Creative paths
A major change to the camera position can sometimes change the game completely
A major change to the camera position can make the difference between a good and a bad shot, as Michael explains
‘Really’ means more than searching for somewhere better, or improving the viewpoint that seems natural. Instead, it means overhauling your idea of what the shot might be. I’m making the point at the start because thinking about viewpoint is built into most photographers’ behaviour patterns. It becomes second nature, and for a good reason.
Most photographs, at least of the unplanned or half-planned variety, begin life as something you spot from a distance. You’ve seen the hint of a potential shot. Once you’ve decided the subject, however, there’s the question of from where it will look best, or most interesting. In other words, the camera angle. After all, you’re there, the subject is there, the occasion isn’t likely to repeat itself, so it’s worth the extra effort.
That’s standard operating procedure, but a step beyond is to say, “Is there a way to make this into an image that’s something else again?” It depends on the situation and on some lateral – or even vertical, in this case – thinking, but if I’m labouring the point, it’s because making viewpoint centre stage can definitely spur creative thought.
Overhead
Colourful and culturally exotic situations can lull you into a sense of ‘just shoot and it’s bound to be good’. Here was such a case. The location: a Buddhist convent in Sagaing, a religious town near Mandalay in Burma. The job: a book for Thames and Hudson on sacred sites in Asia. The occasion: preparations for one of the festivals in the Buddhist calendar, called Kathin, at which new robes are presented to monks, along with food. On arrival, we were shown where nuns were preparing the ceremonial meal and, as you can see from the smaller scene-setting pictures, it’s all useful. But also, not special photographically. Saffron-robed monks, and even these more exotically pink-and-redrobed nuns, no longer make it for imagery just by themselves – they’re common tourist currency. I needed something more.
Fortunately, there was a balcony surrounding the courtyard and it wasn’t hard to envisage that these colours from directly above might make something after all. What was special here was the set of concentric circles, repeating each other in different ways, overlapping slightly and stacked one over the other, as shown here. The focus was the mixing bowl and the arms formed spokes to the wheel.