Statement of intent - Assignment 208 Theme 1 Built Environment

Statement of intent.

Assignment 208 Principles of location photography

Theme 1 - Built Environment

Intentions/purpose of the photography to be taken.

To illustrate with some key examples how secular and religious architectural styles of buildings have changed through history.

Reasons for the selection of theme and stimulus material (including inspiration from the work of others).

I have always been interested in photographing buildings and the built environment in general. I find the change in style and construction of buildings a fascinating subject and that capturing images of the buildings is the best way to convey their style and place in history.
I have researched the work of the following professional photographers to help with inspiration and techniques for the theme:
Richard Southall, Paul Thetford, Ian Aiken, Val Corbett, Lance Wittenberg and David Churchill.
The following books were used in my research for the Theme:
The Architecture of Britain by Doreen Yarwood.
Built in Britain by Gillian Darley.
English Parish Churches by Edwin Smith, Olive Cook and Graham Hutton.
England's Thousand Best Churches by Simon Jenkins.
Betjeman's Best British Churches updated by Richard Surman.
The Internet was also used for additional research material. 

The photo imaging equipment and medium that will be used and why.

I will be using an Canon 350D SLR digital camera because it will give me the flexibility to take the images that are required for this theme. The images will be presented as electronic digital images.

Lenses Available:

Sigma 18-50 f/2.8 EX DC, Sigma 55-200 f/4.5-5.6 DC, Sigma 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO DG Macro. These lenses should cover the focal lengths and apertures requirements to obtain good images for this theme. As the camera has a "C" size sensor with a 1.6 magnification factor the lenses will cover a 35 mm equivalent of 29 to 480 mm focal length and a macro capability of 2:1.

Accessories:

Tripod: Manfrotto 055 with a 3D head.

Canon Remote Switch RS-60E3 (Cable Release).
These accessories are very important to keep the camera steady to be able to produce high quality images in particular if the light conditions are low.

Techniques that will be used and how they will help convey the visual message.

The images used will need to reflect the key features of each building that demonstrate its age and the style of architecture. Angle of view and time of day will need to be taken into consideration to show the details of the buildings.

How light quality can be used to help convey the visual message.

Light quality and which part of a building is in sunlight or shade at a given part of the day is a vital part of obtaining the best possible photograph of a building. If images are taken at midday with the sun directly overhead it is unlikely that key features of texture will be shown to advantage but in the morning and later in the day would be better. Some buildings may also benefit from the colour available very early or late in the day i.e. shortly after sunrise or a little before sunset. This is often the case with buildings constructed of sandstone which will benefit from the orange light late in the day.

Safety considerations.

When photographing buildings the people using the building must be taken into consideration so that their access to the building is not blocked. This is very important when using a tripod as they take up a lot of room and people could trip on one of the legs.