Exercise 4.03 – Making figures anonymous

Leading on from Chris Steele-Perkins’ Kings Cross we again visit York Railway Station.

Nikon D300s, ISO-200, 18-200 VR Nikkor lens, 32 mm (48 mm EFL), f/25, 1.6 sec.

Motion blur and people facing away from the camera are used here to show the movement of passengers and the busyness of the station as the train from Kings Cross arrives.

Treated with single frame tone mapping to remove the highlight clipping, this image uses motion blur – affected by using a slow shutter speed – while utilizing the people in the foreground who are looking away from the camera. This makes all the people anonymous in the image, but shows how they interact with the events of the station. The motion of the arriving train also helps this impression.

Moving on to Fountains Abbey and Studley Grange, the next image uses groups of people to give a sense of scale and to show how the space is used.

Nikon D300s, ISO-200, 18-200 VR Nikkor lens, 105 mm (157 mm EFL), f/32, 1/13 sec.

A small aperture with a relatively slow shutter speed was used to give a long depth of field and show the movement in the water for this image. The people in the image give a sense of scale to the ruins of the abbey and a feeling of calmness as they stroll in the winter sunshine.

Further down the river, a wider lens setting is used while the lady in the image looks towards back towards the abbey.

Nikon D300s, ISO-200, 18-200 VR Nikkor lens, 48 mm (72 mm EFL), f/13, 1/100 sec.

With her head turned away from the camera and her positioning in the frame the eye is directed to the abbey which is reflected in the river. The inclusion of the lady not only gives the image some depth, but brings ‘life’ to the scene.

Moving to the nearby Brimham Rocks we include people in a different way:

Nikon D300s, ISO-200, 18-200 VR Nikkor lens, 112 mm (168 mm EFL), f/25, 1/80 sec.

The techniques of silhouette and size of the people, as they look at the sunset over Nidderdale from one of the outcrops, are used in this image. The people are an important part of the image, but their anonymity enhances the scene.

With one stop underexposure some of the foreground detail is lost, but the effect of the silhouette of the rocks and the people in this image make the photograph much stronger.

This exercise has made me appreciate the advantage of including people in landscape images. It puts a different perspective on a view, bringing it to life and directing the viewers’ attention to what they are really looking at.