Light and viewpoint
Patience and planning can help in getting that golden juxtaposition
Austrian-born photographer Ernst Haas said, ‘The most important lens you have is your legs.’ This was in the days before good zoom lenses, but the point he made was to find the best possible shots by just using your legs. Not just closer or further, but up, down, sideways, from over there – anywhere that could improve the shot. Juxtaposing nearly always depends on relationships in the frame between the subjects – that means the position of you and your camera.
The viewpoint is first, if you’re working towards a juxtaposition instead of hoping to come across one. Here’s a situation where there was plenty of time, and the best use of that time was to get everything correct. Viewpoint goes hand in hand with framing and focal length. A wide-angle lens enlarges foreground objects, and that was the idea here – I wanted the head of a statue in the foreground the same proportion as the brick towers behind.
Small or far away?
Ansel Adams invented the term ‘near-far’, to include a close foreground subject and one in the background, both impeccably sharp. You’ll also want some meaningful relationship between the subjects. Adams used this in his landscapes, and was meticulous in his method. Just framing a rock in the foreground and a mountain behind won’t cut it. They need to compare either graphically or in meaning, ideally both. It’s a wide-angle effect, which means tiny adjustments to camera position make a big difference. This approach also needs good depth of field, so a narrow aperture. The lighting can also make a difference.
The original purpose of this photograph, taken in the ancient Thai ruined city of Ayutthaya, was to illustrate the two leaning brick chedis; this was for a book called Ancient Capitals of Thailand.
Next was standard practice for archaeological and architectural shots, I did some recce beforehand to get an idea of how the light would fall. As far as the subject is concerned, everything is under control and nothing should move.
Next, I wandered around looking for a viewpoint that’d give me some foreground interest with a wide lens. Initially my eye was caught by the head perched on a low wall. Then I spotted the stone Buddha head lying in the grass. I now had two points of interest. A very low camera position was called for, but what about the lighting? I wanted the head lit, but I also had in mind a classically separated dark foreground to take the eye out towards the two chedis.
The exact play of shadows and light was by no means certain, but I planned to shoot just as the foreground shadow was beginning to creep up the head – at the last possible moment, in other words. I framed the shot to anticipate this, and it worked as I’d hoped. The low ruined walls left and right provide the foreground in shadow, and they contain the head in its very own pool of light. Being close and something recognizable, it catches the attention first, and leads eyes towards the brick towers.