Up to this point the exercises in the Art of Photography’s ‘Elements of Design’ modle have been about lines that can be seen to exist. This exercise (20) is concerned with lines that are implied. Michael Freeman in The Art of Photography, a core text for the programme draws particular attention to lines that are implied, specifically eyelines, and the role they play in composition. He notes (p.82) that human faces are so important that if a face appears in a photograph and is looking at something then then we are automatically drawn to what the face is looking at. If the object of the gaze is in the photograph (or is made so through composition) then the matter is resolved but if the object of the gaze outside the image then it is unresolved – a tension that the photographer might want to create.
The first images below are from the course notes for the programme and the exercise involves drawing the implied lines from the images. The two pictures have been scanned as jpegs and then implied lines drawn in using Elements. The first image of the bullfighter suggests a close line between the matador and the body of the bull while the sight line of the bull towards the right of the image is implied. In the second image the two horses have strong sight lines towards the bottom right hand corner while the horseman is looking towards the horses themselves.
In the remaining images I have used two underwater images and one out of water. In each case the original image is shown and then this followed with the image showing the sight line that was part of my intended composition.
The first image is of a cat in a garden sitting quietly but warily and gazing towards the bottom left hand corner. The tension is unresolved as the object of the gaze is not within the frame.
In the second image a diver in the top left hand corner is looking towards a large crab in te bottom right hand corner. The torch pointing towards the crab also helps to confirm the implied sightline. Although this is a fairly classic underwater composition it is not easy to achieve as it requires strobe exposure of the dark area of the frame to light the crab with a slow (1/30) exposure to expose the diver and get the green of the water in the background. In this image the crab is only about 50cms from the lens; an ultra wide angle (10-15mm) lens is normally required for this shot. Making this image gives me significant technical satisfaction while the implied interaction between the diver and crab implies some form of link.
The third image is somewhat similar to the second in that it is an underwater image. However, in this case the implied line is between the catshark to the left of the image and the divers torch in the top centre of the image. This was the composition I was trying to make and the technical requirements were very similar to those in the second image so resolving the composition in this image gave me significant technical satisfaction.
Elsewhere I have reflected on the feedback from Assignment One part of which was to try and start to consider why rather than how I am making images and from there move to a deeper understanding of my emotional response to and involvement in an image. These three images help me to start to piece together that understanding – a sense of engagement and involvement that borders on intimacy. Further, when I look at an image like Steve McCurry’s showing a sick child being observed by an adult (a parent) I am starting to get an inkling of what generates an emotional response for me in an image. In this instance it is a sense of intimacy in the image.
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