Contrasts

me15

me15

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Name
Alex
Edit My Images
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In the past I've got into the bad habit of randomly going out with my camera to take some photographs without having any thought as to what I want to shoot. As a result I always ended up with a real mixed bag of shots, normally none of which I was too pleased with.

So I've set myself a challenge to go out at least once every weekend and grab some shots with a theme - contrasts. It's quite an apt one where I am and probably sums the country up very well. So today I tried to capture some images that showed the contrast in the buildings around where I live. First up a couple of homes.

On one side of the street


Blue house by Alex, on Flickr

And directly opposite



School entrance by Alex, on Flickr
 
Good on'ya for starting a project, something I keep thinking of doing but never seem to get organized for. I wonder if there is some way of presenting those images to emphasize the contrast, side-by-side maybe?
 
sirch said:
Good on'ya for starting a project, something I keep thinking of doing but never seem to get organized for. I wonder if there is some way of presenting those images to emphasize the contrast, side-by-side maybe?
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It's funny you should say that. After I'd posted them I wondered the same thing.

Something like this maybe?

 
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Tricky though, as the differences in framing etc dominate at least as much as the contrasts... I don't like it as much as the sequential one with commentary.
 
me15 said:
It's funny you should say that. After I'd posted them I wondered the same thing.

Something like this maybe?

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No


:D

My thought when I saw these was a series of prints, separated. on a wall.
 
kendo1 said:
No


:D

My thought when I saw these was a series of prints, separated. on a wall.
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I will have to give it some more thought on how I display them. For the landscape orientated shots (the 1st two) I like them one above the other with a gap between. I think the portrait orientated shots would look good side by side, but with a reasonable gap in between. I'd never really thought about how to display my images before, but then I've never really looked at them as pairs.
 
Hi
Good idea for a project , particularly where you are in the world.(y)
I think that the light is a bit bright on most of them, but maybe if taken at a different time of day you would get more modelling.
i think a bit of tweaking on the verticals would be appropriate, partic as the subjects rely on regularity and linearity in their design
As a set of contrasts i would see these as lining 2 side wall so a room with the modern on one side and the vernacular on the other - perhaps turning the corners of the room but not being close together at the end. Thus the contrast could be seen by the viewer casting their eyes either way but the direct comparisons would not be as stark - more subtlety in the viewers mind - e.g I feel that the juxtaposition in #5 does not work.
 
Thanks Alan for some good constructive feedback. Looking at them again I agree I could have tweaked the verticals a bit. The two doorway shots were taken with my camera hanging at my side. It's not the easiest of places to take photographs and sometimes you have to be a little devious or have the bottle to just take the shot and hope nobody says anything.

For me the biggest thing missing is people. I would loved to have had somebody in the second shot to the left, walking past the wall towards the doorway. Unfortunately men don't like having their photographs taken without you asking and women and children is a huge no no. It's a shame because I think it would be good for people to see how things are here. Don't get me wrong though, the men are generally far nicer and more polite than in the UK. It's not unusual to have a complete stranger start talking to you and asking where you are from, or when you're walking through residential areas be invited into someone's house for coffee.
 
me15 said:
It's funny you should say that. After I'd posted them I wondered the same thing.

Something like this maybe?

...
Click to expand...


Well I think they may benefit from some more context, one idea that comes to mind, although it may well not work, is to use a fisheye image of the road with both contrasting items in it as a separator between the two photos but then that only works if they are pretty much opposite each other
 
me15 said:
Thanks Alan for some good constructive feedback. Looking at them again I agree I could have tweaked the verticals a bit. The two doorway shots were taken with my camera hanging at my side. It's not the easiest of places to take photographs and sometimes you have to be a little devious or have the bottle to just take the shot and hope nobody says anything.

For me the biggest thing missing is people. I would loved to have had somebody in the second shot to the left, walking past the wall towards the doorway. Unfortunately men don't like having their photographs taken without you asking and women and children is a huge no no. It's a shame because I think it would be good for people to see how things are here. Don't get me wrong though, the men are generally far nicer and more polite than in the UK. It's not unusual to have a complete stranger start talking to you and asking where you are from, or when you're walking through residential areas be invited into someone's house for coffee.
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I think that I surmised that the area might be one where street type photography may be difficult and I applaud you for trying to get those images. Your other post re the unfinished railway station shows how you are able to achieve striking images when there are less social restrictions.
 
This has the potential to be an awesome challenge, after seeing your desert railway architecture images I'm definitely adding this to watch :D
 
Cg_Girl said:
This has the potential to be an awesome challenge, after seeing your desert railway architecture images I'm definitely adding this to watch :D
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Thank you :) I just hope I can live up to the potential and your expectations. I have quite a few ideas but they could be quite challenging to get the shots. I think that's going to be part of the fun, trying to get the images I want.
 
me15 said:
Thank you :) I just hope I can live up to the potential and your expectations. I have quite a few ideas but they could be quite challenging to get the shots. I think that's going to be part of the fun, trying to get the images I want.
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Having fun is what it's all about really isn't it, getting ideas Along the way etc..and most importantly using the camera, your initial into about just going out and the random stuff is so me lol!
Where abouts are these?... Im guessing I've missed an important bit of info somewhere?

Doh. Only needed to look at your profile lol :D
 
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Cg_Girl said:
Having fun is what it's all about really isn't it, getting ideas Along the way etc..and most importantly using the camera, your initial into about just going out and the random stuff is so me lol!
Where abouts are these?... Im guessing I've missed an important bit of info somewhere? :D
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The rather sandy, hot and dusty Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The most bizarre place I think I've ever been. A real country of contrasts and contradictions. Some of the most friendly, welcoming and kind people you could ever meet who at the same time manage to be the most irritating, annoying and frustrating too. :confused:

I definitely suffer from the 'go out with camera with no idea what I'm going to photograph' syndrome on a regular basis. I've been without a decent camera for several years and it feels like having an old (but new) friend back in my hands.
 
Haha yeah that sounds bizarre, intriguing too though, working out the do's and dont's etc
The Random shooting initially I loved, I don't think I have a specific thing I like but it's easy to lose the way as I've found out and rarely shoot. So a challenge like this is good
 
I've not been able to post for a little while due to work, the worst internet ever and having to travel around a bit. Anyway something contrast in the one photo this time - old tech and new tech. I caught one of the Abra (water taxi) operators playing with his mobile. The Abras are old, rickety and you wonder how you manage to stay on you are that close to the water line. For me the best bit of Dubai.


Dubai Abra by Alex, on Flickr
 
It's good that you are making an effort to shoot to a subject rather than randomly, but you're still "challenging" yourself to go out and shoot on a theme... as if you don't really want to, but feel you should. Are you choosing a new theme every weekend? If so, it's not giving you a great deal of time to explore, and you'll end up with something that is no more effective than doing one of these 52s etc... pick a theme, and respond to it.

The best projects are those done because you're interested in the subjects. Forget photography when choosing a subject... forget what will "make a good shot"... shoot what interests you; what you're passionate about, or what is important to you.

If this is such a subject, then explore it more fully.

It's a country of contrasts isn't it? The austerity of the environment, vs, the opulence of the cities. There's the whole gender divide caused by the strict faith... there's so much hypocrisy on display. More binaries than you can shake a stick at going on there. The Rich/Poor thing is perhaps the least interesting. The images are still feeling like tourist images - therefore are still feeling like something taken by someone walking around looking for photo opportunities, which you are effectively still doing, because instead of walking around looking for photos, you're now forcing yourself to walk around looking for photos on a theme, but you're still walking around looking for photos effectively... you've just got a more focused criteria to filter that with.

The doors could be interesting, but when you put them together as diptychs they fall apart because they were not shot with that intent, and they fall apart due to all the conflicting angles. You'd be better re-shooting those with more discipline - tripod, level, lens parallel to the ground... straight lines... turn them into typologies. That's the only way they'd work as diptychs.

I'd get quite rigid with the criteria. I was interested when it was opposing houses, and doors... and quickly lost interest when it went all fishing boats and city views. I'm not interested in that.... I have Flickr for the tourist views.

Stay focused.

Love your subject as much as you love photography.
 
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