Photography Prompt: Strange Angles
Week of 2024-03-23 to 2024-03-29
Create and share photos inspired by this week's prompt, "Strange Angles" on your Aminus3 website, Substack Notes, or linked in the comments on this post.
You can also add the tag: #Am3-prompt-202413
Join the Antwerp Photo Walk (May 18)
On Saturday May 18, join myself and Wesley Verhoeve from the excellent Process Substack for an afternoon photo walk in Antwerp, Belgium.
Antwerp is a fantastic city with a rich history. Along with the opportunity for hanging out with other creative folks, you will be treated to a variety of visual delights for a fun photography outing.
Space is limited, please reserve your spot.
Be Inspired and Learn Something New
Photos can say a lot with just a few simple visuals. In the most successful photos, the feeling that it conveys is larger than the sum of the parts.
As photographers we can intentionally communicate in this visual language by the use of a variety of stylistic choices.
One way is by changing the angle of the camera to the subject.
Most of us see the world at eye level. When we see photos taken at eye level, they look pretty much as we'd expect the world to look.
These photos can be comforting, normal, predictable, but also perhaps a bit boring?
As photographers, we can show what we are seeing in a different way. Get above our subject or down low.
This week we are going to experiment with "strange angles" that may not be the "normal" perspective we are used to seeing.
One of the most famous experimental angles in photography and film is the "Dutch Angle", or more appropriately, the "Deutsch Angle", as this cinematography technique originated in Germany after World War I as a way of conveying a feeling of tension, unease, or mystery into the scene.
This explainer video from Vox provides a great overview of the history of the Dutch Angle. It shows how this technique was rooted in the German expressionist art movement and spread out to classic Hollywood film noir up to the films of David Lynch and beyond.
In photography, you can simply tilt the camera to taste, thus taking your viewers from serenity now, to fleeing the palpitating presence of unseen Eldritch horrors.
Of course your choice of colors and processing all contribute to the mood as well.
Try it for yourself and see how changing the angle of your photos can change the feel of the image.
What other “strange angles” can you tap into?
Last Week’s Prompt Photos for “Noise”
From construction cacophony to musical melodies, the photos shared last week for the “Noise” prompt evoked sound through the frame.
Below were a few of our favorites. You can also find all the photos shared for last week’s Noise prompt on Aminus3.
Plus a few more photos which captured a more conceptual idea of noise.
A billion rays of noise being captured by metal sticking up into the sky. ~ Dart
Thank you for this prompt - i have nothing to share yet, but it's been truly inspiring during a 4-day short trip in the north of the country: it was fun to tilt the camera to unusual angles. Curious to see the results, see if there's images i can keep.
Love the suggestions offered here!