Photography 1: The Art of Photography

Project: Looking Through The Viewfinder.
Exercise: A sequence of composition

The object of this exercise was to experience the practical process of composing an image.  I visited St Albans market early on market day and took a sequence of images as I toured the market looking for an image that would be representative of the quality of market stall and the variety of produce available on the market.

After processing the images, I laid them out in order and made a note describing why I moved onto the next viewpoint.

1684

This is the first shot taken on arriving at the market.  There are few people around due to the early hour.  I moved on to look at the other stalls.

1685

Again an early photograph with few customers at the market.  Moved on to look at the other stalls.

1686

The stall holders are still setting up their stalls.  I moved on to find a stall with more interesting items for sale.

1687

Again, stall holders still setting up their stalls.  Moved on to find a stall with more interesting items for sale.

1688

It is still early and the market is almost deserted.  Moved on to look for more people.

1689

Again, the market is almost deserted in this photograph.  Therefore moved on to look for more people.

1690

This is an interesting photograph.  Although the stall is deserted the background empty shop window is painted with an image of the market.  Moved on to look for interesting products.

1691

Here is a close-up photograph of products on sale.  They are not very interesting so I moved on.

1693

"Cheese Man" stall.  This is a novel stall with a man buying cheese.  I moved on to look for more customers.

1696

This stall has a good display of fruit and vegetables.  There is a customer buying fruit.  I moved on to look for a better display.

1697

This is a close-up photograph of fruit and vegetables on sale.  I moved on to look for a better display and maybe more people.

1701

This photograph of a fabric stall shows the variety of goods for sale in the market.  I moved on to investigate other stalls.

1702

Photograph of an interesting display.  I moved on to investigate other stalls.

1703

Photograph of a stall holder making his final inspection of his stall layout.  I moved on to look for more customers and stallholders.

1705

"Bag City".  Moved on because there was no human life in the photograph.

1707

Photograph of a man buying an early morning snack.  Moved on to find more traditional stalls.

1710

This footwear stall had very clear pricing labels.  I moved on to look for more price label examples.

1713

This bread stall had an interesting range of bread for sale.  Moved on to see what other stalls present.

1716

This photograph of a flower stall has more action.  I moved on to find an image that shows a typical stall with high quality produce, well presented.

1717

This is a photograph of a large fruit and vegetable stall.  It has large pricing labels, customers and the stall holder.  This image encapsulates the good quality of stalls and produce available in the market.  It includes a mixture of building styles to be found in St Albans.

What have I learned from this exercise ?

When photographing a location or event, keep the camera to the eye as much as possible so as to see the image when it presents its self.