Balancing Figure and Space

For this exercise we are to produce two images using the same general viewpoint, varying the balance and attention between the person and the setting they are in.

In the first image I am standing on the corner looking down the street. There is a cyclist walking his cycle up the footpath.  This image has not made a very strong picture. Although standing on the street corner it looked interesting.  As a picture it is boring.

 

By crossing the street and moving just a few feet I have taken the image below.  The cyclist is little closer to me and now is a bigger part of the picture.  It is the same light but the reflected light off the lighter coloured walls on this side of the street make the picture lighter and brighter.  There is less empty space in the foreground of the image.   

The horizontal framing enabled me to crop out the sky which on a grey day adds nothing to this scene.

 

I found this exercise valuable in thinking more about the scene I was photographing and how very minor changes make such a big difference.  Being aware doesn't need to take much time. With these two images I didn't have very long to change my view if  was to include the cyclist in the picture. Two minutes and looking and thinking.