Frame within a frame.

The evolution of an idea.

The photographic community that I belong to recently set their monthly challenge, which was “Frame within a frame”. It is a photographic technique using elements in the scene to create a border around your subject, drawing the viewer’s eye to it.

I had taken a picture about 6 months ago, which I thought would fit the bill, but I wasn’t happy with the composition, and the rules state that the submitted image must have been taken in the calendar month of the challenge.

The original photo I took was part of a daily challenge, and the focus at the time was on industrial architecture, so I hadn’t considered the framing for this task, but there was enough of the idea for me to revisit the site and try to improve the composition. Also, the bridge was undergoing some maintenance at the time, and I felt the workmen’s ladders were a distraction.

One of the challenges is that the Matapihi rail bridge is an operating rail corridor, and there are frequent, unscheduled long train movements carrying export logs to the port at the end of the rail line. While there is a walking and cycling track along one side of the bridge, there is a fence preventing people from accessing it. If you did scale the fence, there is an 8-meter (26 ft) drop into the ocean, should you lose your balance or footing.

When I took the first photo, I was in a bit of a hurry as it was part of a daily challenge rather than a monthly one. I only had 1/2 an hour lunch break, so I rushed down to grab the shot, and I didn’t spend much time looking for different angles.

One end of the bridge curves around, and there are a couple of points where, if you lean over the fence, you can see down the rail line, through the bridge and the track beyond. This was how I achieved the original shot.

In order to get a more aesthetically pleasing angle, I would have to reach out further across the fence to get as close to the centre of the rails as possible. Using the curve of the track, there were one or two places where this was easier, but it was still at full arm’s reach trying to hold the camera still enough to get a clean shot down the full distance of the scene.

The day was overcast and threatening rain. It was quite difficult to see the image on the rear screen of the camera, so I was effectively shooting blind. I tried several different positions between the girders on the curve of the bridge, trying to get the right framing while keeping out of the way of cyclists and other bridge users.

I probably took about 30 images before I felt I had something good enough to work with. It was 200 meters or so back to the car, and the rain that had been threatening most of the morning was starting to fall, so it was time to pack it in and head home.

It can be difficult to see how good an image is from the rear screen of a camera, and often it is not until you upload the image to your computer that you can see if your effort has paid off.

Of the images I took that day, only a couple were worthy of further work, and there was really only one that had the composition I was looking for.

I had to rotate the image slightly when editing to straighten the lines in the frame, and I lifted the exposure and lightened the shadows. I cropped in to remove some distracting girders, which were at an angle and pulled the viewer’s eye away from the centre of the picture

With most of the images I take, my editing process looks at a black and white version, as sometimes losing the colour can make an image more striking. In this instance, I opted to keep the muted colours of the dull day as they added a little warmth to an otherwise cold scene.

Did I win the challenge? No. Am I happy with the image? Definitely. There were more creative submissions, and the winning image told a story, something my picture lacked. Perhaps I was being too literal in my interpretation, but there will be a new competition next month, not than I am competitive.

“You may not be winning, but this doesn’t mean you are losing.” - Paulo Coelho

Wishing you good light, open eyes, and moments worth noticing.

Thank you for your time.

Next time: parkrun

If this blog resonated with you, pass it on to someone who sees photography as more than just pictures.

Links:

Website: ChuffedBadger Photography
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Beginners Course: ChuffedBadger on Ko-fi