Some weeks ago I mentioned that I would be exhibiting an image in my photography group’s show this coming September. Several people showed interest in seeing the shot and I promised to share it in due course.
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The Jantar Mantar in Jaipur is a group of nineteen astronomical instruments built in 1734 by the Rajput king Sawai Jai Singh, the founder of the city. But if when you think of ‘astronomical instruments’ we are visualising telescopes, or maybe small handheld devices, think again! These are dramatically large structures, most far taller than a person.
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Oddly, while I find my own aging appearance less than appealing, as a keen street/candid photographer I’m often drawn to older people. And especially for monochrome photography. The character in these faces really suits that medium; or does the medium suit the character?
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Although Angkor Wat is the most famous sight in Angkor, it is not the only one by any means, despite the fact that the two names are often used interchangeably. Angkor in fact means ‘city’ and Angkor Wat the ‘city temple’. But there are over a thousand temples, ranging in scale from mere piles of rubble scattered through rice fields to Angkor Wat itself.
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It’s often said that odd numbers of objects make for more interesting compositions in photography: three, five, maybe seven. And I’m sure we’ve had photo challenges linked to this concept, especially threes. But today I’m talking about photographing numbers themselves. Photographing not three objects, but the number three. Not five objects but the number five.
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We have the US to thank for the myth of the magic of the open road. Stretching in front of us, inviting exploration, always (in our imaginations at least) empty. Travelling this road doesn’t just open up new vistas, new places to discover; it also lures us with the promise of new beginnings, even new versions of ourselves.
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It goes without saying that cities and towns are built by and for people. Yet so often when we photograph buildings we wait until the scene is clear before pressing the shutter. But what is a city without its people? Including them in your shots brings the city to life, showing how these buildings create the backdrop for daily life.
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Why, when we see the world in colour, do we often find black and white portraits so engaging? With the distraction of colours stripped away we are driven to focus on elements such as the direction of a gaze, skin texture and the interplay of light and shadow on the face. Elements such as clothing and jewellery fade into the background and the expression on the face takes centre stage.
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It’s probably many years since any of us used Kodachrome to capture ‘nice bright colours’. But digital photography allows us to achieve similarly cheerful results. It also, of course, allows us to opt for a purely greyscale monochrome palette.
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As photographers we are trying to convey three-dimensional scenes and objects on a flat two-dimensional surface, whether paper or screen, and we can use similar tricks to those of the Renaissance artists. Lines that converge on a point close to the horizon (‘leading lines’) create a sense of distance, as do receding objects.
