Recently I finished reading a book called "Composition in colour photography" by Wim Noordhoek (1982). As you might guess from the title, it's a book about photography.
It's really good and I recommend it. One of the sections I liked the best was the exercises sections where Wim challenges you to take pictures in a number of themes. These are the exercises [I'll go making post with pictures related to these themes]
1. Theme: colour contrast
Produce colour examples of:
2. Theme: elements of design
1. Produce some photographs in which similar design elements are juxtaposed. E.g. large and small areas; coarse and fine lines, light and dark areas in simple objects.
2. Choose a landscape and photograph it several times moving the camera horizontally and vertically to get different results.
3. Theme horizons
Choose a landscape with a clear horizon and photograph it with the horizon at various heights; also try leaving the horizon out altogether
4. Theme format
Photograph various motives in vertical and horizontal format. Analyse the results.
5 Theme rhythm
Choose a subject with repeating theme, e.g. electricity pylons.
6. Theme parallelism
Look for a subject with strong parallel lines e.g. blocks of flats. Use both horizontal and vertical format.
7. Theme: reflections
Restrict yourself to a couple clear-cut situations and then take a lot of photographs of them. Use your living room window or try a shop window, perhaps during a shower of rain. Concentrate on colour composition and on the tension between the most abstract forms. And try one reflected portrait
8. Theme lighting
Choose subjects that are capable of being viewed from all directions, such as grasses, sand structures, street-scenes, etc: and take them with the light coming from different sides. Make sure you get examples of frontal, side and back lighting.
9. Theme : colour temperature
Choose a subject-something as simple as the view from your front window will do-and photograph it in the morning, at midday, in the afternoon and in the evening. Try it also in different weather conditions-rain, sun, mist and snow.
10. Theme : depth of field
Choose a subject with depth such as the foliage of a tree or shrub, and make a series of photo. graphs using various apertures, focusing on one small detail. Get as many variations as possible using different degrees of differential focus.
11. Theme: movement
Try photographing a landscape with trees in a strong wind. Use various shutter speeds for each shot and make notes for comparison the results later.
12. Theme : panning
Follow a fast moving subject such as a galloping horse or a train with the camera and photograph it using a relatively long exposure (say 1/60 or 1,/125 sec). Practise swinging the camera evenly so that the subject remains sharp against a blurred background.
13. Theme: still life
1. Composed still life: begin with just a few elements and try to make sure that forms and colours balance. Select the right film and exposure. Make variations on exposure and lighting.
2. Fortuitous still life: look out for suitable subjects-in the garden, in the scrapyard, by the canal or even in the graveyard.
It's really good and I recommend it. One of the sections I liked the best was the exercises sections where Wim challenges you to take pictures in a number of themes. These are the exercises [I'll go making post with pictures related to these themes]
1. Theme: colour contrast
Produce colour examples of:
- Complementary contrast [colours on the opposite side of the colour palette, e.g. red and green]
- Simultaneity and quality contrast [how colours change when exposed to others]
- Quantity contrast [large area of one colour and a little area of another]
- Minimal colour contrast (monochrome) [single colour]
2. Theme: elements of design
1. Produce some photographs in which similar design elements are juxtaposed. E.g. large and small areas; coarse and fine lines, light and dark areas in simple objects.
2. Choose a landscape and photograph it several times moving the camera horizontally and vertically to get different results.
3. Theme horizons
Choose a landscape with a clear horizon and photograph it with the horizon at various heights; also try leaving the horizon out altogether
4. Theme format
Photograph various motives in vertical and horizontal format. Analyse the results.
5 Theme rhythm
Choose a subject with repeating theme, e.g. electricity pylons.
6. Theme parallelism
Look for a subject with strong parallel lines e.g. blocks of flats. Use both horizontal and vertical format.
7. Theme: reflections
Restrict yourself to a couple clear-cut situations and then take a lot of photographs of them. Use your living room window or try a shop window, perhaps during a shower of rain. Concentrate on colour composition and on the tension between the most abstract forms. And try one reflected portrait
8. Theme lighting
Choose subjects that are capable of being viewed from all directions, such as grasses, sand structures, street-scenes, etc: and take them with the light coming from different sides. Make sure you get examples of frontal, side and back lighting.
9. Theme : colour temperature
Choose a subject-something as simple as the view from your front window will do-and photograph it in the morning, at midday, in the afternoon and in the evening. Try it also in different weather conditions-rain, sun, mist and snow.
10. Theme : depth of field
Choose a subject with depth such as the foliage of a tree or shrub, and make a series of photo. graphs using various apertures, focusing on one small detail. Get as many variations as possible using different degrees of differential focus.
11. Theme: movement
Try photographing a landscape with trees in a strong wind. Use various shutter speeds for each shot and make notes for comparison the results later.
12. Theme : panning
Follow a fast moving subject such as a galloping horse or a train with the camera and photograph it using a relatively long exposure (say 1/60 or 1,/125 sec). Practise swinging the camera evenly so that the subject remains sharp against a blurred background.
13. Theme: still life
1. Composed still life: begin with just a few elements and try to make sure that forms and colours balance. Select the right film and exposure. Make variations on exposure and lighting.
2. Fortuitous still life: look out for suitable subjects-in the garden, in the scrapyard, by the canal or even in the graveyard.