Exercise 6. Looking through the Viewfinder. Fitting the frame to the subject

For this exercise my task is to find an object that is accessible from close up and at a distance and see how much space is taken up in the frame of my viewfinder.  In my written logbook I have made a list of possible subjects and have decided that the old fishing dhow in Sohar to be the most suitable subject for this exercise. In total I made two visits to the location to enable me to complete this to my satisfaction.


Nikon D7000
ISO 200
No flash
Aperture Priority
Tripod

Fig;1      1/200sec     f/11.0

Conventional View      

                                 

Fig:2     1/200sec     f/11.0

2nd base photograph

Positioning myself lower on the ground to give eye level view.

Fig:3     1/250sec     f/6.3

Fitting the frame   

Some distractions at the back of the image, created by Mosque and street lighting. 

Being such a tight fit to the frame the overall image is cluttered and somewhat busy.

                                      

                                                                                       Fig:4     1/250sec     f/13.0

Close up, no edges of dhow can be seen.

Fig:5     1/800sec     f6.3

Quarter frame

Moved my position away, to give narrow view of beach, ensuring placement of dhow in lower left of frame

Fig:6     1/800sec     f/6.3
Cropped shoreline

Fig:7    Industrial.
Conversion to black and white, cropped image, shows neglect and rotting woodwork.

Fig:8  Industrial

Cropped image, conversion to black and white, wheel house

My thoughts on this exercise
The conventional fig;1, is divided in half by both the positioning of the dhow and the line from the sea break wall.  I did not notice the very small fishing boat just below the sea wall by the barrel on the dhow.  The positioning of the sea break could be placed along the lower third which may create a more pleasing composition.  The quay wall is not interesting enough to be part of the image.
The subject placement in base fig;2 is reasonable, the tilt or angle of the lay of the dhow creates a triangle, and the wall and lights of the corniche create a line.
fig 4 is what I was asked to produce, a tightly detailed image.  It shows clearly that the dhow is neglected and on the verge of dereliction, and as the dhow is 'industrial' I have attempted two cropped images and converted them to black and white with quite pleasing results.  Both of the black and white images show vertical and diagonal lines, I believe they are more prominent because the images have been converted to black and white.
fig:6 was added, I am quite happy with this, by cropping I have created a pleasing composition, the dhow catches the viewers attention.  By cropping it creates a different viewpoint and camera angle.  The background, busy as it is, highlights the fishing community and family life with the mosque in the scene.

Exercise 7. Project. Looking through the viewfinder. Object in different positions in the frame

In this exercise I am required to find a subject to photograph that is placed within a background that has little or no distraction to the eye.  As I live within easy reach of the ocean I decided to drive along the beach road and see if I could find an aspect of Omani life that would be suitable for this exercise.  This area was destroyed by the Gonu several years ago and the rubble from destroyed fisherman homes still litter the beach edge.  The families that live along the seafront spend their social times in the evenings sat on the seafront overlooking the ocean and often use comfortable seating to relax on, as can be seen here.  They are scattered all along the seafront, sometimes up against the wall of their home or on the roadside on the beach.
I came across this group of chairs and chose them as my subject, the time of day was mid morning, hence the chairs being empty.

My task is to provide a group of photographs where I have placed the chosen subject in different positions within the frame.

This is my base photograph

 fig 1  

This photograph places the subject at the bottom right, 

I quite like the composition of this photograph, the slight angle of the composition creates a scene where the sea is not prominent, but the sky is. 

fig 2 

This view positions the seating to the upper left, I feel that less sea and sky is good, but the beach is a detraction from the seating.  Too many horizontal lines.

fig 3

This shows central positioning of the subject, with equal amounts of foreground and sky. Again too much sky and beach in the composition. The composition is not good, the horizon is central and also the subject positioning is central, therefor prominent,  would be more pleasing to my eye if less foregound.

fig4    Showing -  Seafront Location in Sohar

Fisherman homes in background alongside Mosque and Telephone Mast, these small groups of seating, allow Omani friends to gather after evening prayer.

My thoughts on this exercise.

The sand is too prominent in the above selection of photographs,  I feel that a narrow skyline and foreground would work better, If I could divide the photograph into thirds, to create a good composition I would be defeating the object of the exercise.  

Fig 1: works for me, the composition is not quite right as there is too much sky, I was as low in position as I could possibly get, without laying prostrate. 

Cropping:  to create a very simple composition.  I see the subtle outline of two triangles in this photo created by cropping.

• Area of sea
• Beach Area

fig 5