Take at least two photographs, one conveying rhythm and the other pattern.
The purpose of this exercise is to show the difference between rhythm and pattern in a photograph and the different messages each convey to the viewer. The course notes mention that whilst both deal with a large number of design elements grouped together, forming a type of repetition, rhythm contains movement whilst pattern is static. Michael Freeman writes in ‘The Photographer’s Eye’ (2007) that ‘rhythm in a picture needs time and the movement of the eye to be appreciated’ (p. 48) whereas ‘like rhythm, pattern is built on repetition, but unlike rhythm it is associated with area, not direction’ (p. 50).
Planning:
The first part of my planning for this exercise was to make sure I understood the difference between rhythm and pattern in terms of how they appear in a photograph.
Rhythm is defined as ‘a strong, regular repeated pattern of movement or sound’ and originates from the mid 16th century (also originally in the sense ‘rhyme’): from French rhythme, or via Latin from Greek rhuthmos (related to rhein ‘to flow’). [¹]
Pattern on the other hand is defined as ‘a repeated decorative design’ and originates from the middle English word patron ‘something serving as a model’, from Old French. The change in sense is from the idea of a patron giving an example to be copied. By 1700 patron ceased to be used of things, and the two forms became differentiated in sense. [²]
Once I had sorted out the difference in my head, the next step was to see if I could identify each in real life. I actually found this quite easy so then I walked around the City in my lunch hours looking for potential shots.
What happened:
Rhythm:
I shot the image handheld in RAW using aperture-priority mode and my 18-200mm lens. I processed the image in Lightroom, converting a colour image into black and white.
Rhythm
Walking around London I found a number of potential images demonstrating rhythm, mainly the exterior of buildings. Here, in a shot taken in Finsbury Circus, the rhythm is carried through the image by the structure of the building. The pillars, the windows, the triangles and semi-circles at the tops of the windows, the stone balustrades all provide a rhythm and tempo which continues across the image – the eye literally bounces from pillar to pillar from left to right across the frame.
Pattern:
I shot the image handheld in RAW using aperture-priority mode and my 18-200mm lens. I processed the image in Lightroom, converting a colour image into black and white.
Pattern
Walking around the City I was quite surprised to find it to be a fine line where rhythm becomes pattern and vice-versa, particularly when looking at buildings. I took this picture of 5 Aldermanbury Square as I saw a striking pattern created by the windows of the building. There is no ‘bounce’ here across the image, just a series of rectangles.
Learning points from this exercise:
- Rhythm in photography needs to be shown in the picture as a sequence; there needs to be a definite visual beat, a tempo, as the eye moves across the frame.
- Pattern is shown as area in an image. This can be accentuated by filling the frame so that the viewer perceives the pattern to extend beyond the frame edges.
- Rhythm represents movement in a picture and is dynamic whilst pattern is static and more spatial.
- An image showing rhythm can benefit from having an interruption to make it more dynamic.
- Pattern may provide texture in an image and can also give the impression of many, for example a large number of people in a crowd.
Before I started the exercise I wasn’t quite sure how easy I was going to find it; I had seen quite a number of questions from students on the various forums who were struggling with identifying the difference between rhythm and pattern. In the event once I looked up the definition of each word and read the course notes as well as Michael Freeman’s comments in ‘The Photographer’s Eye‘ (2007) the concept of each made sense and seemed straightforward.
Looking around the City of London for potential images, those showing rhythm were by far the easiest for me to find (lots of buildings around with repeating pillars, columns and windows) although ‘interruptions’ to make the shots more interesting were hard to find. As mentioned above, I also found there to be a fine line between where an image showed ‘pattern’ as opposed to ‘rhythm’ – where does ‘rhythm’ end and ‘pattern’ begin? When does a window frame for instance cease to be a ‘pillar’ which forms part of a tempo and become a static ‘edge’ in a pattern?
I found that I struggled with the concept of pattern in photography. To be honest I couldn’t really see the point of it. I had numerous questions: Where does the eye stop and take stock? Should there be an interruption, as in rhythm, to add interest? Is a pattern boring without such an interruption? If the pattern doesn’t contain a narrative, what exactly am I looking at? There is nothing to keep the viewer’s attention or make them ask questions. Is there any point (as in purpose) to such a pattern? If so, what is it?
I think I’ve found some of the answers even though I’m still not entirely convinced by the use of pattern in photography. I started off by looking at my previous images and found that I have actually used pattern before, although rarely and only for abstract images. The picture below formed part of my Part one assignment submission:
Assignment 1 – ‘many’
and here I played around with pattern, again in Part one, making more of a graphic design image through the use of Lightroom:
Enhanced black and white
I then did some brief research on whether pattern in an image could benefit from an interruption to add interest and found a useful article online at Digital Photography School which discusses the benefit of breaking repetition in a pattern, maybe through the use of a contrasting colour or shape. So the idea of interruption, of breaking the repetition of the pattern is something that I will think about going forward when faced with a prospective ‘pattern’ shot.
Thinking further about pattern, I recalled the work of Andreas Gursky and that some of his images include pattern. I am not a follower of Gursky at present as his images don’t hold any particular appeal for me but he is known for his use of pattern and I have provided links to two of his works ‘Chicago, Board of Trade II, 1999‘ and ‘Ohne Titel XV’ 2008 which show this, albeit in different ways. Although the first image is too ‘busy’ for my taste (I find it overwhelming), I find the second one more interesting due to Gursky’s use of interruptions in the image, both along the bottom of the frame and also in the lower right corner. These interruptions also make it easier on my eye.
With regards to the photographs I took for the exercise I have the following thoughts:
Rhythm – This picture is a little ‘busy’ for my liking although I consider it fulfils the brief. However, the interruption (the light) in this image is in the wrong place. It would have been better to the right of the frame and also if it had been a bit more obvious. I need to make sure that I find an ‘interruption’ in the right place for my assignment image.
Pattern – I was pleased with this picture as I feel that it is a good representation of pattern and also reflects my current style. I enjoyed finding and taking this image and I like it as an abstract. Although images containing pattern are generally regarded as static, the diagonal lines here add energy and some interest to the picture.
[1] Source: Oxford Dictionaries [online]. Available from http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/rhythm [accessed 10 July 2013]
[2] Source: Oxford Dictionaries [online]. Available from http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/pattern?q=pattern [accessed 10 July 2013].
[3] Source: Digital Photography School. [online]. ‘Using Repetition and Patterns in Photography’ by Darren Rowse. Available from http://digital-photography-school.com/using-repetition-and-patterns-in-photography [accessed 11 July 2013]
The Art of Photography 