Assignment 2 Feedback

I was a little nervous about receiving feedback from my tutor after submitting the assignment.  So much so actually, that I somehow managed to forget to tell him the assignment was ready for feedback on my blog.  Anyway, we got there in the end and he kindly came back relatively fast especially considering his own limited time, for which I was grateful.

I have tried to upload the whole document here as a PDF but that is tricky in Blogger and I can't work out how to do it.  Will keep trying (and perhaps do the same for Assignment 1) but in the meantime here are some extracts: although having completed this, I like how I can put in my thoughts so maybe this is for the best anyway:

Feedback - assignment 

"Overall, this is bold, thoughtful, ambitious, striking, expressive and fascinating work; more so when viewed in the context of it being only your second assignment of your first module with the OCA. At this point, while students are often still making the adjustment from shooting purely for themselves/ pleasure, it’s unsurprising that many people take a fairly cautious approach to their assignments, producing work that’s less about being bold and taking chances than playing it safe. That you’ve clearly thought about how you can take the assignment criteria and do something that’s ambitious, creative and rather lyrical with it is extremely encouraging. This is an enormously intriguing assignment, from the text that outlines your thoughts and ideas processes, to your final execution of the photography. It doesn’t always come together, but at this point that’s less important than taking chances and having the imagination to even attempt to produce work like this in the first place."

I was very pleased to read the above and felt that the risk I had taken was recognised.  I agreed that in some instances I didn't quite reach what I was hoping for, mainly due to my lack of perseverance and worry about time - which in retrospect was silly.  In future I will endeavour to be sure of all the images I include and not allow a couple to slip under that don't quite do it for me.  I am glad to find out that I can replace the two images I wasn't happy with before being assessed and plan to do so.

Learning Logs/Critical Essays

"The way you’re thinking and writing about your experiences is really engaging and enormously promising. The overview you give of the assignment was extremely readable, and a great accompaniment to the images- there’s a seriousness and determination that is apparent throughout, and everything is always thoughtful, eloquent and extremely readable. More please…

On a techy note, I very much appreciated how you presented the photographs in a full-screen slideshow; it really presented them in a lovely light. In the long run, an awareness of how people view your photographs is something that is incredibly important."

I love writing and have lots to say so I am very encouraged by this.  I have also been noticing how people present their work and am interested in learning new ways to do so myself.

Suggested reading/viewing

"‘I have not read enough’- very honest! It’s hugely encouraging, gratifying and exciting to see someone who’s so committed and willing to take chances and not feel the need to tread well worn paths. Harnessing this adventurous spirit by getting a more pointed sense of what’s out there is certainly something that will give an added sense of purpose to your work- but having said this, your accompanying notes very clearly give a sense of someone who is taking note of what’s out there, and absorbing all manner of things. You’re clearly keen to explore and try new things, and I get the impression that you know anyway that ‘consuming’ more photography and writing about photography will feed your own ideas processes. So keep going…

More specifically, your work in this assignment immediately called to mine a series by Jessa Fairbrother, whose series The Rehearsal (dedicated to Augustine) attracted a fair bit of attention. There’s a similar stylistic approach in terms of the way the work is set up, but also quite a few differences that go beyond one project being in colour and the other in b/w. Yours appears to be rather more concerned with, dare I say, existential matters than Jessa’s… but also keep in mind that work like this that doesn’t loudly flag up what it’s intended to be ‘about’ lends itself to a much more diverse and ‘open’ set of readings by the viewer. This is a moot point in all forms of creativity, not just photography, and scholars in the field of Cultural Studies have been interested in the way audiences have a ‘creative role’ in the production of meaning and interpreting art and culture for quite a long time. Stuart Hall and Roland Barthes are a couple of key figures if you fancy some not-so-light reading around this! Jessa’s other work is also well worth a look."

I do of course aim to read more and I am certainly looking at photographic work a lot as well as other mediums.  My problem with reading the prescribed books is that I am too easily drawn to psychology and social anthropology books which does inform the work I do, but I am aware I need to make sure I don't miss out on important photography commentary too.  I have nearly finished one of the books which was recommended so I don't feel too bad now but this is something I must keep an eye on.  Saying that the writers that have been recommended of course appeal to me (and my slight sense of grandiosity?) because they are looking at all creative arts and theatre has been an interest of mine since I was very young.  I am extremely interested in work that isn't prescriptive.

I have looked at Jessa Fairbrother and was thrilled by her work.  I am inspired and I look forward to seeing more.  I was also grateful to a fellow student who recommend Alexey Brodovitch after seeing my assignment work.  The peer review Facebook group that has been set up has been great for getting to know some of the other people studying, even if only online. 

Pointers for the next assignment 

We’ve already touched on this in email correspondence, so all I want to add is that you should just keep going: the work you’ve submitted so far, as well as what you’ve uploaded to your blog, gives an extremely clear sense of someone who is pushing, searching, and hopefully finding what it is they are looking for. There’s quite a wide array of styles, which rather than suggesting uncertainty and inconsistency, points to someone determined to find an appropriate vehicle to work with… even if this doesn’t necessarily settle into a permanent and easily identifiable visual ‘style’. The notes that you include, highlighting ‘keening, death, love, sex, innocence, isolation and aging’ were very welcome, and indicative of someone who’s very ambitious and wants to use photography to communicate some things that are not easily communicated. What’s also encouraging is that I had quite a big sense of these themes being part of the work before I read your notes, so things are definitely moving in the right direction, and I’m pretty confident that if you can maintain your enthusiasm and obvious work ethic- and put right your sense that you’ve ‘not read enough’!- you’ll continue to get closer to wherever it is you want your work and your studies to take you. Please feel free to drop me an email if you want to discuss your plans for A3.

I have been thinking about A3 quite a lot now and was a bit unsure about how to proceed.  Having looked at Jessa Fairbrother's work though I am beginning to relax a little about it.  I've been uncertain about continuing to use myself in the the work I do here.  However, I was once an actor and the idea of using photography to create my own little productions is quite appealing.  I never felt I was able to express what I wanted to when acting - in large part I'm sure because I was quite messed up and unsure about who I was at the time rather than because of any failing in the people I was working with, or the scripts I was working on, or acting not being the right medium.  But now I have an increasingly clear idea of what it is that is I am eager to express and I think having the tools to do it, i.e a camera might be liberating in the end.  So, for now I am not going to worry too much about being my own little producer-megalomaniac - although not much of a one since I'm potentially only bossing myself around.

As far as an easily identifiable style goes, I do feel slightly ambivalent about closing down and honing in just yet. (One of the things I took away with me from the Richard Hamilton show was how versatile and wide ranging his work was and I liked that a lot).  However, I do also appreciate that finding one's own language is an extremely worthwhile aim.

 

 

 

At last beginning to get on with some reading...

I took photos at a wedding for the first time recently.  Perhaps because I've never done it before, perhaps because of my personality, I felt like an intruder and a bit of a peeping Tom.  Not sure this shot will mean much to the family & couple but it said something to me about my own place at the wedding and possibly in the world.

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I felt it was probably time to write up some reflection a I’ve not been doing so with quite the same frequency as I did to begin with.  As I mentioned in the assignment reflection for Elements of Design, this isn’t because I haven’t been thinking.  In fact, perhaps it’s because I’ve been thinking more, droning on less.

I think what the last few months of work with OCA has done for me is broaden my horizons of what is possible quite considerably – and for that I am very pleased.

I know I need to read more.  Fitting it in is not easy but I’m getting on quite well with (1) the photograph as contemporary art by Charlotte Cotton. There is quite a lot in there that I have come across already which is encouraging although of course much more that I haven’t.  All of it is compelling to a greater or a lesser extent.

I think what I’m most interested in on this course for now is trying to reach something that is less about the commercial side although that is important to me (and something I must continue to learn about; marketing, sales, the actual photography) as I need very much to earn a living in the medium term.  But if I can develop the art side as much as possible for my own satisfaction then that would be great.  But I don’t think that will be easy to do – I find a lot of the stuff I’m looking at quite challenging to be honest although the Intimate Life chapter in the aforementioned book is far more immediate and resonant for me than much of the deadpan style I’d read about earlier. 

Of course, I have no doubt the two, commercial and not so commercial stuff will cross over and may be influenced by one another, and in fact I can see that happening already.   It does feel like I’m on a very interesting path and I’m enjoying it a great deal even though there are times when I feel somewhat panicked and like I might have gone off in the wrong direction.

I'm a bit nervous about the next chapter in TOAP - Colour.  Seems all a bit difficult at first glance due to the theory so will need to think carefully about it as I go through.

For now, I need to get on with writing up two photo books, and reading all the colour information on the OCA site as well as some more of the photograph as a contemporary art.

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(1) the photograph as a contemporary art, new edition by Charlotte Cotton, Thames & Hudson 2009

My thoughts on the assement criteria

Demonstration of technical and visual skills
I suspect I have demonstrated that I know enough to start playing around with what a camera can do. I photographed a wedding for the first time this weekend just gone and although I am certain I didn't do anything too amazing I know I managed to at least get the exposure right most of the time and capture some moving moments (although I missed some stuff which was annoying but forgivable considering it was my first foray) I mention this because although I have no desire to become a wedding photographer the experience was important but I wouldn't have taken it on had I not felt able to get the basics right - it was terrifying nevertheless.  There is still much to learn about lighting and composition in particular but I am very much beyond where I was a year ago.
Quality of Outcome
I am a bit nervous that I may have gone down the wrong path but I also think that I might have taken a healthy step in the right direction of 'finding a voice' despite the fact that I am sure I'm influenced by someone who is influenced by another.  (Isn't that how it works though?)  Looking at the the images having posted them I can see where I should have looked at the whites in some images making them cleaner. I left lots of marks deliberately but there were a few dots that I removed and hopefully I've not missed any. 
Demonstration of creativity
I think I've probably been quite creative  - perhaps so creative that I've not done the right thing! The actor in me has been very much involved in the work I did for the assignment although not for the exercises which were more thoughtful and measured. 
Context
I have not written as much this time as I did for the first module.  But I have been thinking a great deal and didn't feel the need to blather quite so much.  I have looked at other artists' work  - museums,  books and online but might have done more.  I still have two books to write up but didn't have time.  I have not read enough.

Assignment 2

Please view the images initially as a slideshow on as a big screen as you can as I think they work best that way.

These images are an expression of where I have been and acceptance of where I am now.  I hope there is keening, death, love, sex, innocence, isolation and aging in them.  There should also be fear of the unknown but an acceptance of that fear, excitement, celebration and play.  For me these are the words that describe life so far and in particular pertain to events of the last two, possibly three years.

Please visit here and click on individual images to see exif data (by clicking on the small i under the image) Basically I took all the images on a very slow shutter speed, at f22, ISO 100 in order to achieve the sense of movement and instability.  I edited in Lightroom and added a Niks Silver Efex filter in Photoshop which I adjusted slightly in some images.

Commentary and notes about development as well as thoughts about assessment criteria available via these hyperlinks.  I have deliberately left this page relatively sparse as I wish for the images to stand alone.

Implied triangle

Several points in a deliberate shape

Rhythm (i)

Two points

Diagonals

Distinct even if irregular shapes

Several points in a deliberate shape

Curves

Vertical & just about horizontal

Pattern

Single point

Rhythm (ii)

Horizontal & just about vertical

Implied triangle

Distinct irregular shapes

Real & implied triangles

Produce two sets of triangular compositions in photographs, one using real triangles and the other making implied triangles.

This was the hardest exercise for me - perhaps it is for all novice photographers.  I can see how triangles bring 'order to an image' but I guess that's the difficult professional aspect - making something coherent and giving it definition.  I imagine this will take time and the more I work the more it will become second nature - I hope!

 REAL:

Something that really is triangular:  Ok, this is actually a cone, but what is a cone if not a three dimensional triangle (sure my 10 year old math guys will explain why this isn't the case).  Anyway, the stuffed hares create a triangle with their bodies and the shape is mirrored in the container and in the frames hanging behind it.  I guess a filter might have been good to reduce the reflections but I like the shapes they make and I don't have a filter anyway - another thing to add to the shopping list.  I liked this exhibit - it was very striking. It capture the violence, the way nature balances itself through aggression. f2.8 1/60 ISO 2000

A triangle by perspective converging towards the top of the image: This is not as strong as the triangle in the photo used in an earlier exercise but I had already included it so didn't feel able to use it again, however, I do like this image nevertheless.  The stone at the front converges towards the back as by expected perspective but the triangle is completed by the figure of the Virgin standing on the tomb behind which makes it more complex I think.  I have continued with an earlier theme of death here.  I like the reflections of the tree - the tree of life? -  in the glass at the back of the photo.  On the other side of the photo is a cross symbolic of religion and spirituality.  At the back is the sky and the top of a mountain.  For me this photo is about death but also about life and nature and man's symbols to make sense of it all. f8 1/250 ISO 250 (Added later: Having thought about this - this is more of an implied triangle, I see)

An inverted triangle where the apex is at the bottom of the image: well, this confused me immensely and I thought I might need to simply turn an image upside down! (see examples at the end of the exercise)  However, looking through my images for some sort of clue I was happy to find this one taken whilst in Italy where I took many of the photos at the beginning of this section.  The perspective rules occur as usual here but because the lights are on the ceiling of the tunnel the lines converge at the bottom of the page instead of at the top or in the middle - and I cropped it to make that happen more.  Lights at the end of the tunnel - it's all about death again!  f2.8, 1/100, ISO 800

IMPLIED:

Still life with apex at the top of the photo: I have placed a load of toys all referencing life and evolution on the blue dot in space called Earth.  This poor dolly is ever so ugly but it's been with us since son no.1 was a baby and despite clearing out a lot of toys recently I don't think I could part with her.  There is a cave man or two watching her, some dinosaurs and a few modern cars.  She sits up against a block of bricks with letters on; if she could grow up she would need to learn her letters and they support her here.  There is a patient lying on a bed - life is traumatic and can result in illness, physical, emotional or mental (all physical really).  Behind her there is a type of BBQ -  something where fire is made, controlled and used to cook food - a very human activity.  The ape is sadly so out of focus he's become just a blurry few dots of pink.  I should have placed him elsewhere - somehow he's not even in the triangle. f2.8 1/80 ISO 100 (with Speedlight)

Still life with apex at bottom of image: To be honest, I struggled with this one.  In the end I was playing with double exposures on my newish camera and ended up doing this so I could finish this exercise.  It's difficult to create a triangle that works with the apex at the bottom  - I thought of using Bluetack to try and create something impossible looking.  I guess if you could do that, it might be unsettling - as it would make little sense to the eye.  The letters and building blocks continue the theme of what it is to be human. f2.8 1/125 ISO 3200 (And I see this is a real triangle rather than implied - I should have swapped it with the one I've picked up on above)

Arrange three people in a group:  I was lucky as this one just happened.  I sometimes have to arrange groups to photograph when I do the event photography I occasionally do.  It can be quite tricky as people don't tend to move even when you ask them too - then you want to man handle them, which some don't mind and some really do mind!  But I do aim for triangle shapes.  I like this as it give a very clear idea about each child's stage in development and personality - why on earth is my middle son clinging to his ears, for instance???  The baby must work hard to maintain his balance.  The oldest boy is at the beginning of that awkward  "how do I fit into this body" stage.  Growth - such a fascinating part of life. f5.6 1/22 ISO 160

ADDITIONAL THOUGHTS:

Here is the photo I took and then thought about turning upside down to achieve the apex at the bottom but seeing them here together one of top of each other like this I am surprised by how effective this looks - got to get to grips with Photoshop so I can make a photo with both in... Especially,  since I'm thinking about putting two images together for the assignment section.

Rythms & Patterns

Produce at least 2 photographs, one should convey rhythm, the other pattern:

The Natural History Museum was a perfect place to find some rhythm and pattern although to be honest I was hoping to find some triangles.  I think it is quite fitting to have visited here since I currently think a great deal about human nature and how, for all our 'civilisation', we are basically apes without hair who evolved from lizards and before that fish and before that cells and goop.  The various levels of socialisation seemingly only go so far to protect us from those less sophisticated impulses.

Pattern 1: I have cropped this tightly to create the illusion of a never ending pattern although not sure I succeeded.  Nevertheless I like the pattern created.  I think the Natural History Museum is a great place to be looking at pattern and rhythm as those two words do sum up life, be it plant, animal or mineral (not sure about the whole sub-quantum physics dimension as from the one or two documentaries I've watched there is little pattern and rhythm down there at all... if I understood it correctly!) ISO 1250 f2.8 1/60

Pattern 2:  This is a more definite infinite pattern than the first but may be too abstract for some tastes.  I love the reflections and am grateful to museums for creating such interesting spaces to take your camera and have a play. ISO 6400 f2.8 1/60

Rhythm:  It's not very original to take a slow shutter speed photograph of a busy main entrance in a museum and I have certainly taken more than one.  A really interesting photo with slow shutter speeds that I saw (not mine) was taken at Liverpool Street Station and all the people were out of focus but a number of clocks in focus.  I like that the dinosaur tail is in focus but the much tinier homo-sapiens all blurred.  I think the photo captures the rhythm of a busy day during half-term at said museum which was pretty hectic and busy.  I do suspect the brief was looking for a different sort of rhythm and may look through my photos from yesterday and see if any others suggest rhythm in an a different way.  ISO 800 f16 1sec

Implied lines

Find the implies lines in the following two photographs:

I'm not sure I've got these right.  All the curves seemed like implied lines to me but I'm not clear about it.

The implied lines are probably between the horse and the man, the looking, the man's hand out with his whip. I was having a dim moment - It was hard to work out if 'implied lines' meant the ones that didn't exist but might have, but in retrospect I think that is of course what they mean. 

The find any three photographs of your own and do the same thing:

I really liked the circular line that this photo creates, even though the little girls face is facing away (although it would have been better if it had been ever so slightly more in view).  I also like the loving look between the mum and dad.  Two lines!

I wasn't sure about this one.  I wanted to get some implied lines with movement but not sure I achieved it or not.  I can definitely see lines but they're actually there, although the lines of movement created in the background by the very slow shutter speed (and perhaps I was moving too) might pass as implied... not sure!

This is an eye line again.  I liked the mood but perhaps have put too much shadow over his eye looking at it now.  Maybe it makes it more sinister than it might be, I was trying to make more of the light from the skylight on the baby .  I liked this though because it showed a real moment as opposed to the usual baby shots.  They didn't choose it!

Plan and take two photographs, one with an eye-line and one with lines that point:

Getting these kids to model is painful so I might stop using them for planned photos.  But at least there was one out of many with an eye-line.  The oldest is looking at the middle child and he is looking at the youngest, who is of course looking at me.

I kept looking at this climbing frame for days when ever we went to the play ground with this project in mind, and wondered what I'd be able to make of it.  I wanted to lie underneath it and photograph up but it was so busy the first time I thought about it so I didn't. It would have been covered in people and I'd have felt embarrassed.  Then it was a bit grey when we went another time so I had a chance.  I have put quite a heavy vignette on it to emphasise the converging lines and light behind them and also made the sky more dramatic than it was.  Are they converging or collapsing in on each-other? 

Curves

Take 4 photographs using curves to emphasise movement and direction.

Children: The curves of the arches which are much bigger than the children are very pretty - the whole building is beautiful.  I have actually cropped this image far more than I usually do in order to emphasise the arches, but that has made a rejected picture much more viable. There is a timelessness and grandness to the old building compared to the children who seem so very small.  I also like their different postures.  200 ISO 55mm f8 1/1000

Roof: I liked the bumpy curves of the roof and the tiny plants growing in it.  I was actually thinking about diagonals when I took it because of the perspective lines but in the end have included it in curves because I think the regular bumps are more prominent.  I can't say that I was doing anything other than trying to fulfill exercises.  If I said anymore I would be shoehorning meaning into an image that was about shapes and lines to me. 160 ISO 28mm f2.8 1/1250

Curvy: This is a close up picture of a strange object that I think may have been used to inflate something at one time (wider image of the whole object here).  I thought it was a vacuum cleaner to begin with but I don't think that is right.  It has been discarded behind an enormous climbing center that exists in a pretty rustic and medieval Italian village which was quite controversial when initially built as it is totally out of place, ruins the picture postcard image of the village and is surrounded by mountains that can be and are frequently climbed. The climbing frame doesn't seem to be utilised very often.  Mostly it has become a giant store area for objects used in the village's annual Festa where visitors get to see the entire history of mankind acted out over the course of two or three hours in a promenade style theatrical event.  It's lots of fun and full of spectacle.  Props and scenery are stored, many open to the elements here, and this object seemed like it had been dumped, a discarded dead alien. 250 ISO 50mm f2.8 1/1250

Steps: The curves of the steps going off into the horizon could have been used in the horizontal exercise too. 500 ISO 23mm f5.6mm 1/200

The Emerald Forest: I did not intend to add this last one, but as it is very different to what I usually do - here it is.  I have been interested in repeated patterns in nature for a long time - they are known as fractal patterns and I find examples of such patterns fascinating and beautiful.  I didn't like the original green of this cauliflower so changed it to make it obviously unreal which is not something I do often but I didn't like it in black and white either so made it emerald.    However, I can't help wondering about my unconscious choices - why emerald?  I do think such patterns are reflected in much of our existence, throughout our lives as individuals and as groups. I chose square format because I wanted as much of the vegetable without any gaps included but the regularity of having equal sides suits the regularity of the patterns.  250 ISO 48mm f2.8 1/320

Diagonals

Take four photographs which use diagonals strongly:

The diagonals are evident in the tiny bits of barbed wire at the forefront of the photo and also in the perspective lines in the rest of the image.  I chose this because it symbolised discomfort, potential pain not to mention disease (rusty things used frequently to kill us off before penicillin) and the wire at very front of the image is out of focus and somewhat annoying, like having something in your eye which you can't remove. ISO 250 31mm f2.8 1/800

The diagonals here are created by the different shades of grey as you move across the image and each band seems to mirror a subsequent band - i.e. shadowed wall, sunlight baby's back, shadowed baby's face and torso, sunlit wall and then finally shadow again.  I chose it because of the tenderness of the smooth baby which contrasts with with rough paint-peeling wall that is old and weathered.  ISO 160 28mm f4.5 1/640

I made these diagonals by turning the image when editing.  I took two images and in one I highlighted the horizontal aspect seen here but I actually think the shutters which were naturally diagonal work nicely with the roof echoing their shape.  I left the tiny bird in, which in this thumbnail seems odd but hopefully when seen in a larger rendition (click on the image) it makes more sense. The colours of the bird seem very similar to the colours of the building.  The contrast between something very earthbound and concrete - a house, a home, one in which the people are at home (open shutters) and the bird which is tiny and distant and free  - but still connected by its presence and the matching colours seems to resonate.  ISO 100 28mm f8 1/250

This photograph was a lucky steal - one of my children was messing about with his seat-belt so we had to stop at which point I took the opportunity to photograph the completely empty road standing right in the middle of it.  I must stop the car more often for photographic purposes - traveling to see rather than merely to get there is a very appealing and lately unfamiliar notion! The diagonals are created by perspective and I am so grateful for the snow poles on either side which seem to emphasise the shapes and lines.  Roads are emblematic of journeying and have been photographed a million times.  The perspective makes the image strong I think, traveling towards mountains and in the distance you can see Castellucio, a hill side town on the right and to the east a conglomeration of trees in the shape of Italy. The mountains are definite, sturdy and steadfast.  The weather is dynamic. ISO 160 17mm f8 1/640

Horizontal & Vertical Lines

Produce 4 examples of the horizontal and 4 vertical lines and as far as you can avoid repeating the way in which the line appears:

Driving seat: Although placing things in the very middle sometimes doesn't work I have tried it with this one; using the pillar which cuts he photo in half.  In one half there is a driving seat and in the other a bench.  The reality behind the pillar is connected despite the forced separation at the forefront of the image.  The driving seat is empty. The verticals in the background echo the vertical of the pillar and although they are ostensibly made by the stands, the different coloured lighting enhances the vertical pattern. ISO 125 10mm f2.8 1/60

Storeroom: The main vertical lines are the window frame by those lines are echoes by the reflections in the background on the glass bottles.  I like the contrast between the light and dark.  Again there are two separate halves in this image.  ISO 1000 48mm f5.6 1/500

Trout farm: This photo annoys me.  I wish I had had the foresight to make more of the vertical line of water on the right that is hardly there at all.  I'm not sure if you anyone can see this is a tiny mini waterfall or if it is too abstract.  To be honest it is simply an image that aims to fulfill the exercise and I'm not sure I can talk about what I aimed to communicate here.  However, I am pretty big on unconscious communication and motivation so I am sure there will be something about swimming upstream here and again there are two halves, one with a curvy female shape inside and the other with froth at the bottom.   I have chosen monotone to highlight the vertical nature. ISO 125 48mm f22 1/15

The right side of the bars: I noticed this grille as we wandered round an Italian hilltop town and before I could snap it my son was in front of the camera which is unlike him - normally avoiding it or pulling funny faces and making rude signs so I was pleased with this.  I was also pleased he chose a stance that mirrored the horizontal bars making it a contender for this exercise.  I like the contrast between the old and young, historical and modern and light and dark.  It is difficult for me to discuss what this communicates here but I will say that I think this a very honest and true portrait of him. 400 ISO 28mm f5.6 1/100

Electricity: As is often the case when there is a large space of single colour there is a bit of digital noise after uploading here which is a shame.   The man made lines try to compete with nature.  This a reminder of how transient our species is.  Long after the lines here have stopped bringing electricity to houses making light inside possible the moon will still be shining.  We're hopeful, deluded and insignificant in the long run. 160 ISO 55mm f3.2 1/50

Italian sky: This a different view of a building creating a horizontal shape.  The photo to me is mostly about shapes. The horizontal line created by the roof and sky meeting is a strong one - made by a strong contrast.   100 ISO 21mm f8 1/250

Ducks in a row: I like this one but am unsure if it meets the criteria.  The horizontal lines are made by the landscape - trees, stream, ducks, bricks and paving.  There are dark bands and light bands and the dark duck stands in the light paving while the light ducks are slightly behind against the darker river.  I'm not sure it communicates that much although the title I have given it is quite positive in relation to my personal life.  I feel from that sense it is a strong image - one with purpose like the ducks.  And it is also a little fun.  250 ISO 55mm f5.6 1/320

This vertical one seemed to insist on being at the end of the page so forgive it for seeming out of place - Poles: The vertical poles are probably a repeat of the first image although the photograph is quite different.  I should have found a photo of the kids creating a vertical image but there are some of those for later in other shapes.  But I really liked this one.  They are the male and female of the street lamp world.  All the electricity boxes, one hanging precariously (not great for an electricity box) seem to be connected and related to the poles and each-other.  I chose black and white again to emphasise the vertical nature. ISO 250 23mm f5.6 1/640.