As Bryn Campbell (1978, p. 52) wrote:
The illusion of movement can be exaggerated or even created. The progress of an action can be analysed within one or a series of photographs. Finally, there is what one might call the personality of movement-grace, tension, effort and even humour. It is a rich area, both in black and white and colour.
Photography is the art of freezing motion in meaningful and beautiful ways. Capturing movement sometimes requires the photographer to react quickly with exact timing. Motion can be one element of a complex composition, as in the photograph by Henri Cartier-Bresson we studied this week, or can be the single dominant element of a composition.
There are two basic ways of capturing movement in a photograph, based on shutter setting. A fast shutter speed will freeze movement at a given point in the frame. A slower shutter speed will record movement as a blur. The choice of what shutter speed to use depends on the meaning, look, or sensation the photographer is trying to convey.
To prepare for this Assignment:
Review Chapter 3 in your course text, The Photographers Eye.
Write a description of the technique you chose from this weeks reading. Explain how you applied this technique in the composition of your photograph. Include answers to the following:
How effective do you think you were at achieving your photographic goal?
What might you do differently next time?
Be sure to cite at least one example from the course readings to support your writing.
As you begin to compose your discussion posts and work on assignments, I want you to use a “Where-How-Why” approach to crafting your explanations for your photos. Tell me WHERE the compositional element or concept is in the image, tell me HOW you’ve incorporated it into the shot, and tell me WHY you made that choice.
