Shapes

There are two types of basic shapes, these are regular and irregular. There are only three different regular shapes, these are the rectangle, triangle and circle. Other shapes such as a trapezoid or oval are subdivisions or combinations of these three shapes.

I have photographed two of the regular shapes; rectangle and circle and displayed them below.

Rectangle - Miniature Chessboard folded in half

33mm, 1/3sec, f/4.5, ISO-400

The dark outline of the chessboard against the light background helps it's rectangular shape to stand out.

Circle - An Orange
36mm, 1/10sec, f/4.5, ISO-400

The bright colour of the orange helps it's circular shape to stand out against the complimentary blue background.

Rectangles

As hard as it is to capture horizontal and vertical lines in seperate photographs, it is twice as hard to capture them both in the form of a rectangle in a single photograph. In order to capture a perfect rectangle, the photographer must be directly opposite the shape and right in it's centre. If the viewpoint is off slightly the lines will become diagonals. Also, if the focal length is too short, the lines will become curves. Photographing a tall office building by looking up at it will result in capturing a truncated pyramid rather than a rectangle.

Block Pathing

ISO-400, 49mm, 1/250s, f/5.6

Being very small and directly below my feet, block paving is a very simple rectangle to capture.

Cupboard Door

ISO-800, 51mm, 1/6s, f/8

I have cropped the first image so that the rectangular door fits perfectly into the frame and other rectangles appear which get smaller towards the centre of the image.

Fence Panel

ISO-400, 55mm, 1/125s, f/5.6

The largest rectangle I decided to photograph was a fence panel. I had a number of problems with this subject. At first I was too close, using a very wide focal length and this caused the edges of the rectangle to become curved, a rectangle with curved edges is no longer a rectangle. I took a few steps back, set my lens to its standard focal length, lined up the shot and captured the rectangle.

Window of an old building at Dunham Park

ISO-800, 18mm, 1/50s, f/8

Whilst exploring the grounds at Dunham Park I came across an old building in a wood. The building has two rectangular windows on either side that face each other, therefore whilst capturing one of the windows, the other can be seen behind it giving the shot a lot of rectangles.

Real and Implied Triangles

Real Triangles:

- A Triangular Subject

Ornate Box Lid

55mm, 1/2sec, f/5.6, ISO-400

Cropped to improve composition, The lid of this box is a four sided pyramid, viewed from one side it apears as a triangle and therefore I have decided to use it as my triangular subject.

- A Triangle created with perspective, converging towards the top of the frame.

Apartment Building

32mm, 1/60sec, f/13, ISO-200

When viewed from below, rectangular subjects begin to converge towards the top of the frame and create triangles within photographs. This apartment building in Salford Keys shows a perfect example.

- A Triangle created with perspective, converging towards the bottom of the frame.

Patio Doors

30mm, 1/60sec, f/8, ISO-400

It's quite easy to create a triangle converging towards the bottom of the frame, however, finding interesting subjects is not. To create this effect the photographer needs to be above a rectangle, look down at it and then take the picture. I struggled to find subjects for this but eventually gave in to using the centre of a set of patio doors, there are a few different rectangles present thus more examples of triangle within the image.

Implied Triangles:

- A still life arrangement with of 5-6 objects with the apex at the top

Triangle made from fruit

23mm, 1/60sec, f/4, ISO-400

Above I have created a triangle with an apex at the top using six pieces of fruit. Below is another of my photographs of a much larger selection of fruit, this also creates the same type of triangle and is much more pleasing to look at.

Triangle created with more pieces of fruit

23mm, 1/60sec, f/4, ISO-400

- Still life arrangement with the apex at the bottom

Coat Rack

18mm, 1/25sec, f/4, ISO-400

Cropped to improve composition. I found this part of the project very difficult. It was hard to find an assortment of subjects that I could put together in such a way that it would create a triangle with the apex at the bottom. I feel I have completed the task, however if I find a more pleasing arrangement of subjects I shall add another photograph later.

- Three people creating a Triangle

Friends enjoying an afternoon at birthday party

18mm, 1/80sec, f/5.6, ISO-200

Within this photograph I can see a triangle. In the second picture I have drawn the triangle to show where I feel it lies.

Real and Implied Circles

Real Circles

Circle of light on the front of my computer

49mm, 1/1000sec, f/7.1, ISO-400

A convex roadside mirror in Benicassim, Spain

55mm, 1/160sec, f/16, ISO-200

Implied Circles

One of my Royal Pythons

37mm, 1/80sec, f/6.3, ISO-200

Whilst taking photographs of one of my Royal Pythons coiled up I noticed that circles can be seen. In the second image I drew circles to display where I believe there are some implied circles.

A Deer at Dunham Park

300mm, 1/400sec, f/5.6, ISO-800

After taking photographs of Deer at Dunham Park I flicked through them and felt that this particular image contains three circles. In the second image I have drawn circles in the places I can see them.