The final exercise of this project makes use of the view finder grid display of a digital camera. This function projects a grid onto the viewfinder screen to help align vertical and horizontal lines, such as the horizon or the edge of a building, with the edge of the frame. Take a good number of shots, composing each shot within a single section of the viewfinder grid. Don’t bother about the rest of the frame! Use any combination of grid section, subject and viewpoint you choose.
When you review the shots evaluate the whole frame not just the part you’ve composed. Looking at a frame calmly and without hurry may eventually reveal a visual coalescence, a ‘gesalt’.
Gesalt – An organised one that is perceived as more than the sum of its parts.
For this exercise I went to my local woods for a walk. I took my dog and my son and of course my camera! I set my camera up so that I had the grid display on my viewfinder (split into 9) and began shooting. I found the grid really useful for objects that had horizontal and vertical lines. It really helped to align them. I then looked at my photos as a whole at the end and was pleased that actually although each photos were individual they did come together almost like a jigsaw to sum up my walk.
Each photo individually for a closer look:
Heather Wade OCA Blog 