Inspired #58

Finding shapes with light and shadow in Aldebugh

Hello and welcome to Inspired, a weekly email for my paid subscribers. In this series I want to explore topics which I hope might spark some inspiration for your own photography. I will talk about my thought process for creating images, both in the field and in post processing. The posts will be linked in some way to the monthly challenges, hopefully giving you all lots of food for thought.

Good composition is one of the most critical parts of landscape photography and sometimes one of the most challenging. This week I have been in Aldeburgh trying to use geometric shapes to compose some images. However instead of relying on physical shapes in the landscape I wanted to see if I could create some compositions using geometric areas of light and shadow.

This challenge felt particularly relevant in the early morning sunshine. The sky was cloudless and conditions were good for this type of photography. I had initially thought that I would shoot in black and white for this challenge but I soon changed my mind as I started to react to the colours around me.

Working with strong shadows and bright highlights are conditions I usually try and avoid. I am naturally drawn to the soft light of dawn where the contrast is not so great and being out in a built environment four hours after sunrise was definitely a challenge for me.

In photography light is everything. The presence of light reveals detail within a scene while its absence conceals and simplifies a composition. When used deliberately shadows can:

• create clean geometric blocks that organise a scene

• isolate a subject

• produce strong contrast between positive and negative space

• form natural frames around areas of interest

• transform ordinary landscapes into graphic, abstract compositions

It was this relationship between light and shadow that I wanted to explore in Aldeburgh.

It took me a long while to get my eye in and my brain focused on a different way of working. I struggled with compositions on the beach and felt happier wandering around amongst the buildings where the light and shade was more obvious. The photograph below was the first image I took. A series of repeating squares caught my eye with a V shape created by the bushes either side of the front door. I initially composed this shot as a landscape scene cutting out the gate and the wall, but my attention was also caught by the pushchair sitting in a wedge of light between the gate and the kerb. So my landscape scene became a vertical composition. I loved the shadow of the lamp on the wall and was keen to include this as the physical element was missing from my composition.

As I wandered around the back streets I came across a couple of other scenes that I found interesting.

A rubbish bin would not be my usually subject matter but I loved the colours reflected in the rectangular window and the shaft of sunlight behind the bin bouncing off the yellow wall. It is this contrast within the image that really appealed to me and I loved the simplicity that the shaded foreground created.

Equally the next image appealed for its intrigue. I was drawn to the old style doors on the building and the way the sun was illuminating part of them. I also loved the eclectic mix of items positioned outside. To me this scene poses lots of questions and as such I felt it warranted a photograph. I deliberately under exposed to keep the detail in the highlights and conceal some detail in the areas of shadow. I feel the rectangular line of light adds to the structure of the image and helps lead the eye to the door and the bike.

Moving away from bins and abandoned items I wandered around some residential street and found some flowers which are closer to my usual subject matter. In the image below I have used the foreground shadow to provide a frame to the image and push the eye up towards the pink blooms.

I have done something similar with the next image focusing on a clump of poppies growing against a bright wall. I loved the contrast between the wall and the dark ally next to it and have used this difference as a basis for my composition.

I think there is just enough detail in the shadow areas to provide some interest and make the viewer wonder what lies beyond. This time the shadows don’t create shapes but they do allow the geometric shapes of the wall to stand out.

My final image was taken on the edge of the beach. I was drawn to the dark fishing hut and the light shining off the vegetation above the steps. I loved how the colours mirrored the colours of the coat hanging up outside the door. Again I have emphasised the areas of light and shadow to build a frame around the bottom of the image.

These images use shadow as a framing technique where areas of shade become geometric building blocks surrounding areas of light. This technique adds depth to an image using bands of light and dark across the frame. Each area of light becomes a distinct band surrounded by areas of shadow. These repeating shapes add rhythm to an image while leading the eye naturally through the scene.

I hope this has given you some ideas for using geometric shapes within your compositions. Finding physical shapes isn’t always easy but if you embrace using areas of light and shade you will find the options increase and the style of image you can make also changes.

I enjoyed my walk around Aldeburgh and while these images aren’t my usual style they were good fun to make and a good challenge at the same time. If you are feeling inspired and would like to share your own images in the chat then please do so.

Thank you again for taking out a paid subscription and please chat or comment to get the most out of it.

Gill