Fun With Cameras XVI

Edge to Edge

A building at the Altmarkt square. Oberhausen, Germany, June 7, 2022.

After spending a healthy amount of time with an exercise that made me think a couple of weeks back, I today show results from a new assignment. The source article calls it four corners. Again, the task appears simple: pick something to photograph, place it in every corner of the viewfinder, and see if you can observe your subject from more than one side.

But this little photographic exercise can be tricky. It’s worth your time, though, for it fuels your inspiration and craft with fresh perspectives.

I had a slow start to this assignment. A string of inhospitable weather complicated my explorations of the outdoors. So I started with some flowers around the house. There’s something ever so soothing about photographing flowers; don’t ask me why because I can’t explain it myself.

I then picked up the idea of a city walk that had been on my to-do list for the last exercise. The start was slow, but I made some decent discoveries as the walkabout progressed.

And finally, a mid-year down phase in my running opened up the chance to combine some biking with some photography for a final contributor to the gallery below.

Some examples of sequences of pictures for the four corners assignment, where the goal is to select a subject and place it in every corner of the frame. I included more angles for the damaged roof and the church tower (1), a picture that didn’t make it at all, the chimney of the local power company (2), the differences in placing a utility pole in different corners (3), and more samples from photographing the Tetraeder from a bit of a distance (4).

I had a good bit of fun with this exercise.

I struggled with composing at times because the frames I discovered were either displeasing to my eye or acquiring focus turned into an exercise in patience.

Using an ultra-wide-angle lens can be a unique experience. The typical distortion effects that are a part of such lenses become exaggerated the closer you are to your subjects and the closer to the edges of the frame you place them.

I would describe my time with this assignment as playtime. I broke “rules” on purpose, eased up, and relinquished control to chance and intuition. And for the final outing for this assignment, I enjoyed a 20-mile bike ride and reacted to photographic opportunities around me. That was a refreshing experience.

Please find a gallery of some samples below. You can view each picture full-screen if you click on it. Just as last time, I won’t show you a picture for every corner of every subject, but rather a more interesting mix of pictures that either speak to me in some form or have shown me something interesting. I’ve included a few additional thoughts via the captions.

Next week, I have a special edition of What I’m Reading: a review of a documentary that shares the life and work of one of the best documentary photographers of our time; a fascinating watch for photo enthusiasts and anyone curious about the world. And then, I’ll hopefully find the time to open my journalism diary.

Caption for the pictures above: I made it simple for the first try-outs. I picked up my camera and went into the garden, picked some flowers that looked interesting, and played with composition. Acquiring focus was a bit of a hassle (the camera can’t focus that close to the edge of the frame, which means I have to move the camera after focusing, which introduces the likelihood of receiving out-of-focus pictures). Using a macro lens opens up new possibilities for placing subjects in the corners (pictures 3–6 and 9). And using a 20mm lens creates a unique look (pictures 7–8). Oberhausen, Germany, June 5 & 6, 2022.

Caption for the pictures above: Early in my walk, I noticed a house with a fire-damaged roof. That was about the most interesting sight along the footpath I explored (picture 1). The next subject I decided on was the statue Siegessäule (victory column) at the Altmarkt square. I tried to include a human element in some wider images (pictures 2 and 4) and worked with the sky (pictures 3, 5–6). The trees on the square offered opportunities to play with composition. The longer macro lens meant I could isolate the figure on top of the column. The clouds were defined well, and I experimented with the different edges. Even though it might not be “standard practice” to place a subject that faces out of the frame so close to the edge (picture 5), I somehow prefer it over the “smoother” composition in picture 6. Oberhausen, Germany, June 7, 2022.

Caption for the pictures above: Other subjects on that same square included a modern building (picture 1) and a church tower, which was challenging to fit into a narrow four-corner definition. I have more frames (see contact sheet examples above), but I decided to only select this one (for the human element). Oberhausen, Germany, June 7, 2022.

Caption for the pictures above: I came to a small park next to the congress center Luise-Albertz Halle on my way home. I picked the tower of city hall (not shown here), an art installation (picture 1), and the tower of a nearby church from various vantage points at the park. Oberhausen, Germany, June 7, 2022.

Caption for the pictures above: I hadn’t planned to stop this early on my 20-mile bike ride, but the early light was beautifully paired with some ground fog when I neared the canal. So I stopped and played with a patch of golden foggy grass as my subject (picture 1). I also noticed a utility pole in the other direction (picture 2). Riding up the bridge across the waterway, I had to stop again. There were two subjects I was interested in: the art installation Zauberlehrling (sorcerer’s apprentice) and the Gasometer (former gas tower) on the horizon. I made various frames with each as the main subject. I decided on this, where the statue is joined by the tower and a cargo ship on the canal. Oberhausen, Germany, June 12, 2022.

Caption for the pictures above: I wanted to find a different waste tip a bit farther east, but it was a bit too far for this ride (and the way signs I had hoped for were MIA…), so I settled for the trusty Tetraeder art installation. The first picture was made approaching the waste tip from the west. Picture 2 shows the Tetraeder from a neighboring waste tip (a perspective I discovered recently on a long-run that brought me up and down both those waste tips). Pictures 3–5 were also made on that second waste tip and show the industrial landscape of the area, the smoke emanating from an industrial facility, and the 20mm lens allowed me to produce a shadow selfie while capturing the gas tower nearby (a different one from the earlier pictures). Pictures 6–9 were made from the top of the waste tip that hosts the Tetraeder. The light had started to become harsher, but you can’t be everywhere at once. I used the longer lens to concentrate on some details (picture 6), used the 20mm lens to capture the structure from close-up while trying to get a bit of a sunstar at the same time (picture 9), and used a 50mm lens for some experiments from the other end of the waste tip’s summit (pictures 7–8). Bottrop, Germany, June 12, 2022.