Assignment 5 : People and Place on assignment

Assignment 4 : A sense of place

23. Selective processing and prominence

This exercise has two parts; one is to decrease the presence of a person in an image and the other is to create the opposite effect, which is to increase the presence of a person in a photograph. I have attempted to do this with one image.

In regard to increasing the presence of a person in an image, I decided to process an image to allow more detail to be seen and simultaneously emphasising the mystery created by a twilight scene. The foreground is dark making almost silhouettes of the buildings with the figure to the right almost invisible.

the original capture; twilight silhouette of a Buddhist site with a barely distinguishable figure.

processed capture: one can now see a person to the right of the image,

an effect that helps to give the image a sense of perspective

in regard to scale (the size of the image) and meaning (the figure is a pilgrim).

To accomplish this effect, I added a Levels layer and used it to brighten the overall image; a gradient added to the mask of the Levels layer helped to retain tonal values in the sky. The foreground is much lighter and allows detail to be seen including the presence of a person.

22. Adjusting the balance between person and space

The brief here seems straightforward; produce at least a couple of images that show the same place but a different arrangement of people in it.

There is usually something that needs to be understood in each exercise and here I understand it centres around the different effect an image might have by different placement of people.

An almost empty area at The Tate Modern in London where photography is permitted and people are probably more relaxed about being pictured. I am taking a photograph of the staircase so people do not feel they are being targeted. The emptiness of this image allows one to assess the space but visually it is not very interesting.

This image shows the same space with this time, people more prominent. There is more to interest the viewer and the purpose of the staircase is being illustrated.

Much like the preceeding photograph yet with a central figure more arresting. However, this image might not be appropriate as it centres on a particular person from whom no model release has been obtained.

The final image, interestingly one that was made prior to all the other images (perhaps the presence of a photographer disrupted traffic on the escalator), might be considered the best. It shows the space and it's purpose as well as providing incidental information such as the couple to the left.

The different views and hence aspects of this part of the Tate Modern building have been obtained not by moving or using different lenses but simply by being aware of the different numbers and arrangement of people within the space.

21. Making figures anonymous

skateboarders, South Bank, London

There are two figures here, both to the side of the frame; both have their backs to us and one is blurred as he skateboards into the frame. This colourful area is continually being used by skateboarders and there are supports designed to assist in this.

entrance to the National Theatre

The entrance to the National Theatre on the South Bank, London is to the right of the frame; a couple of figures can be seen entering while another couple in red, advance towards the door across the forecourt. Their faces are largely invisible; they are not necessary to what this image is communicating.

kitchen

The photograph here is of a kitchen; an appropriately dressed chef stands to one side, emphasising the meaning of the kitchen without diverting attention away from the scene. The chef's face is visible yet smaller enough within the frame for the image not be a portrait rather a record of a certain space, that of the kitchen.

cake for eating

In this final image, the cake is the subject and fills the entire table; the presence of arms with headless people helps to emphasise what cake is for.

20. Busy traffic

People come into the Guest House building at the Taj Mahal to make nice framed photographs of the mausoleum; sometimes they have to queue to do it.

queuing for a framed view of the Taj Mahal

entering the Guest House and queuing for a framed view of the Taj Mahal

The first image focuses on the people who are actually queuing to make their photograph; in the second, a slightly wider view shows people moving around that space. The last image is a combination of the two and might have worked better if it had been made a split second later as the two men in the background walked a little further into the space made the male photographing and the man queuing.

19. A single figure small

Buddhist pilgrim among the stupa

At first, one sees only the beautifully crafted monuments yet sooner or later, the viewer is going to see the lone figure who is found at the centre of this image; it may take a little time and scrutiny to establish this figure but this adds interest to the reading of the image.