Point of View



This is the Tennessee Infantry memorial along Horseshoe Ridge at
Chickamauga. The memorial stands amid several position markers
for Tennessee regiments that were active on this ground during
the battle.



One of the first assignments a photography student must fulfill is the point of view assignment wherein the aspiring photographer must capture images of the same subject from a number of differing views. When I was a photo student, and as long as I have been an instructor’s assistant, the assignment was to shoot from five different views.

          Like every important lesson in life, there is a reason for the assignment. A photographer must learn to look at a subject from every possible viewpoint before determining which angle makes the best photograph. This is the first lesson on the path to becoming a successful photographer.

          For me it means more than just looking from different viewpoints. I shoot from every viewpoint I explore. When I’m using film, the process becomes expensive because I typically shoot several frames from each viewpoint. The solution to the problem of expense is, of course, to get over it.

          Properly composed images are the best solution to the issue of cost containment, but that does not change that fact that you need to try varying camera settings, make minor adjustments to your stance and make other similar modifications for each frame. A seemingly inconsequential alteration to any of the variables that go into a photograph can be the difference between ho-hum and holy cow!



The soldier atop the monument has
aged some, but he captures your
attention. This is one of my favorite
pieces of stonework in all of the
Civil War battlefield parks.



          The images here were taken at the Chickamauga National Military Park in Tennessee in 2011. They serve the point about the point of view assignment. I have made small notes in the captions in order to supply information for the history fans out there.

          Point of view includes time of day. I can assure you that I have not even considered photographing Chickamauga after dark, near dark or even in the hours approaching dark. But I’ve been there in the early morning (in good daylight) and nabbed some nice images.

          Point of view can include the time of year the photographer approaches a subject. I have walked the grounds at Chickamauga in the very early spring, before nature started turning things green again, and I have walked the same area in the early summer. The battle occurred September 18-20, 1863 and the colors on the battlefield are luscious that time of year.

          But there is a starkness in the early spring that makes a point about the battlefield. The tree branches are naked and the grass is thin and light. Everything seems to be a variation of brown and gray. There is a mood available for a photographer with a plan and the eye to see what is available.

The marker for the 118th Ohio Infantry Regiment is in the foreground. I
like this point of view because it illustrates how close the fighting was
on Horseshoe Ridge on September 20, 1863.

          When I walk the grounds of any battlefield, I have great enthusiasm for the task at hand. I am very interested in history. But I also walk with great respect for what happened on the ground beneath my feet. That is another important point of view.         

           For that reason, I study before I go to Chickamauga or Gettysburg. I typically go with a plan, expecting to photograph an area new for me. I need to know the history well enough to understand what each differing view represents, historically. Sometimes it works the other way; I’ll find something I don’t know about and I’ll photograph the heck out of a new discovery (new for me) so that when I research the history later, I can go back to my images and know what I am looking at.



The smaller stones are not grave markers. They are position
 markers for some of the Tennessee regiments that fought on
 the Ridge that day.



          That happened on Culp’s Hill at Gettysburg last summer. I found something I knew nothing about. Let me tell you, I covered the living daylights out of that small area with my Nikon. You want point of view? How about 150 images. I even got images of adjacent areas in order to make it easy to find the place again.

Guess what? The best shot of the bunch came from an adjacent area.

I should hasten to add that I shot those 150 images with a digital camera. My suggestion to get over the price of film only goes so far.

This view helps show the height of the statue and it illustrates
that the Confederates, in this case the men from Tennessee,
 came up a hill and out of the trees.

Having said all of the above, beginning photographers need to understand the importance of using different points of view, different camera settings and even different cameras (film, digital) as tools. Each tool has a purpose.

Look at the images here. Some are better than others. Some viewpoints work well, some do not. You have to explore each subject with a willingness to go beyond the obvious.

If you are willing to put in the time to learning this lesson, you’ll begin producing better images.

Thanks for reading.