Naboo32
Suspended / Banned
- Messages
- 3,278
- Name
- Andy
- Edit My Images
- Yes
I read about this assignment in one of my photography books and thought that it might be fun to give it whirl.
The brief is simple: Photograph objects which resemble letters of the alphabet.
The main restriction is that you may not photograph any objects, which are actually intended to represent a letter of the alphabet (i.e. neon signs, logos, badges on cars etc.). It is, however, perfectly OK to crop, rotate, invert, flip your images and and PP away to your hearts content, as long as the basic shape of the image is true to the original (albeit back-to-front, in the case of flipped images). Every focal length, from ultra-wide down to macro photography is allowed (encouraged even), as this helps to develop different techniques for capturing the images that you see around you.
A further set of criteria, which I have decided to include for myself, are that the final image should be cropped into a square format with the 'letter' filling the frame and have high enough contrast that it an be recognised as the letter it resembles, even when viewed as a very small (50x50 pixel) image. (Eventually, I'd like to capture the entire alphabet and build my own font with these tiny images).
You can choose to look for capital or lower case letter images, but for the most consistent presentation it would best to stick to one or the other.
Although this exercise may sound a little banal, since actually getting out there and trying it, I've discovered two very important benefits to my progress as an amateur photographer:
1. It forces me to look at everything around me in a different and very abstract way. When you think about, this is a key skill in many types of photography, but is easy to overlook when you are locked into 'normal vision' mode and are only seeing things superficially.
2. It has helped me to overcome some of my self-consciousness, when taking photographs of less than obvious subjects. Essentially, it's not a problem for most of us to stand at a sports/music/art event and take pictures, nor to set up a tripod in front of a famous building or tourist attraction, as passers-by expect this. But, to stand in a crowded high street and point your SLR/DSLR at something as bland as a door handle (for instance), can often attract incredulous looks from the general public. Knowing within yourself that you 'need' this image for your project can help to overcome any embarrassment that you may feel and if (in the worst case), some nosey Joe was to ask you why you were photographing a door handle, you could at least explain your logic and 'blame it on' the assignment that you have been given
. Admittedly, many of you will be confident enough to truthfully say that this sort of thing is never and issue for you anyway, but for some, this is exercise could be a good stepping stone on the way to full-on 'street photography' (for instance).
So, I think you get the idea now. I'd like to propose that anyone who wants to join me in trying this exercise, comes and posts their images here in this thread. It'll be fun to see just how creative people can be in their interpretations of objects and scenery.
If possible, it'd be great to see a picture of the item/scene containing the 'letter' in its natural surroundings, as well as a closely-cropped version showing just the 'letter' itself. Here are the few images that I have managed to capture and process, so far:
"A"
Taken from part of a sculpture outside an office block.
"D"
A door handle on an estate agents (IIRC).
"H"
A brick wall.
"O"
An old vase/urn in someone's garden.
I've only been out twice, looking for 'letters', but will continue to post any new finds here in this thread.
So, what are you waiting for?
GET ALPHA-TOGGING, PEOPLE
!
The brief is simple: Photograph objects which resemble letters of the alphabet.
The main restriction is that you may not photograph any objects, which are actually intended to represent a letter of the alphabet (i.e. neon signs, logos, badges on cars etc.). It is, however, perfectly OK to crop, rotate, invert, flip your images and and PP away to your hearts content, as long as the basic shape of the image is true to the original (albeit back-to-front, in the case of flipped images). Every focal length, from ultra-wide down to macro photography is allowed (encouraged even), as this helps to develop different techniques for capturing the images that you see around you.
A further set of criteria, which I have decided to include for myself, are that the final image should be cropped into a square format with the 'letter' filling the frame and have high enough contrast that it an be recognised as the letter it resembles, even when viewed as a very small (50x50 pixel) image. (Eventually, I'd like to capture the entire alphabet and build my own font with these tiny images).
You can choose to look for capital or lower case letter images, but for the most consistent presentation it would best to stick to one or the other.
Although this exercise may sound a little banal, since actually getting out there and trying it, I've discovered two very important benefits to my progress as an amateur photographer:
1. It forces me to look at everything around me in a different and very abstract way. When you think about, this is a key skill in many types of photography, but is easy to overlook when you are locked into 'normal vision' mode and are only seeing things superficially.
2. It has helped me to overcome some of my self-consciousness, when taking photographs of less than obvious subjects. Essentially, it's not a problem for most of us to stand at a sports/music/art event and take pictures, nor to set up a tripod in front of a famous building or tourist attraction, as passers-by expect this. But, to stand in a crowded high street and point your SLR/DSLR at something as bland as a door handle (for instance), can often attract incredulous looks from the general public. Knowing within yourself that you 'need' this image for your project can help to overcome any embarrassment that you may feel and if (in the worst case), some nosey Joe was to ask you why you were photographing a door handle, you could at least explain your logic and 'blame it on' the assignment that you have been given
. Admittedly, many of you will be confident enough to truthfully say that this sort of thing is never and issue for you anyway, but for some, this is exercise could be a good stepping stone on the way to full-on 'street photography' (for instance).So, I think you get the idea now. I'd like to propose that anyone who wants to join me in trying this exercise, comes and posts their images here in this thread. It'll be fun to see just how creative people can be in their interpretations of objects and scenery.
If possible, it'd be great to see a picture of the item/scene containing the 'letter' in its natural surroundings, as well as a closely-cropped version showing just the 'letter' itself. Here are the few images that I have managed to capture and process, so far:
"A"
Taken from part of a sculpture outside an office block.
"D"
A door handle on an estate agents (IIRC).
"H"
A brick wall.
"O"
An old vase/urn in someone's garden.
I've only been out twice, looking for 'letters', but will continue to post any new finds here in this thread.
So, what are you waiting for?
GET ALPHA-TOGGING, PEOPLE
!
)