Assignment 6

COMPOSITION

The aim of this assignment is for us to look for some of the basic principles of composition in our environment, to strengthen our imagery and enforce what it is that we want to say with a photograph.

RULE OF THIRDS

FILL THE FRAME

Plastic garden duck in the fresh snow. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Friday, October 30, 2020. f5 (1/250s ISO 400) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 36mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

Melting snowflakes on a statue’s face. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Friday, October 30, 2020. f16 (1/25s ISO1600) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 53mm) Photo by Marie von Kampen

VIEWPOINT

FRAMING

Antennae like limbs of the maple tree. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Friday, October 30, 2020. f5 (1/320s ISO400) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 21mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

A couple walks around the Brookline Reservoir. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Saturday, October 31, 2020. f8 (1/500s ISO 400) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 25mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

LEADING LINES

SYMMETRY & REFLECTION

A renovated bus stop on Route 9. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Saturday, October 31, 2020. f8 (1/1250s ISO 400) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 49mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

Extra signs on the crosswalk. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Saturday, October 31, 2020. f8 (1/320s ISO400) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 28mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

FOREGROUND & BACKGROUND

HORIZON

Canadian geese and winter walkers. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Saturday, October 31, 2020. f8 (1/250s ISO 400) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 50mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

The Boston skyline visible from the Brookline Reservoir Park. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Saturday, October 31, 2020. f8 (1/2500s ISO400) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 55mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

ISOLATION

A morning glory’s tendril at dusk. Taken in Brookline, MA, on Wednesday, October 14, 2020. f5.6 (1/400s ISO400) Lens: EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS (EFL 49mm)
Photo by Marie von Kampen

REFLECTION

I found it interesting to go through older images for this assignment. I noticed that some of the composition principals came a little more naturally than others, as told by their frequency of occurrence in my collections. I use the term “naturally” because I don’t know if I was actively thinking of the principals. I found this assignment challenging. I chose to shoot both in the snow, and the day after the snow, when it was sunny. Shooting in snow presented its own set of challenges. The one I was acutely aware of was exposure and cloudy conditions and the physical challenge of keeping the snow off my lens and frequently foggy viewfinder. The next day shooting in a snowy landscape with the afternoon sun again created an exposure challenge with light and shadows. I did not consider one thing: when the wet snow fell off some limbs right on top of me! Unfortunately, my camera body got wet and gave me a scary error message.

I went home, dried it off, took a coffee break, and went back out – the camera was fine after drying off. In some scenes, I approached it thinking about one principal, but I would discover that another principal fit better as I set up the shot. I found the most challenging principals to be “Fill the Frame” and “Isolation.” I approached a few delivery people and postal workers and asked if I could take a photo of their hands or feet to fill the frame. Unfortunately, they refused my request. I felt drawn to shoot something in the snow for isolation, but I found the image to be boring with the full white background. In the future, I would like to keep a copy of the assignment worksheet in my camera bag to help remember the composition principals and keep working on them. I feel like this would be a good exercise to repeat any time I went out with my camera.