Exercise – Observing Lines and Shapes – Volume 1.0
In the universe, there are things that are known, and things that are unknown, and in between, there are doors.
Lines, Shapes, Light, Color, Exposure, Aperture, Speed, Motion, Emotion, Characters, Texture and there are so many words that I have been dealing with haphazardly. To little or no effect. And to the extent of creating rules and bylaws for oneself I have always come around to understanding cameras and how they work. Trouble starts as soon as i take photos. Now the weird thing here is i have grown up with the camera as my imaginary friend whom I could show any thing and it would remember. But photography has been a little complex now that I think of it.
Time and again I have come across several different kinds of definitions to what is photography. I wouldn’t mention any here, however there is one thing that has stuck with me. A poem by Sukumar Ray. Or rather a few lines of the poem which perfectly describes what a photograph could aim to be.
Ray writes:
“বলছিলাম কি, বস্তুপিণ্ড সূক্ষ্ম হতে স্থূলেতে,
অর্থাৎ কিনা লাগ্ছে ঠেলা পঞ্চভূতের মূলেতে—
গোড়ায় তবে দেখতে হবে কোত্থেকে আর কি ক’রে,
রস জমে এই প্রপঞ্চময় বিশ্বতরুর শিকড়ে ৷
অর্থাৎ কিনা, এই মনে কর্, রোদ পড়েছে ঘাসেতে,
এই মনে কর্, চাঁদের আলো পড়লো তারি পাশেতে”
{translation underway – but the last couple of lines mention a reflection of sunlight and moonlight adjacent o each other on grass – bizarre.}
That is what photography has been since then. remembering the bizarre. And with it came various practices in color, shapes, light and its integrities, ISO, focal length, motion and what not. So when i started the courses here i had a notion this is the same old thing again. So i started taking photos and satisfying my self with my creativity.
Here we are. I notice a lot of lines and curves and take a photograph and almost simultaneously mark the lines and segments in the image. Fair enough I thought. Not Bad. So i continue…
Line – Value – Space all together I thought. Or even a step further…. invert the image for fun.
Enough fun already.
None of this materializes into any kind of practice let alone help recognize the seven elements. back to square one already.
Eventually I chanced upon a quote from a certain gentleman from the 21st century: “आप क्रोनोलॉजी समझिये” (you have to understand the chronology).
By the time I was introduced to Star Wars trilogy, I was in college and very well made my choices out of fact and fantasy. However stoic or sanity-induced we think we are, we keep finding linkages to fictional sequences when we are reading a book, listening to music, watching a movie or even wandering around looking at things around us. Master Yoda became such a character when he said: “You must unlearn what you have learned!”
Fair enough!
Point of anguish after initial few days of failed learning to unlearn: Unlearning seems a tad bit harder than learning.
Inferences:
- I am not capturing the lines and shapes I see considering all aspects of the space.
- The inference of a line itself is not bound to whether it is apparent or not.
- Yet more practice on observation that is time bound and effectively documented.
As a result of the above evaluation, it was time to selectively practice a day of observing lines and shapes wherever they are most evident. therefore, planning an extensive exercise for 4 days.
- Day 1 – Lines and Shapes
Day 2 – More Lines and Shapes
Day 3 – Yet more lines and Shapes
Day 4 – Visual Harmony in Line-Value-Space.
Day 5 – Review
[Post Processing is kept out of scope for the exercise.]
We start Monday 2nd September, 2024.
Exercise 1.0 – Lines and Shapes
- Objective – identify and photograph lines and shapes in their characteristic forms, i.e.:
a. visible/ implied
b. geometric/organic - Assumptions – shapes may or may not translate into elements of interest in the images. the exercise aims to just capture lines in their most apparent.
- Stages Approach – start with shadows >> lines created in overlapping of objects and textures >> lines and shapes created by relationship between elements in the frame.
- Timeline for exercise – A Stage A Day.
Stage 1: [Lines and Shapes]
observation on shadows – overhead wire lines and light posts:
Observation: Any Better? I couldn’t say.
But well, Moving on to Day 2 hereafter, Aiming to progress.
Stage 2: [Lines and Shapes with emphasis on value of textures in frame]
observation on lines and shapes overlapping objects and textures – shadows and patterns:
[parameter of variation – Horizontal and Vertical orientation of frame]
Landscape Orientation:
Portrait Orientation:
Sidequest – a short escapade to check how ‘position of elements in a given space may change the relationship of interest points (yes. by now I have covered visual harmony – and realized I need to watch the tutorial again)
Observation: Fair Enough – Line – Value – Space !!! any better? I couldn’t say.
But well, Moving on to Day 3 hereafter, Aiming to progress.
Stage 3: [lines and shapes created by relationship between elements in the frame]
Observation of lines identifiable that directly translates into a relationship between characters in the image – people and objects around us.
Are we there yet? No.
An important exercise now becomes to study these photographs and determine if we are able to achieve the variation, balance, motion, and span in these images as we desire. Is it important? Maybe. For one thing we know, all of the above photographs are taken with a specific objective in mind to practice.
To summarize my quest for the 4 days of conscious rewaj and a couple of days of review has led me to believe this cannot be a starters habit, this could definitely not be a one time exercise. exercise is for everyday.
Its like the camera friend of mine needs practice, and friends cannot practice alone apparently. Cameras aren’t sentient beings till we make them. Till then, let’s redo this rewaj again.
Lovely documentation!
A nice start,! Go on my friend. After a while things will start to fall in place.
Regrading the blog – The flow and write-up of your blog will help others to get to the start of the journey. Bravo, and thanks.
It’s probably even tougher to articulate the process of Riyaz than the Riyaz itself. Appreciate your effort of denoting the complex process in layman terms. It’s definitely going to be very helpful for every beginner in photographic Riyaz.
It would be very interesting to see the next volumes.. how the vision is shaping up…
Bon voyage brother !