2. Relationship between points

This image was taken in a derelict factory. I was drawn to the graffiti-covered gate. On its own, it could have looked quite static and less interesting. To overcome this, I moved my position to include two sawn-off iron uprights painted bright green. I positioned them to form an implied diagonal line, hopefully to create a sense of movement towards and through the gate from the bottom right corner. Because these points are relatively bright, then attention is quickly drawn to them and then towards the 'exit'.

A similar effect was sought for this picture. My first interest was the shape of the roofs with the later 'curves' exercise in mind. It was difficult to create impact by taking them on their own. To attempt to get over this, I moved beyond two spherical water features and positioned them to grab the viewers attention and move the eye forward. I feel this has been reasonably successful. The larger sphere at the front, with its reflection, is more prominent and immediately grabs the attention, taking the eye to the contrasting curve of the first roof. The eye then goes into the picture to the second ball and the complementary curve of the second roof. The positioning of the shiny spheres and their relationship to the curving roofs does, therefore add some interest and impact to the image.

In my third image, the points again add movement and direction to the image. In this case, the two brighter hillocks on the volcanic plain are intended to take the viewer through the gap between the hills in the foreground towards the distant mountains. Without this, the picture would have been more static and less interesting.

The course notes explain how two points often create a sense of movement in the way I have tried to exemplify above. An exception is a full-on photograph of a face including the eyes, as my close-up of a cow's face shows. As with exercise one, I used Eugene Atget's work as a source of ideas. He provides another example of how two points can be placed to enhance the static quality of an image:

This image (from Krase & Adam) shows how placing two objects, the lamps, side by side and equi-distant from the centre removes any sense of movement or direction. Neither lamp is prominent enough to grab the attention and move the eye to the other. The only element here that shifts the eye from the lamps is the fact that one gate is open while the other is closed.

Carrying on with the theme of eyes, I recently took several close-up photographs of a hermit crab. This one worked best because the crab is trying to pick up a pink object. The addition of this point moves the viewer from the eyes, which effectively act as one strong point and would otherwise have kept the attention away from the interesting fore legs.

Atget also produced many photographs where two points are positioned to move the viewer's eye towards key features. I have selected two (from Krase & Adam). In this one, two children 'highlighted' in white frocks take the viewer from the edge of the image towards the man sitting by the door of the caravan.

 And, in this one, two white statues against the black of the trees and their reflection give a sense of movement towards the gap in the trees.