Assignment Two - Elements of Design

Assignment two brings together the elements of design studied in part two of the coursework:

• single point dominating the composition
• two points
• several points in a deliberate shape
• a combination of vertical and horizontal lines
• diagonals
• curves
• distinct, even if irregular, shapes
• at least two kinds of implied triangle
• rhythm
• pattern

To achieve this, I set off to explore the north coast of Norfolk, together with a friend and fellow photographer, aiming to capture some of the unique and charming features of this part of England whilst incorporating the elements prescribed for the assignment.  Although I am generally biased toward the Lake District, I am also very fond of Norfolk, having spent many happy times there visiting my godparents.

Finding Elements of Design in Norfolk

Having arrived late at night, the search for elements of design really began with waking up in Blakeney on a Saturday morning.  I looked out of the bedroom window of the pub where we were staying, The King's Arms, and the first thing I saw was an implied triangle of garden objects, formed by the bench and the two flower barrells.  I rushed down to shoot them while the morning light was good.  I like the colours and texture of the brick work which is typical for Norfolk.

Implied Triangle 1

After breakfast I wandered down to the quay and noticed the seagulls were very busy digging in the mud.  I sat on the side of the quay for ages watching this particular bird and shot a lot of images to try to get it in the right place (it was tricky as it wouldn't keep still!) so as to compose an interesting image with a single point dominating the scene.  I specifically wanted the bird to be facing into the frame.  Finally, I got this shot of the bird actually pulling a worm out of the mud, which is great as it shows the animal interacting with its environment.  I also really like the neutral and sallow colour scheme of this shot, with the bird's colours complementing those of the mud.

Single point dominating the composition

Having finished with the bird, I wandered along the key and then took a step back.  I noticed the posts and bunting alongside the quay, with a couple of seagulls resting on the posts.  Scanning from left to right, I imagined percussion instruments performing a rhythm with the posts playing a regular drum beat, with heavier beats provided by the gulls (or maybe evens cymbals?) and a constant lighter beat playing on the triangle by the flags of the bunting. 

Rhythm

Leaving the quay and wandering up through the village, I noticed the multitude of flowers growing everywhere.  No record of a trip to Norfolk would complete without an image of flowers: I particularly liked the raspberry colour of these, which I shot with a wide aperture to get the blurred effect in the background.  The four clusters of flower heads form a wonky diamond shape.  The pink and green together are an attractive colour combination (less harsh than green and red), and I really like the muted and quite dark tones of the background which add atomosphere to the detail of the spiders webs and the flies waiting their gruesome end....

Several points in a deliberate shape

Leaving Blakeney we headed off to Morston quay ready for a trip to visit the seal colony.  As our boat set out from its jetty, we passed some moored sailing dinghies further along. There are some clear verticals in this image, with the boat masts, the bows of the dinghies and the posts on the shore, and then some subtle horizontals in the changes in tone of the water and clearer horizontals between the layers of the water, sand and grass and horizon.  The diagonals in the image provide some contrast and I like the simple but effective range of blues, greens and browns in this shot.

Verticals and horizontals

Motoring further along the inlet, we headed towards Blakeney Point and the seal colony.  The seals swam out to meet the boat; I wondered whether we were stirring up the fish.  Fast moving animals, the reflection off the water and the glare from the sun provided difficult conditions, so I set my camera to "sports" mode to be on the safe side, knowing that this would provide a fast shutter speed with automatic ISO adjustment.  I took many shots, mostly with seals in the wrong place in the frame, but fortunately I did get this one, which I had hoped for in my planning.  I cropped the image to position the seals closer towards the right-hand side and to remove some unnescessary water at the bottom of the frame, making for a more dynamic composition than the original.  The image is also interesting as there are some bubbles on the left-hand side, possibly belonging to an out-of-sight underwater seal, which the seals are looking at (forming an implied triangle).  I am pleased with the detail of the whiskers, the shine on their wet coats and their leopard-print patterns. 

Two points 1

We were then dropped off onto the shore of Blakeney Point and we set off to explore the prominentary.  We wandered along what looked like a parched river bed behind the shoreline, which at one point had me lying on the ground taking photos of the cracks at ground level, but in the end this raised position worked better.  Shot with a wide-angled zoom, I like the pattern formed by the cracks in the earth with the samphire growing between them.  The effect of the lens enlarges the detail in the foreground and also captures a suggestion of the vast expanse of the Norfolk sky.

Pattern

Boat trip over and back on shore, we wandered back towards the car passing a couple enjoying the view of the boats on the inlet.  There are clear horizontal lines in this image with the alternating bands of blue and green, and the slats of the bench and the people on the bench form two points in the scene.  The foreground and background are blurred as this was shot with a wide aperture.  I wondered whether they often sat on that bench to look at that view, or if this was a first outing.

Two points 2

Making our way back along the coast, we stopped off at Cley-next-the-Sea to visit the windmill.  Although late in the afternoon, the sun was still very strong and provided a fantastic blue sky.  This image was shot with a wide-angled zoom (see distortion in the building to the left) and a polariser to make the most of the sky and clouds.  The windmill is comprised of many shapes: rectangular sails and windows, square windows and square panes within the sails and the windows, the circular wheel to the right of the mill, the conical shape of the main structure, elipses forming belts round the middle and at the top of the mill, triangular gable in the building to the left and round flowers.  At this point I was still shooting on the "sports" mode, due to the bright sun.  I noticed that it was using a very fast shutter speed (1/1000s) and setting the ISO to 400 (which in bright sunshine, I wouldn't have done deliberately), but this has helped provide a deeper saturation of colour.

Distinct, even if irregular, shapes 1

After some fantastic lobster and chips, and the local Woodforde's Wherry, at the Dun Cow in Salthouse, we headed back to Blakeney to capture the sunset over the quay (now using manual setting not sports auto!).  A stranded boat in the foreground provided clear diagonals in the main mast, the supporting ropes and the angle at which it is perched on its keel.  I like the composition of this image with the low horizon capturing the huge Norfolk sky.

Diagonals 1

On Sunday morning, we woke up to brilliant sunshine and blue skies, and so, rushed down to the quay to shoot the village sign.  I had noticed the previous day that the sign was comprised of distinct shapes, but at that moment in time the light wasn't great for shooting.  The sign itself is square, with a supporting long thin rectangle, then a small cylinder piece and large, flat cylindrical base.

Distinct, even if irregular shapes 2

Then on closer inspection of the sign, there are more shapes within it: the obvious fish, boat, person and dog shapes (which are irregular shapes), and also a circle, a square, and a rectangle all contribute to this maritime scene.

Distinct, even if irregular shapes 3

Leaving Blakeney, we headed west towards Heacham.  We were fortunate enough to pass a hay field along the way (one of the scenes I had hoped for), which provided a fantastic opportunity to capture some curves.  I spent a good hour rolling around on the ground looking for the best angle and vantage point (not great when you suffer from hay fever!), plus waiting for clouds to move into the right place so as to keep the amazing blue sky.  This shot was finally taken with a wide-angled zoom lens and polariser, whilst lying on the ground looking up.  The curves of the hay rolls are captured, both the large one in the foreground, plus the smaller ones in the distance; in addition the implied line formed by the row of rolls curves towards the top left corner, and is supported by the path formed by the flattened grass moving in the same direction.  I like the exagarated composition of this shot, again with the vast and dramatic Norfolk sky, and the disproportionate size of the roll in the foreground.

Curves

From hay to poppies and more hayfever!  Further along the A149 and still heading west, we stumbled across a poppy field.  Missing the entrance several times, we eventually parked and managed to get far enough into the field to snap the stunning red poppies. By this time, the weather was changing and the cobalt blue sky was lost to grey clouds.  There are two implied triangles in this image: intentionally I shot the red band of poppies towards the top of the horizon, from a view where it looked to form a triangle converging towards the horizon (the horizon is also almost triangle-shaped), but in processing, I realised that the cloud formation was such that the main large grey cloud also converges towards the horizon point, forming an inverted implied triangle.  The effect is almost like an opening clam shell.  I also like the tiny details of the flowering thistles in the foreground, although I cropped a lot of this detail out to make the composition more dynamic thus increasing the proportion of the sky.

Implied triangle 2

Reaching our final destination at Heacham, we set off in search off lavender fields (at the Norfolk Lavender centre).  Disappointingly, the centre does not offer the tours of the fields any more so we had to make do with a much smaller patch at the centre.  Never mind!   There were still converging diagonals to be shot, although at this point the sky was not so interesting; so I tried to frame the scene so as to exclude as much sky as possible whilst making the most of the rows of lavender forming diagonals by perspective converging towards the focus point of the frame.

Diagonals 2

And so that was the end of our journey; we found many attractive elements of design along the north coast of Norfolk!