For this exercise I found this ashtray at the backstage entrance to the arena. Although the idea was not to compose the first image to any great degree, after taking it and looking at it it seems to have a fibonacci ratio feel to the elements. The walls of the building are curved which takes a little away from the strict straight lines forming in the image.
I have found Michael Freeman's book the Photographers Eye great in explaining elements of composition and the way in which you can use these elements to guide the viewer of them image. Although there are not that many elements to direct in these images, I wanted the last image to feel like there was a relationship between all the elements in the frame. Between the security guard and the ashtray there is a contrast in height. Between the background, the ashtray and the door there is a contrast of colour, with the green of the grass almost underlining these contrasts. They are positioned around the thirds which seem to make you go from the guard to the ashtray and back again.
What I have also got from the book at this stage is the relationship each element in the frame has on how the image is viewed. Each and every element even down to the smallest blade of grass or dirt on the floor can add meaning to the image. Which means that everything in the frame has to be accounted for at some point either in the process of composition or in the post processing or printing of the final image.
Being on tour with a large group or people who don't mind posing for you if fantastic and I have been using their willingness to create a project based around roadies in a different light. There / we are always seen in stage blacks and running around stage or backstage but never in the classic style you may see the artist in. This has allowed me to play with that conception and allowed me to try and incorporate the compositional elements described in Michael Freeman's book.
I have played with different cropping options of this images in photoshop.
Should I post these also?