Triangles, real and implied, are the focus of Exercise 21 of the OCA’s Art of Photography Elements of Design module. Michael Freeman in Art of Photography, a core text for the programme, notes the usefulness of triangles in composition because they are simple to construct or imply. Additionally, if they have a level base they aid the stability of the composition. The formation of triangles may be on the basis of reality or by implication. In the case of implied triangles the implication arises because of the juxtaposition or positioning of three points.
This exercise calls for the making of images of real triangles (one by perspective, one inverted by perspective and one of faces) and three still life triangles; normal, inverted and made up of three faces.
The first three images below are, in order, a real triangle, normal by perspective and inverted by perspective. The making of these images required a significant step outside my image making comfort zone as I would not normally spend time making images in urban settings. The final image of these three took some time to figure out how to make it work and, notwithstanding the feedback from Assignment One in which a key reflection was the need to consider why rather than how an image was being made, the making of this image gave considerable technical satisfaction.
The following three images are concerned, in turn, with a normal, still life triangle, an inverted, still life triangle and a triangle made of three faces. My image making has not included still life and the generation of ideas for still life images has proven to be very challenging. In the first few attempts I defaulted to secure areas such as geology and scuba diving. However, these prove to be unrewarding and the images below represent first attempts to step outside of comfort zones. The first two images speak for themselves. In respect of the third I was attempting to create the mood of a photograph in a locket by capturing the family group by reflection in an oval mirror.
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