Friday, September 11, 2015

Ladder Love and a Lesson

I have been delaying doing this week's lesson for our Flickr group - The Visual Workbench - for a couple of reasons.
  1. I was impatiently waiting for the summer people to have their last hurrah on Labor Day. Labor Day is over and they have gone home. Yay!
  2. The instructions for the lesson were a little long, and I was having a hard time remembering them every time I was out shooting. I solved that problem by printing out the instructions and carrying them with me in my coat pocket.
Here is the first part of the instructions, the part I was planning on tackling first:
  • Concentrate on one element. The simpler the scene, the better. Now make six to eight different photographs, changing only the position of the camera relative to your subject. Get higher. Get lower. Move left. Move right. Walk around it. The element might not move in a hundred years, but you have astonishing control over its shape relative to the frame.
  • Study those six to eight frames. How does the energy and balance change? How does the shape of that primary element change as your position changes?
 Here is my primary element and my simple scene...


I am in love with these orange ladders that are on the edge of the pier at our State Park.



This is shooting from the left to the right of my element, the sun, if it was out, would be behind me.


Shooting from above. It makes me a little nervous to be so close to the edge.



Changing energy and direction, shooting from right to left of my element. I would never shoot this direction normally, because the sun, if it was shining, would be shining directly into my face. It also feels more chaotic shooting this direction, even without people, compared to the peaceful scene shot from the opposite direction.


If I hadn't done this exercise, and studied this one element, I might not have noticed the thin piece of rope tied to the ladder. This additional element became my favorite part of the photographs.


It is still the surprise discoveries and the little details that delight me the most.

19 comments:

Andy said...

Well done. I like the first photo. Lining up the horizon with the end of the pier was a smart move. The coloured objects seem to enhance the drab colour of the pier. That's my humble opinion.

Ahayes1225 said...

Funny I could not tell the scale of the ladder until you did the view from above. You have really developed your style. I was on instagram and I could pick out your photo right away. Have a wonderful weekend.

Karen Lakis said...

Neat project. I'd like to try doing this. I love the element that you chose - so simple, yet the different perspectives really change it!

beth said...

i love the different angles….3, 7 and 8 are my favorites !!!! it was hard to know that the "orange" was a ladder until we could see the rungs. i love the depth of the lighthouse in the last one and ohhhhhh the texture and the tiny string close up….love!

Cathy H. said...

Sarah, you did such a awesome job with this assignment. I've yet to do mine, running a little late this time! I love all your POVs, but especially like the last two. Yes, it's the rope that makes them my favorite!

Anonymous said...

I love the clean simplicity of these shots. I agree, shooting toward the shore rather than the water completely changes the energy and feeling of the subject matter. What caught my eye in those last two shots was the globby, chipped paint. Love the texture you captured. Great job on this assignment...you nailed it!

Suburban Girl said...

What a great project! Sounds like a wonderful group.

Unknown said...

Being back at school this week has cramped my style - BIG TIME!
I need to work on it this weekend.........but you did a great job on it!

Lorraine said...

Love this post Sarah

Nicki said...

A very cool assignment and wow - very different energy with each perspective. Love the above view (and it would have pretty much freaked me out taking it - but my, oh my). Nicely done.

Ida said...

I like this idea and your series a lot. Now I actually liked the (right to left) perspective. Also the shot with the string up close. I'll have to try this sometime and see what results I get.

Viv@Thoughts from the Desktop said...

Love your photo experiments . You are so lucky to have somewhere like your wonderful state park so closeby.. I like all of your images but surprisingly my favourite is the one looking into the sun it gives it a real sense of place.

Deanna said...

Great project, need to think about doing this. I will say that my favorite two are the one from above, because it defines exactly what it is, if I had not read your post I wouldn't have had any idea what the orange thing was until that image. And two the close-up of the string attached, felt like an added bonus.

Unknown said...

Yup, that rope is perfection!
Nicely seen and captured.

Lynne said...

Great exercise . . .
I am learning through you, vicariously . . .
Wonder who used the rope and WHAT FOR.

Diana said...

Great project. Always love your perspective.

Unknown said...

What a great project...great perspectives....love the clarity

Nancy said...

My imagination was going wild until I saw the shot from above. This was a very creative project which you excel at.....

Jeanne said...

Great fun changing perspectives , and what a difference it makes in how you see the subject. Gorgeous area that you are in.