Re-visiting photographic subjects

click photo to enlarge
I while ago I posted a piece about the value of re-visiting photographic subjects, and talked about the variables that can come into play if you snap something the second (or third, or more) time around. When I visited photographic forums more than I do now (which is very rarely), I found that there were some photographers who knew and appreciated this, and others who seemed to see it as a failure of sorts if they weren't making images of new subjects in new ways. The fact is, it's impossibe to take the same photograph twice (even if we wanted to), and what we are doing is capturing a variation. If we do the job well, that variation will be as good as the previous effort(s) or better. I'm now in my third year of living in Lincolnshire and I find myself (as I did when I lived in the north-west of England) shooting variations on images I've taken before. I'm doing it with buildings, landscapes, flowers, and more.

Today's photograph of a sculpture-cum-seating-cum audio/visual installation called "The Sampler" at The Hub, Sleaford, is a case in point. In September 2008 I photographed it from a balcony at the top of the building. A couple of months ago I photographed it from ground level, at a time when it was in the process of being repainted. Yesterday I noticed the paint job had been completed, and was different from the original, so I thought I'd try another, slightly wider-angle shot, from above. As I began shooting I decided that the inclusion of people improved the image, and I composed variations with them at various points relative to the main, colourful shapes. Then, as I concentrated on my work, a thought occured to me. The repainting had introduced blue and orange as new colours, dispensed with yellow, increased the amount of red, and reduced the quantity of black. I don't know if the designer agreed to the new colour scheme - I doubt it - but I do think it isn't as effective as the original. Smaller amounts of strong colour worked much better when placed with black, and the whole effect is now more garish. Perhaps this is a photographic subject I won't be re-visiting again!

photograph & text (c) T.Boughen

Camera: Lumix LX3
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 11mm (52mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f3.2
Shutter Speed: 1/500
ISO: 80
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Through the square window

click photo to enlarge
When they were small my children sometimes watched the BBC TV programme for pre-school children called "Play School." This featured songs, games, short films, etc, all within a structure that was repeated in each programme and thus became familiar to its target audience (and their parents). One device was where the presenter invited the viewers to see what was through one of three windows, which were round, square and arched.

I was reminded of this long-gone programme as I framed shots that included the square "window" of this structure in today's photograph. It is called, "The Sampler", and is a sculpture-cum-seating-cum-part-time-audio-visual device outside The Hub, Britain's National Centre for Craft and Design, at Sleaford, Lincolnshire. The design, by Catherine Bohme and Andreas Lange, has arms that come off a central pole. These have metal seats, tables and canopies fixed to them, and one has this "window" or frame which can have a screen fixed inside it. The arms can be rotated around the central pole because the are partly supported by wheels. Presumably this serves the double purpose of varying the sculpture and allowing for the position of the sun when projecting images on to the screen. When it was first erected the seats and canopies were painted red or yellow. On my recent visit they were battleship grey. I hope this is an undercoat awaiting the final original, brighter colours, because it takes something away from the design.

In fact, "The Sampler" isn't a particularly great piece, sitting outside the converted and extended warehouse that constitutes the Centre. However, it does offer interesting shapes when seen from the viewing gallery at the top of the building. I've photographed it, and commented on it, before - see here - and the other day I thought I'd try for a contextual shot of it using the square "window" as a prominent feature in the composition.

photograph & text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Olympus E510
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 11mm (22mm/35mm equiv.)
F No: f6.3
Shutter Speed: 1/640 seconds
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation: -0.3 EV
Image Stabilisation: On