Exercise: Relationship between points

For this exercise, I took some photographs of multiple points, and the purpose is to gain a better understanding of the relationship between the points. Specifically, it is to observe which is stronger and why.


In this first photo, I have a kayaker in the bottom right part of the photo, and a small group of kayakers in the upper left that sort of works to create a single point. To my eye, they appear just about equal in size, with the the group of three in the upper left perhaps a little bit larger, but with some gaps in them. They are also lighter boats and generate more contrast, also catching the eye. Also, the guy standing on the paddleboard creates some additional interest that attracts the eye. So I think the eye is first drawn to the group of the three, but then works back to the kayaker in the foreground, who is obviously paddling. The next thought is whether or not the one in the foreground is trying to catch up to the others. In the end I think the point in the foreground is stronger because it is closer, easier to see what it's doing, but mostly because it feels strongly like it's moving towards the others.



This is a photo of two metal objects on a brick wall. The larger one is a type of exhaust fan, the other is a light. In this photo, the exhaust fan is the stronger point. The main reason is that it's larger. Seconarily, I think because it's round, it works in contrast with the brick pattern. The light is smaller and squarish in shape, so it seems to fit in more with the brick pattern on the background.




In this photo of the same two points, I moved further back because I wanted to see what would happen if the two points were closer together in relation to the rest of the frame. Both points are weaker because they are smaller in the frame. And there's not much energy between the two points, the energy seems to be more about the points individually against the expanse of brick. I think the fact that the points appear closer together also reduces the energy between them. It's hard to say which is stronger. The fan is larger and in the center, but my eye keeps going to the light fixture first. I think in this case I go to the light fixture first because it does fit in more closely with the pattern of the brick, which is probably the most dominant first impression of the photo. So as the eye is moving around the brick it picks up the light fixture first. Very interesting.