Month: June 2012

Assignment: triangles

In the irregular postings of photo assignment walks, today’s topic is on triangles. I went for an hour walk, looking for triangles. They are relatively easy to spot, but getting a good photo brought me back to the theme that a photo should clearly show the one idea that you are trying to present. I’ll start with a few duds and then move to the better examples.

"A" from a street sign
What do you see here, an “A” or a triangle? Due to a lifetime of training, it is harder to see the abstract shape because there is a meaning to the shape. People from an area where the alphabet does not contain this shape would have an easier time seeing the triangle.
Car wheel with triangular shapes in the wheel
Since I was looking for triangles, I saw them. Upon looking at the resulting photo though, the circle dominates.
tabgle of branches in a cottonwood
At the extreme of bad, the triangle(s) in this image completely get lost.
utility pole and power lines
This is an example that better shows the concept of “triangle”.
triangles on a concrete sound wall
These are also clear triangles in a simple composition.

At the conclusion of this walk, I might see triangles more now. While I already knew that a photo has to do a good job of conveying the idea I am presenting, this exercise really reinforced this concept. It is why I regularly ask myself, “What am I trying to show with this picture?”. I can then use the answer to choose how to compose and expose the image.