Exercise - 'A Narrative Picture Essay'

'Dancing with Waves'

Once upon a time a boy went 
to the seaside.

He saw how the sky looked like 
a big book of stories.

He saw how the sea stretched out 
as far as the edge of the world.

He saw the sea swishing to and fro.

He looked at the waves and wondered 
what they were.

He waited until the waves came very close 
and then he danced with them...

Then he ran back up the beach 
as fast as he could!

He was soon digging in the sand.

He dug a very big hole indeed!

But eating crisps was even 
more important!

Sometimes he looked around and saw 
how far the sand stretched out.

He played with the waves.

He searched for beautiful stones.

He ran away from the sea monsters!

Sometimes he just sat still and looked 
and thought how big and wide the sea 
and the sky were...

Wherever he went he left his tracks.

At other times he became a super hero!

The sun shone on him and made him smile  
- a lot!

Wherever he was he was always having fun...

He also dreamed that when he grew up 
he would be a racing driver - just like his Daddy.

He was always looking for some new adventure 
to try out.

But the time came when he had to say 
goodbye to the big sky and go home.

He said goodbye to the sandy beach 
and the wide, wide sea. But he never forgot 
how he danced with the waves....

This piece is designed to explore 
the issues of contrast and variety 
within the context of a 'narrative 
picture essay'. Contrast is sought 
after via picture size and content 
and, to a certain extent, form. 
Variety follows much along the same 
lines, but more explicitly with the 
various seaside holiday activities 
portrayed.

All the photographs were taken 
with an iPhone camera and 
were edited with an iPhoto editing 
package on a MacBook Pro. This was 
not the original intention when 
commencing this project but being 
pleased with some early shots taken 
with the phone, I decided to continue.

I took many more photographs 
than those seen here, but they suited 
other projects and have been filed 
accordingly.