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Symmetry: Photography Composition #4
Symmetry What does symmetry mean? How does it relate to composition in photography? Basically, symmetry means that if you fold a picture in half, each side would be a mirror image of the other. When we come to photography, the concept becomes less strict. After all, we are not trying to follow mathematical rules, but rather attempting to create an aesthetically pleasing image. It’s all about creativity. Whether the picture is exactly symmetrical or not doesn’t matter. Like all art, it’s more about storytelling. What is it you are trying to say with your photograph? Some of my pictures in previous posts are examples of using symmetry in composition, like…
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Off Centre Framing : Composition #3
Off Centre Framing Knowing how to use off centre framing is an important aspect of composition. Most subjects benefit from this type of placement, it tends to be more interesting and visually appealing. Why is that? Well, it encourages your eye to wander around the image and explore all of it, not just one object stuck in the middle of the frame. Of course, sometimes it’s appropriate to centre your shot. I did that in the Pink photograph because I wanted to emphasize the symmetry of the flower. See Fill the Frame for more details. Having the main subject on the right seem to suit the eye best, but it…
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Negative Space: Photography Composition #2
Negative Space Yesterday’s blog post about Photography Composition was about filling the frame in order to draw attention to your main subject. The opposite also holds true…You can use negative or empty space to enhance your main subject too. It’s just a different way of approaching your goal. You want your image to be more than just a record. It’s your unique interpretation of the scene, your story to tell. In Fire Ghosts, above, I wanted to draw attention to the boy holding the fire rods and the way the flames looked like ghosts. It was a night shot, so processing it as low-key was relatively easy. I wanted all…
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Photography Composition #1: Fill the Frame
Photography Composition I’ve been asked to give a presentation for my camera club, Happy Snappers on Photography Composition next Tuesday. I remember doing something similar at my previous club, but I have no idea where my notes are. So here I am, starting from scratch…Probably a good thing, it will keep it fresh, I hope. There are many different tips for helping you create more interesting pictures, but I wouldn’t get too caught up in the rules. We are all individuals and see things differently. What’s important is that your picture says what you want it to say. Are you fascinated by the hundreds of poppies dotting the cornfield,…
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40 Things I Love
40 Things I Love Challenge Just finished one challenge and here I am with another one, but at least this is just for a single post. Thank you, Nesiller over on Medium for tagging me in the “40 Things I love” Challenge. This will be my first long listicle ever and I’m looking forward to writing it. The hardest part will be sticking to 40, but I won’t cheat. 40 Things I Love The Dawn chorus, what a sound to wake up to. Visiting Art galleries and losing myself in the paintings. Reading non-fiction. My interests include subjects like the cosmos, ancient humans, Tudor England. Italian food, almost an addiction. You got…
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Writing Challenge Finale ( Day 31 )
Last Day of the Writing Challenge I cannot believe it, I’ve managed to complete the Jeff Goins 500 Words 31 Day Writing Challenge. You might think that doesn’t rate highly in life achievements and I guess you would be right. Still, for me, it’s a celebration. So many times I tried stuff like this in the past but didn’t follow through. I credit Jeff with making the challenge clear, interesting and achievable with effort. It was difficult at times. Maybe the theme was uncomfortable, like writing your own eulogy. Or called for thinking outside the box, like writing in someone else’s voice. But I always gave it my best shot…
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Stolen Child ( Day 30 )
The Challenge for Day 30 Today’s challenge is to write about “Innocence”. Maybe even share stories of the younger, more innocent you. My post titled Memories, Poems & Fairy Ribbons pretty much covered that topic, so I thought it might be nice to try a different angle. I’ve decided to go with one of my best-loved poets, William Butler Yeats and his poem “The Stolen Child”. The Stolen Child “Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild With a faery, hand in hand, For the world’s more full of weeping than you can understand.” ― William Butler Yeats Here, Yeats is writing about lost innocence. The…
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Storytelling ( Day 29 )
The Challenge for Day 29 The challenge for today is “Write about anything you know well that you don’t have to research.” A free reign, I like that idea. The topic I’ve chosen is storytelling because it’s something I’m passionate about for many different reasons. Storytelling Storytelling has always been part of human culture. I like to imagine a group of early cave dwellers, sitting around a crackling fire, sharing stories with others. Maybe a small family group, the grandmother passing on stories of their ancestors and how they came to live in that particular place. The father recounting the day he landed his biggest fish ever and how he…
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Memories, Poems & Fairy Ribbons ( Day 28 )
The Challenge Today, I’m meant to be writing my own Eulogy. Thanks, but no thanks, Jeff! All I’d want on a gravestone is ” I tried, I really did.” Tried to be loving, honest and open-minded. That’s about it, really. Still, he got me thinking about my past and some early childhood memories, lovely memories, came back to me. And that’s when I started writing ” Fairy Ribbons”. Maybe you could call it a Eulogy to my inner child, the innocent me? Guess that keeps us all happy then, Jeff. I’ve written three verses so far this morning. Little pen pictures of me before I was six, before life got complicated, …
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Tulips, Baskets & Bosses ( Day 27 )
The Challenge for Day 27 “Today, use your 500 words to tell us about your work experiences.” Although I’ve spent most of my life involved in Education, I thought I’d write about the time I worked in a flower bulb factory in Holland…Ah, fond memories of tulips, baskets and bosses. Tulips, Baskets & Bosses. There are endless piles of bulbs laid out in front of us. Flower bulbs, though they might as well be onions for all we care. Any romantic notions about dancing through fields of tulips are long gone. We don’t have any time to waste, we know we have to get started straight away and accelerate fast…