on the level
Saturday, September 26, 2009 at 03:01PM It must have something to do with working as a carpenter and owning various tools that determine if the built world we create is a close approximation of some standard of level. When it comes to photography, many, if not all of my compositions of architecture or elements that are square or level in nature are approached in a way that preserves this “levelosity.” It's really hard for me to compose horizontals out of level. The verticals are ordinarily attended to by the view camera that has become my standard tool. It has a level bubble on it, or in the case of the Sinar, three, to make sure that I get the world captured in a level manner. In many instances there is also a symmetry issue to contend with, which one either has to consciously destroy, or submit to the designer's intent.
;)
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Mike C. at the always provocative Idiotic-Hat blog has recently written about his tendency to try to get grids square with the edges of the frame. He displays an admirable technique in that he prefers not to work with a tripod, and certainly not a view camera or tilt-shift lenses.
This recent photo is definitely a step in a different direction for me. The original concept was to approach the wall in a typical manner: head on. Eventually that's not what seemed to work best. Not that this is a radical departure, but perhaps it will help me become more comfortable with compositions of buildings that are “out of level.”
;)
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An interesting observation after the fact is that normal perspective has been reversed here: near portions of the building are smaller than distant sections. Possibly something to work on in the future.
Reader Comments (4)
Interesting point. Generally the biggest difficulty in composing side views is to keep the eye of the viewer inside the picture. I've come to the idea that you need some kind of visual stop to avoid this. In your case the car works nicely.
Mauro, thanks for pointing this out. I knew there was a reason I included the car in the composition!
I like this. I'm glad to hear you're branching out in angles. Side views have always been what's worked best for me, but that's always because I've felt a need to make the shot more interesting. I guess your other photos show that's not necessary.
Hmm. I feel strange writing to you so formally. Smiley face for good measure. :)
Thanks CLW! Glad to hear that you think the "head on" photos are interesting too. I really like the symmetry that is shown by a lot of the old buildings.