Exercise 8: A sequence of composition

The object of this exercise was to record the way I approached and shot a subject and how I went about composing the 'best' photograph.  The course notes suggested a situation that involved people ideally in a busy street environment.

I chose a busy market in Norwich and concentrated on a flower stall.

Photograph 1:

For this first photo I didn't think about it too much I just wanted to capture the busy market scene.

Photograph 2:

Again this photo was taken quickly to try and capture the size and how busy the market was.

Photograph 3:

This is when I decided to settle on the flower stall as it seemed busy and I liked the two people having a conversation at the front of the stall.

Photograph 4:

I moved closer to the flower stall and the two men having a conversation.  I think this photograph works quite well and like the composition.

Photograph 5:

I changed my position and concentrated on the flower stall itself. I'm not sure this is what the exercise was trying to achieve but I wanted to play around with different compositions and shots without people in them.

Photograph 6:

I concentrated on just the flowers for the next couple of shots.

Photograph 7:

I zoomed in tight onto this flower display with the interest of the 'Stall Finder' behind.  I also liked the man on bench behind adding extra interest to the background.

Photograph 8:

I decided that the flowers were not an interesting composition so moved back to the main flower stall and photographing people buying and selling flowers.

Photograph 9:

I moved positions again and took this shot.  I really like this photograph and think it works really well, I like the balance of colours and the composition.

Photograph 10:

I moved again this time a mother and child buying flowers caught my attention. I'm not sure this shot works entirely as the sales assistant has her back to us which unbalances the shot some what.

Photograph 11:

I am still not happy with this photo as I think the background is too busy for the shot.  In hindsight I would have moved closer and tried to blur the background a little more.

Photograph 12:

I shifted my interest once again to the flowers and took a tight shot.  I like the colours of this photo and think it works well.  However, I don't think it portrays the market scene in particular.

Photograph 13:

Having finally decided that shooting the flowers was not of interest I moved positions yet again and noticed this scene.  I like how the large tree frames the shot and the action of someone buying the flowers.

Photograph 14:

For this final shot I moved back away from the flower stall for an overall view of the market.  Like the first couple of shots I think there is too much going on in this photograph.

I really struggled with this exercise finding the right location and then deciding what to shoot accompanied with the difficulty/ embarrassment of taking a photograph of the public without permission.  Eventually I settled down and really enjoyed it.  I found I really enjoy this reportage style of photography and will try more in the future.