Contrasts - final version of assignment #1

Decisions
My decisions for the final submission were:

General - all assignments

• Submit my course material digitally (either by CD or by USB stick): the OCA student site signals strongly that digital presentation is now preferred for assessing course work at Levels 1 and 2 (without saying directly that students cannot submit physical prints, etc.)
• Treat this assignment as if it going to be marked, even though the assessment guidance to students says that it isn't. Practice makes perfect - I am doing the course to improve as a photographer, not just to pass an exam.
• Prepare all images ready for printing at 9 x 6 inches, , to increase consistency between each Assignment submitted for marking (the human mind prefers order and repetition unless departing from it is an essential part of the message)

This assignment

• Keep the following images from the original submission: the single image with contrasts of St Paul's Cathedral (A1) and Monochrome v Colour (B5, now B1)
• Change the description of 2 pairs of contrasts: Peaceful and spacious vs. Hectic and Cramped (B1, now B2) to Quiet vs. Busy, Red circle on white background and vice versa (B8, now B3) to Positive vs. Negative (yes, these are simple images but I like the contrast so am willing to take the consequences in the hands of when marked by the assessors!)
• Switch the Country image for an alternative with a vertical frame (as opposed to a horizontal one) to improve the impact of the contrast in Country v City (B6, now B4)
• Create 4 new pairs, all still lifes: B5 Few vs. Many, B6 Pointed vs. Round, B7 Curved vs. Straight and B8 Scruffy vs. Neat

Click here for: Original version of Assignment 1


Images for final submission


A. Contrast in a single image

Old vs. New
Stone vs. Glass
Light vs. Dark
God vs. Mammon
St Pauls Cathedral as seen through
New Change Alley Shopping Centre

B. Pairs of contrasts

 1. Colour vs. Monochrome

Colour
Dawn seen from Glastonbury Tor

Monochrome
Dawn seen from Glastonbury Tor

2. Quiet vs. Busy

Quiet
Man and his dog on the beach at
Burnham on Sea at low tide
 

Busy
Commuters at Canary Wharf

3. Positive vs. Negative

Positive
1 shop window in Soho

Negative
Adjacent shop window in Soho

4. Country vs. City

Country
Small barn on a Swiss farm

City
Office building, London Wall

5. Few vs. Many

Few
Make-up box



Many
Male-up box

6. Pointed vs. Rounded

Pointed
Pencils

Rounded
Make-up brush

7. Curved vs. Straight

Curved
Flexible ruler

Straight
Flexible Ruler

8. Scruffy vs. Tidy

Scruffy
Orange tissue paper

Tidy
Blue tissue paper



The Frame - Contrasts (Assignment 1)

Requirement

• 8 pairs of images showing different contrasts in each pair
• 1 photograph that shows the contrast in one picture

Technical learning

• Johannes Itten of the Bauhaus developed modern theory of contrast in art, design and architecture in the 1920s
• This theory has translated easily into photography
• Itten set his students an exercise similar to this assignment, intending that they approach the task from 3 directions: experience the feeling of the contrast before seeing it as an image, decide how to communicate that feeling, produce an image that conveys this sensation.
• Some contrasts to consider:

Large/small Many/few Transparent/ opaque Broad/ narrow Diagonal/ rounded

Long/ short Pointed/ blunt Liquid/ solid Light/ dark Hard/ soft

Thick/ thin Smooth/ rough Strong/ weak Much/ little Light/ heavy Continuous/ intermittent

Black/ white Still/ moving High/ low Straight/curved Sweet/ sour

Exercise instructions

Review own photos to assemble pairs that represent different contrasts. Identify subjects that best express extremes of different visual qualities – colour, tone, lighting, comparative relationships between subject and background.  Shoot 8 pairs of photographs (either separately, or in one picture). Shoot 1 photograph that presents a contrast in a single image.




Images and Review

Tutor's feedback on the assignment- overall comments
Interesting and imaginative first assignment. Having dispensed with the suggested pairings you've made some of your own, in some cases quite advanced. However, there are a few too simple colour contrasts in the set: did you miss the point of the assignment?

Improve your presentation:

• mount your prints on white card
• make them at least A5 size rather than 4 x 6 inches
• give each print a title
• label each print with your name and student number

A. Contrast in one image 


View of St Pauls Cathedral from One Change Alley

Old vs New architecture
Stone vs Glass materials
Spiritual vs Material Values
Light vs Dark
Curves vs Lines

Contrast is strong. Composition works well - the eyes are drawn to the cathedral by both lines and the dark to light relationship and St Pauls stands out against a blue sky.



B. Pairs of contrasts


(1) Man and his dog on beach at Burnham-on-Sea vs rush hour on London Bridge

Peaceful and spacious

Hectic and cramped

 

Contrast is unconvincing.  Difference here is between Near and Far, not really between Tranquillity and a Hectic Atmosphere. Perhaps consider another wide shot, horizontal format, with similar distance framing, but using a subject like traffic, or the same walkway (bridge?) but from a distance. Zooming in tends to create a sense of intimacy. And in fact, the man on the phone doesn’t look hectic at all, but seems quite relaxed.

(2) Flowers in Vivary Park, Taunton

Blue

Pink

A bit more front lighting would have helped you get more detail out of the centres.

(3) Second hand popular novels stacked horizontally vs vertically

Horizontal

Vertical

 

This depends too much on the way you orient the photos. Here you could have better photographed something less likely to be oriented either horizontally or vertically – for example, a vertical tree and a horizontal felled tree.

(4) Sanxenxo bay vs Fields in Hirzel

Blue seacape at dawn

Green landscape at midday

More impact if you had used the same location, viewpoint with the same subject rather than changing subject. Could have improved the blue dawn photo with a wider angle to get more of the curved line of the cove in the shot. That line – as a graphic – stands out well in the blue light. 

(5) Dawn seen from Glastonbury Tor

Colour

Monochrome

Excellent. Nice pairing, Great composition - great vantage point and use of foreground trees to frame. Perhaps remove white spots on print of colour shot?

(6) A Swiss barn and One London Wall

Country

City

Good idea. Well composed - accented by blues and greens, 2 figures in City shot. However, contrast will improve if you keep the same orientations to avoid the impression that the images do not relate to each other (which unpicks the attempt at contrast)

(7) Bins

Nearly empty

Over full

This contrast doesn’t work because you haven’t set up a viable standard. If you take two identically framed shots of a dustbin, one full and one empty, the contrast in states is emphasized. But here you’ve changed viewpoint. The ‘full’ shot is just an edge, there is no sense of ‘fullness’ there.

(8) One logo vs another in adjoining shop windows, Soho

Red circle on white background

White circle on red background

Yes, good spot but too simplistic