Exercise
Find a good viewpoint, perhaps fairly high up (an upstairs window might do) where you can see a wide view or panorama. Start by looking at the things closest to you in the foreground. Then pay attention to the details in the middle distance and, finally, the things towards the horizon. Now try and see the whole landscape together, from the foreground to horizon (you can move your eyes). Include the sky in your observation and try to see the whole visual field together, all in movement (there is always some movement). When you’ve got it, raise your camera and take a picture. Add the picture and a description of the process to your learning log.
Description
I took this image walking along Regent Street in London, the part that leads down to Green Park. It was taken quite early in the morning before rush hour got going and I was taken by the Georgian building close by, with the setting of the column and statue behind that, the park trees behind that and then the Houses of Parliament behind that. There can be no doubt what city this image was taken.
Looking close by I noticed the pedestrians walking around with the setting I have just described behind them. And this created quite a bustle close up which seemed to accentuate the grandness and stability of the buildings in the scene. This impermanence of people is something I have been researching and then exploring in Exercise 3.2 so I was reminded of that.
The image is below.
Assessment
Looking at the image, it does not convey to me the close up bustle framed by the peace and stability of the background that I felt when I observed the scene for real, especially in the way that I looked at the scene according the instructions of the exercise. For me this difference emphasises just how clever the images of Cartier-Bresson are as in his images, he absolutely seems to capture the subject and the background in a very cohesive manner. Perhaps that is the point of the exercise as this was not so clear to me before I captured the image!
Looking at the image again, perhaps i I had framed the image with a pedestrian much more significantly in the frame, then maybe the difference between their walking down the street and the stability of the background would be emphasised and be a clearer intent within the photograph.