I've been giving a lot of thought to the first assignment: contrasts. I've gone out shooting on a number of occasions, looking for the various contrasts the assignment calls for. My first thought is how different it is to go out shooting when you're looking for something specific. In the past, I've just gone out with my camera looking for interesting things or scenes to photograph. Now I'm actually looking for specific things.
My second thought is that I find myself thinking about how I could compose various shots when I'm not out with my camera. It reminds me of when I learned to type back in the 9th grade. Once I got the hang of typing, I used to think about how I would type all the words in my thoughts. Every thought I had, I would type out in my mind as I was thinking it! It was actually quite annoying! Later, when I was learning French, I would think how I would type my thoughts in French...now that was really annoying! I find myself doing the same thing now with composing shots.
My third thought is that the assignment is in words, but the actual work will be images, and this involves a translation. The assignment calls for certain contrasts: diagonal/rounded, heavy/light, broad/narrow, etc...The book talks about how these words are only representation of something, that you could take a photo of a weight that is heavy, but if it doesn't look heavy that heavy is only a label. I've noticed this in my shot selection. I have to ignore the labels my mind puts on the objects and see them as they are. In order to do this, I have to translate the word diagonal into the actual meaning of it. And then I have to translate the thing that has meaning back into a visual language. I've found that this is a very challenging mental exercise. I wonder if the project would be easier if the assignment was given in photos and not words. I like the exercise, but it is definitely work!
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