do the points HAVE to meet? Like, if the lines are coming in like in that railroad picture but havent met, it could be assumed that by looking at it they WILL meet at some point. IS that ok?
Basically if they arent touching, is that still a Vanishing point?
Yep, also beware of police, FBI, etc. around railroad tracks
A Snapshot of Our Freedoms
I bet that there are thousands of stories like The Artist’s Statement, but that few are as well expressed or documented. Basically, this photography student is assigned to take a motion shot, so he tries to take an action shot as a train goes over a famous local bridge. It’s legal, he’s even checked with the park rangers, but the local cops and then the feds come and act in a rude, intimidating and I’d say unconstitutional manner.
One of the many many costs of the 9/11 tragedy is that the reaction to it has given some of the worst tendencies in law enforcement an undeserved patina of legitimacy...
Vanishing points have been an important part of visual art since they were discovered in the 1400's. They add perspective to a drawing or painting and make it more realistic. But while artists have to plan for and accomodate vanishing points, photography does it automatically. Any photograph that includes elements at various distances from the camera will have a vanishing point. For example, the top rated photograph on the site:
For this challenge the vanishing point should be probably made more obvious by either using a very long object that's both near and far or a string of objects getting further and further away.
And note that the vanishing point doesn't have to be in the center of the image. It can even be outside the image, as long as it is suggested by the elements in the image.
anything with parallel lines will owrk, or arranging items so they form parallel lines. I don't recommend imitating a vanishing point with the placement of your items unless you are VERy careful and good at math or have perfect linear vision. If you mess it up, it will look very odd and jarring to the eye.
I thought of an idea that you guys might want to try if you get a chance...the Parallel strings of a kite (one of those controllable 2 string types) This could make a striking composition.
I would do it myself except that I don't have a kite and there is not even a slight breeze around at the moment even if I did...!!
Hope that this idea might help anyone who's stuck...
Other ideas include: A ladder, An escalator or staircase, Trainlines (a bit obvious)
I also like the concept of scatch or claw marks leading from the camera to the hand (or paw)
I like the idea of a ladder. Personally, I tried a tree, but that was a bad idea; it didn't work the way I wanted it to. I got an okay result, it just wasn't good for this challenge.
I think that parallel lines converging is one type of vanishing point. As "Dr rick" pointed out, a vanishing point is when a linear composition streches to a disappearing point, either inside or outside the photo. This greatly expand the possibilities, as compared to strictly parallel lines merging.
This challenge seems rediculously hard. What do you have after you take away the standard railroad tracks, roads, rivers, powerlines, tree rows, and fields? It's not something easily created in a small place. Anyone have ideas they're willing to share on this?
I live in a heavily wooded area, with no beaches, trains or straight roads, so this will be quite a challenge indeed. I do have a decent idea, but it'll be tough to pull off (what else is new?).
