent photographs to see if anything particularly stood out. I found quite a few possibilities and began to see how these implied lines have an impact on how you might view a given image.

Title: Curves

Exercise: Look out for and take four photographs using curves to emphasise movement and direction.

Approach: As I was taking photos for lines and diagonals I was also looking out for curves. Three of these were taken when I spent a wet afternoon in London. The cardboard structure was taken at a conference I was attending where we had to build a City of Thought!

Title: Diagonals

Exercise: Take four photographs which feature strong diagonals.

Approach: at the same time as looking for horizontals and verticals I was also looking out for diagonals. They mostly seemed to occur as part of the built environment, despite my best efforts to find some unusual perspectives.

Title: Taking a walk for a line

Exercise: Go out and about looking for examples of horizontal and vertical lines, if you can avoid repeating the way the lines appear.  In each image try and ensure it is the line rather than the content that the viewer will first notice. The aim is to help you think about different design elements and to find different ways horizontal and vertical lines appear to the eye and the camera.

Approach: This was certainly an exercise that encourages you to look hard at your surroundings and to perhaps think differently about what you see. Most of my examples were taken around the campus of the University of York as I was there for a number days for a conference.

Title: Paint Palette

Exercise: Set up a still life with a background that has some detail but is not too dominant. Using six to ten similar sized objects place them one at a time to create different compositions. Try and keep the framing the same with each shot and rearrange the items to change the composition. Consider each change and the effect any new additions have on the overall grouping.

Approach: This was an exercise I did several times using different groups of objects. While I was comfortable with creating the arrangements I couldn’t get the lighting right so it took a number of attempts to get something I was comfortable with.

Title: Heron

Exercise: Take three photographs in which there is a single point, placed in different parts of the frame.

Approach: I took the camera with me to a local lake because I remembered at some point there was a circular red lifesaver on the water and I thought this would provide me with an interesting point to consider positioning. When I got there I couldn’t see the lifesaver anywhere around the lake but as I walked back a heron landed on the handrail so I used that as the point instead.

Title: Hadleigh Farm

Exercise: Find an interesting external view that includes a clear and unbroken horizon. Experiment with taking views with the horizon in different positions across the frame from low to high.

Approach: I had my camera with me to take photographs of the Women’s Olympic Mountain Bike race at Hadleigh Farm in Essex. When I arrived I found the venue had great panoramic views out across the Thames estuary towards Canvey Island and back towards London. This enabled me to take a number of shots experimenting with the horizon in different positions.

Title: The W

Exercise: find a view that is open but that has some detail in the distance. Take a series of images without moving using different focal lengths, use a zoom lens or change from wide angle to telephoto. Study the impact of the different focal lengths on the character of the subject.

Approach: at a recent conference in Barcelona I became increasingly aware of the dominance of the ‘W’ hotel on the skyline. Almost anywhere you are along Barcelona’s harbour and seafront you can see the hotel. I had very mixed feelings about its monolithic presence but it was hard to ignore as a landmark. I therefore took a number of images from Barcelonetta looking back towards the hotel using different focal lengths.

Title: Return to The Public

Exercise: Choose an event or situation that involves people, preferably outdoors. Keep the viewfinder to your eye and record a series of images as you go. Do not wait for the single ‘composed’ image but record all the moments that are almost right.

Approach: I was really interested in undertaking this photo narrative but became increasingly frustrated by the incessant rain that meant a number of events I had in mind were either cancelled or scaled down. In the end I chose to record my journey to The Public in West Bromwich from the centre of Birmingham. As part of my professional work I had been involved with The Public but this was the first time I had visited it since the building was fully up and running. It was therefore a journey that had a personal resonance for me.