Proximity as a photographic device

click photo to enlarge
Proximity, juxtaposition, adjacency - open the thesaurus and choose your word. Whatever you call it, the photographic device of arranging two, often very different (but sometimes oddly linked) objects in the frame, is one of long standing. Depending on the objects that are chosen this compositional approach can be arresting, humorous, thought provoking, surreal and much else. It's something that I like to do when the situation arises, and a technique that I will often go out of my way to engineer into an image.

I've touched briefly on the subject before, but anyone who has looked through my offerings on this site will recognise the frequency with which I put the idea into practice. I've used a trompe l'oeil bull and a passerby, old and new architecture, primary colours, a traffic sign and a poster, a futuristic public bench and a roller coaster and many other pairings in an effort to bring something new and different to my compositions.

On my recent stay in London the echo of the unusual colours of the ready-mix concrete lorry and the block of flats called for a photograph that made something of the slightly odd proximity of the two. The adjacent railway bridge gave something of a frame to my shot and the whole was lifted by the low sun and deep shadows of the early morning. Not as obvious a juxtaposition as in some of my photographs, but one that pleased me. Incientally, I've commented to my companions on more than one occasion that I really like the architectural treatment of the exterior of this building. Thus far I've found no one who agrees with me!

photograph and text © Tony Boughen

Camera: Sony RX100
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 14.2mm (38mm - 35mm equiv.)
F No: f5.6
Shutter Speed: 1/160 sec
ISO: 160
Exposure Compensation: 0 EV
Image Stabilisation: On

Radiatus clouds over the Fens

click photo to enlarge

As a paid up member of The Cloud Appreciation Society and the proud owner of "The Cloudspotter's Guide" you'd think that I'd have no difficulty in naming the type of cloud shown in today's photograph. But I do. I had no trouble identifying it as something relatively unusual in my part of the world, and perhaps a suitable subject for a photograph, or a background to a shot. And I had no hesitation in making the effort to find some foreground interest in a quite open and flat area of the Fens. But as for a name for this cloud formation, well, that required a bit of research that I still haven't completed.

From earlier reading I did remember that some of the basic clouds have what is described as a "radiatus" form. That is to say, they form lines more or less parallel with the wind direction and the perspective effect makes them seem to converge towards the horizon. I've seen cumulus clouds do this, and very striking they were too. I've also seen it in high-level cirrus clouds. The clouds in the photograph, however, weren't the former that are fluffy cotton-wool balls, nor did they seem particularly high and white as is characteristic of cirrus. They don't look like stratocumulus, and probably they aren't altocumulus either. Are they altostratus? They certainly have a greyness about them that is prevalent in that form of cloud. I just don't know. Perhaps someone can enlighten me.

When I searched for a composition for my photograph it occurred to me that I should try and include an element that worked with the lines of cloud, so I positioned myself next to a section of road that curved round towards the "vanishing point" and waited for a container lorry to pass by. Fortunately this quite colourful one quickly appeared on the scene.

photograph and text (c) T. Boughen

Camera: Canon
Mode: Aperture Priority
Focal Length: 24mm
F No: f7.1
Shutter Speed: 1/320
ISO: 100
Exposure Compensation:  -0.33 EV
Image Stabilisation: On