6. Curves

1.

This long curving water sculpture in the city centre has a graceful  sweep of its own. In my image I tried to enhance this by shooting from a position that included its reflection and its proximity to other curved features such as the pond edge, the steps and the street lights. Therefore, there is a clear sense of direction, but also of an interesting image created by the interplay of a variety of curves creating elegant lines and shapes.

Atget often featured curves in his photographs of Paris, especially in his collection of staircases, (Krase A & Adam H, 2008) . The curve of the bannister sweeps down and almost seems to cause an eddy with the bottom steps, providing a restful and smooth experience for the viewer.





















2.

The ridge remaining from the crater of a long extinct volcano provides a graceful curve in the natural environment. It creates a strong feeling of  circular movement.

The opportunity to take my picture of the volcano reminded me very much of the work of Ansel Adams, of which this photograph of sand dunes is a good example,  (Alinder, J and Szarkowski, J, 1987, Ansel Adams; Classic Images, Little Brown & Co). The curves are emphasised by the mastery of tone separating the bright and shaded slopes.



















3.

I was initially attracted by the spherical shape of this city centre sculpture. However, when I got close, I found the reflections of the buildings in the watery surface much more interesting.  They have curved buildings that are usually very upright and straight, making them much more natural and elegant. (There's a little touch of Lee Friedlander here as well with the photographer in the image.






4.

Many photographers use an arch or tunnel to frame their images or to provide a focal point for a 'path'. In this image I was attracted by the way the curves completed a circle due to the reflection and gave a sense of escaping from a dark damp place through a hole - only to be confronted with a metal fence, the straightness of which contrasts with and emphasises the curves of the arch.

A significant number of Atget's images feature an arch or a bridge. This one provides a longer view of the staircase featured above, introducing more curves to keep the viewer's eye moving smoothly around the picture, (Krase A & Adam H, 2008).

Fay Godwin's picture;  One-Way Bridge, provides a good example of a circular aperture providing a focal point for the direction of travel and drawing the viewer into the picture ( Landmarks, 2001).

Perhaps one of the most effective uses of curve to emphasise grace and elegance is in images of the human form, this picture by Man Ray being a very good example, (Gruber, F, 1990, Man Ray, Benedikt Taschen). I decided that taking such images was probably outside the scope of this particular exercise.