COMPOSITION
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The aim of this assignment is for you to look for some of the basic principles of composition to strengthen your imagery and enforce what it is that you want to say with a photograph.
RULE OF THIRDS

Camera Settings :  28mm 1/640 sec at f/6.3, ISO 200

Capture Date : Morning time Oct 31, 2020, © Jay Hwang

Capture Location : North Cove Marina at Brookfield Place, New York

"Most important elements are organized along the main lines 
and the 4 intersections. Use it as a building block."

It's a yacht marina in Lower Manhattan.

The moored yacht was positioned according to the rule of thirds.

For depth,
The front elements, the middle landscape, and the background were located.
FILL THE FRAME

Camera Settings :  35mm 1/100 sec at f/4.0, ISO 400

Capture Date : Morning time Oct 31, 2020, © Jay Hwang

Capture Location : Vesey St, New York

"Filling the frame with your subject. Get close, then get closer.
Draw the viewer’s eye to what captured your interest in the first place."
Because it’s early in the morning,

All the restaurants were getting ready for opening.
The chairs to be set outside were piled up and I wanted to fill the frame so I went into the chairs.
The colorful chairs caught my eyes.
VIEWPOINT

Camera Settings :  50mm 1/125 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100 

Capture Date : Morning time Oct 25, 2020, © Jay Hwang

Capture Location : The Pond at Central Park, New York

"Change your viewpoint. Go high, go low.'

There are several ponds in Central Park, New York.
Usually, people just look up to see the building forest. 
But I searched for a forest of buildings reflected in the pond to change my viewpoint.
FRAMING

Camera Settings :  45mm 1/750 sec at f/5.0, ISO 100

Capture Date : Noon time Sep 7, 2020, © Jay Hwang

Capture Location : Brooklyn Bridge Park Pier 1, New York

"By framing elements within the image, 
you immediately draw attention to what is important. It’s isolating.
It creates depth and layers of interest."
The Brooklyn Bridge is 137 years old, 
A cable suspension bridge in New York City, 
Spanning the East River between the boroughs of Manhattan and Brooklyn. 
The Bridge of various angles are always beautiful.
To focus and isolate more, 
I tried to frame between the branches of the tree.
LEADING LINES

Camera Settings :  35mm 25.0 sec at f/18, ISO 100

Capture Date : Dawn time Oct 31, 2020, © Jay Hwang

Capture Location : Edgewater Marketplace Parking Lot, NJ

"Help lead the viewer through the frame."
The dawn when everyone is asleep,
There is one city that never sleeps:
Manhattan, New York.
To guide your view point, 
I organized the reading line through the riverside line.
SYMMETRY AND REFLECTION

Camera Settings :  17mm 1/100 sec at f/4.0, ISO 200

Capture Date : Morning time Oct 31, 2020, © Jay Hwang

Capture Location : The Oculus, World Trade Center, New York

"Symmetry is about balance and it fulfills 
our desire for order. 
There’s a fine line between balanced and boring."
The Oculus, 
Designed by Santiago Calatrava, 
These wings would run the length of the concourse, 
Which would run from Church Street in the east to the PATH station under Greenwich Street in the west. 
A skylight would run the length of the station building.
The Oculus was built to maximize the effect of the autumnal equinox rays.
FOREGROUND AND BACKGROUND

Camera Settings :  50mm 1/1000 sec at f/6.7, ISO 200

Capture Date : Morning time Sep 27, 2020, © Jay Hwang

Capture Location : Hudson River Waterfront Walkway, NJ

"Having objects in the foreground and background adds depth."
A yacht is floating on the Hudson River,
As a background, 
The New York skyline is spread out along with the Empire State Building, each at various distance.
HORIZON

Camera Settings :  50mm 1/200 sec at f/5.6, ISO 100

Capture Date : Morning time Oct 25, 2020, © Jay Hwang

Capture Location : Gapstow Bridge, Central Park, New York

"Placement of the horizon indicates 
where the importance is."

By the rule of thirds,
I placed the lower part of the bridge on the horizontal line.
ISOLATION

Camera Settings :  50mm 1/400 sec at f/8.0, ISO 100

Capture Date : Afternoon time Oct 24, 2020, © Jay Hwang

Capture Location : Englewood Boat Basin, NJ

"Draw attention to your subjects by isolating them from their background 
or other distracting elements."

There is one plane flying in the sky.
It is heading from a white cloud area to a blue sky area.
To avoid a distracting elements,
I took this photo when the plane reached the center of the white cloud area.
REFLECTION
For a week, I memorized the 9 composition in my head and kept thinking about fit scenes and places continuously. I decided on various places and started to walk slowly to find the points and captured the various scenes in my camera according to the set composition.
In the beginning, the 9 composition were mixed with each other and it was confusing but I decided to do it one by one. It was a new experience to see more details than I saw before. I able to feel that something was being trained and polished. I thought it was the result of repeated training while carrying out the assignments so far.
Especially, the building reflected in the pond and the scene of several chairs piled caught my eyes. I like to take photos in the dawn and early morning mostly.
At this point, I would like to recommend my peers to go out early in the morning. Refreshing morning air and beautiful scenery that you have not seen before will be waiting for you. This assignment was a pleasant experience after a long time. I believe that the 9 composition will always be kept in my heart.
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