P6: direction of movement

Once again the CSD parade provided a rich source of material for working these projects.  However, although at first glance a parade moving past would be an obvious candidate for a study of movement with a frame, it proved more difficult than I expected.  The essential issue was that it was very difficult to isolate an individual in a way that allowed me to explore the visual impact of a figure moving into or out of a frame.

Fortunately there were one or two subjects that stood out.  This guy attends every CSD event and is always very flamboyantly dressed, as a result wanting to be the standout.  This meant he wanted to have space between him and the rest of the participants.  I have caught him just as he crossed a major road junction, closed off by the police.  There is a sense of movement here and the empty space beckons for him to walk into.

Conversely a few seconds earlier, I captured this shot, as he led the following vehicles.  He is still an individual in the frame, but on the exit side.  This balances because he is pulling the rest of the content with him, he is the lead figure ion a balanced composition.

The following image once again places the principal on the right.  The fact that he and his friend are out of focus works for this image as it throws attention to the rear of the frame and the people standing watching - just wish they could have been doing something a little more interesting.

Conversely as they exit the frame, I have again tried to balance the image with content to the right.  Here the street sweepers watch in bemusement as the flamboyantly dressed parade passes by.  Without the background figures this would not work.  Visual interest is provided by the sense that the two guys have just walked across the frame and generated the interest behind them.

On a more conventional note this lady is walking into the frame to capture the people coming in the parade, out of picture to the right.Her posture and the camera she carries indicate that something is coming.

Finally away from the parade here is an image that works at one level, but not at another.  The motion is wrong, but is rescued by the look I am receiving from the lady, almost providing a sense that she wants to escape from the frame.

I think the creation of interesting or challenging  photographs, versus simply satisfying ones, comes from bending the rules.  The best photograph in this sequence is the 4th with the two guys exiting the frame being watched from the other side of the frame.  The sense of movement is from their having been there and created an impact on the viewers.  It asks questions and yet still contains clear movement.