Field Homework #1: Tranquillity in the City
Space: Sidewalk
Camera Location: In-between
1. Wide-angle
A broad and sloped street between blocks of flats, with few people walking.
2. Zoom
A narrow street with more cars than pedestrians, peeked through an uphill opening.
3. Focus
A tree sapling on the sidewalk, between iron fences and parked motorbikes.
4. Crop
Narrow stone steps with no vegetation around.
5. Bird’s eye / aerial
A quiet sidewalk leading to a block of flats, and the iron door shut.
6. Worm’s eye
Someone walking towards the student dormitories, the tall buildings in the background.
7. First person view
A bus depot at the bottom of a hill during rush hours, almost no passengers waiting.
8. Skewed angle
An unoccupied road leading to the bus depot, under strong sunlight.
9. Perspective
The podium in front of a student dorm, shaded and quiet.
Description: I think that this photo well conveys what the built environment is like under the threat of epidemics. One the one hand, the repetitive pillars, windows, walls, and pipes as well as the absence of human serve for a boxy environment for the podium, creating dead silence. However, an opened door reminds viewers of the potential involvement of human, and it strengthens the sense of absence. On the other hand, it leads viewers outside the dorm into the broader built environment under great panic, since the vanishing point is on a faraway building.
10. View frame
A remote alleyway leading off a main road, viewed through the iron bars in between.
11. Chiaroscuro / Contrast
Three sets of stairs with yellow edges and under two long shades.
12. Seriality
Both sides of a waterside promenade on a Sunday afternoon, with a few people.
Yu Qi
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You have present spaces in Kennedy Town during this period effectively.
A visually striking series of grainy textures and muted color tones of sepia pinks, yellows, browns and greys.
Focus – If the little tree is what you intend to put in focus, then the rest of the context should be out of focus.
First person – You about to cross the road is well-conveyed in this photograph without you being in it.
Skew – This is a tilted image containing a one-point perspective view, not quite a skewed technique. If skewed, the perspective lines will be very dramatic. You can find references online or from the resources we have put up.
Chiaroscuro – Clever to identify the double contrast, first the color combination of yellow and black; two, the light and shadow with the yellow reflecting the light.
Seriality – This would be much more impactful if you increase the number of photographs in the series. It is not so clear what you are conveying with just the pair. But if you should multiple photographs of the same location along the coast, you drive the point across effectively.