Part 2 Elements of Design; Project: Points, Multiple Points

Exercise: Multiple Points

Objective: To set up a still life and arrange 6-10 similar sized objects in a controlled manner, one at a time to produce a visually pleasing natural arrangement.

This exercise was done in the studio using a 60cm soft box at 45° to the right and reflector 90° to the left to provide soft even lighting. My camera was set on manual at 1/125s, f32, 200mm for this first series. I took inspiration from the course book using a background of rough broken stone, marble and basalt, to frame and contrast the sea worn glass fragments that I picked up from the beach.

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4786 Final Photograph:

Final Photograph - Sketch of lines and shapes:

I was quite pleased with this arrangement. Reading from the textbook I appear to have a loose arrangement here. I have added the vectors and the shapes that are obvious although there are more there but identifying them wouldn't add much. I also read in the book about Frederick Sommer's take on arranged and found compositions. I picked up a handful of fragments and dropped them to make random patterns. Here are a couple of the better compositions I generated:

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This is a bit like John Baldessari's proposal to use ordinary time to enact miracles, no matter how small, illustrated by Throwing Four Balls in the Air to Get a Square (Best of Thirty Six Tries) 1974 click

http://www.desordre.net/photographie/photographes/robert_frank/baldessari.html for  the images.

What have I learned?

Making a satisfying composition from small similar objects thats looks sufficiently natural takes time and patience. Vectors play an important role in creating disorder by appearing to pull the objects in different directions. The secret is not to arrange objects in geometric shapes and to get a balance between order and disorder so that your objects appear naturally placed. Practice will make perfect!