DSDN 144 Project 2: Final Image Choices

I finally completed my final shoot, created the composite images, and then selected the final few that would be destined for marking. I have essentially aimed to create a series of image that works around the idea of increasing levels of traffic. We start our journey from the least busy place right through to the most busy place I could find on the day. The flows that I have been able to visualise are astonishing, and especially for the later images showing the large amounts of flow and traffic. They say a lot about us as a society.

Level 1, (Corner of Vivian St and Cuba St)

We start our journey with what I like to call Level 1. The idea with the titles is to draw a line to contemporary video games, since the style that my composite images have taken on has an almost video game feel to it. The other purpose of the incremental naming of the images is to convey the sense of an increase, which in this case is an increase in traffic and flow. 

Here, we can see minimal flow as the place I started with just isn't a very busy place. The significance of time in this shot is huge, as it reflects the temporal state of being, which is not static. The flow of people is a constant, visceral thing.

Level 2, (Upper Cuba St)

Once we progress to Level 2, we can automatically begin to see the evolution of the more static, stagnant flow into a much more pronounced, living entity of flow. Time is motion, and the people flowing through the shot show this very clearly. The element of time not existing is seen in the negative space around the people, where over time, nothing changed. The space is almost immortal in that sense.

Level 3, (Lambton Quay)

Flow has now, in Level 3, evolved yet again into something that is starting to look much more akin to a water-like motion. At present, the flow is however still relatively small, and the distance to the moving subjects is still relatively low. The shot is still a medium shot, since there just isn't enough traffic to show effectively in a larger space.

Level 4, (Corner of Cuba St and Ghuznee St)

Purely due to need to view more time essentially and capture more of the temporally active flow, the framing now switches to a medium-long shot, so that we can start to see all the people who are forming a part of the flow. The amount of people here still isn't quite enough to make an actual observation on society, however, it is still very clear seeing the way people move through time and space.

Level 5, (Lower Cuba St) 

Now is where the flow starts to really generate a real feel of depth. We get a sense of time through a non-visible space. All we can see is the change through the space over time. The people start to converge from individual swirls of light and colour into a long, sinuous river of flow. The lack of reference points in this shot really helps lose the essence of the image into the time captured.

Level 6 (Ghuznee St) 

The flow now breaks into a torrent in earnest from this shot onwards. The pure mass of people and how they move starts to meld into this unanimous being of the flow. This photo was taken at a very busy intersection, which when it goes green has an amazingly strong sense of flow through it. People know where they have to go. They have limited time to do it in, cue my perfect level 6.

Level 7 (Entrance into Civic Square)

For the final two images, I really sought to explore a place which people don't necessarily have to pass through to get to where they were going. It was a choice for them to be there. Which makes these two shots rather significant. The flow is highly adaptive to the actual people and less to the surroundings, which allows us to make a far more intriguing insight on society. People like to be close to other people. Despite them being complete strangers, this shot of time, flow, and people really illustrates that, up to a certain distance, people like to move as one. They like to be in relative proximity to each other.

Level 8, (Civic Square)

The final shot of the series, this one is also the most expressive. We see the way people in a huge crowd flow. We get to see the dynamic flow through time and space as the people join and leave the crowd. The smell of protest also lay thick in the air, and essence which I believe also contributed heavily to the actual closeness of the group. The stairs leading down into the square are immensely wide, and yet the people joining the crowd enter via a relatively narrow point, likewise with the other points of entry. The flow of the crowd through this temporal zone really allowed for some amazing composites.

This project really taught me to be much more pondering and decisive with my compositions. I was told the images had a feel of "human graffiti" to them, and looking back, I have to say I can now see it myself. Using people to paint a picture of flow through space, only without the people having a concious input into the composition. In a way, it almost feels like a little crowd psychology experiment. Maybe next time I'll add that too.