Shapes as Part of a Design
I am talking about organic shapes here but the theory works with man-made shapes as well. Repetition of shapes can unify a composition, for example, series of clouds, a group of buildings, bushes, rocks. Repetition would be boring if it was all the same but repetition with variety makes a picture interesting.
Here is a photo of a tree. Just one tree in the foreground but the upward turn of the branches, which are repeated in themselves, are also repeated in the clouds. The bushes in the distance give balance to the overall picture.
The repetition of round shapes of the snow helps to pull this shot of bushes together.The snow amongst the busy lines gives the viewer’s eye a place to rest while travelling throughout the picture plane.
The next photo demonstrates a strong figure/ground relationship or the positive/negative space in your photo. The positive space would be the object. The negative space is what shape or shapes are around it. Both are important and help balance each other.
And a photo of repeated shapes again. There is repetition of the shapes yet variety so it does not become boring. There are a lot of triangles in the water, sky and mountain combined with the round shapes in the clouds and the little island.
Next time you go out just sit and look at a scene and look at the shapes. Look at whether they are singular, or repeated, large or small. See how the shapes work with other shapes and other elements of design, such as lines. Look at the big picture and look at the small intimate places as well.You might see things a bit differently.Now pick up your camera.
Ice and Bubbles and Crystals
Recently I have been to a showing at a friend’s of 12 photos each by 12 people who went on the trip to Abraham lake last month. It was great to see the variety of photos that we took . I had taken mine and taken some of the colour out of them so went back to my computer and , as I say,” jazzed them up”. The thinking behind this is to enhance the contrast between reflected light and darker areas to show off these features because this is why I was attracted to the subject to begin with. Some of it is just playing around. I will show the “before” and “after”, tell me what you think. i changed the exposure and sometimes the temperature.
Weekly Photo Challenge: Lost in the Details
The guest blogger for the weekly challenge is Christopher Martin , whom I follow. Check out his blog especially if you are a photographer. The theme this week is to get closer to the details in a scene, which I like to do. Here is a photo of the larger view of Windy Point at Abraham Lake and a smaller detail.
Sunrise at Preacher’s Point
On the second morning we got up at 6:45 a.m. had delicious coffee and muffins served by our hosts Alan and Madeleine then went to Preacher’s Point on Abraham Lake to see the sunrise. This is what I was enjoying in warm temperatures that hovered around zero celsius. This is one of the sites where I took photos of bubbles.
After shooting for a couple of hours we returned to Aurum Lodge for a brunch and a nap before setting out again.
Always remember to look behind you.This is a photo taken in the opposite direction.
Lake of Bubbles
I was wrong before when I said that the bubbles in Abraham Lake were formed by the tossing and turning. They actually form from the methane gas that is given off from the rotting vegetation.The lake is man made and the water rises and falls depending on how much water is released from the dam.
They are pretty and get a little dizzying when you walk on the ice and are looking down on them. I may have gotten better shots if I went further from shore but was so mesmerized by them i did not have to go far. If you want to see real fantastic photos google oopoomoo or Darwin Wiggett, Samantha Chrysanthou, or Royce Howland.
I have added a slight tint of blue to these except for the one that is de-saturated and the second and fourth photos with the tiny bubbles that are close to shore and more brownish.i did see a blue cast to the ice and some that was broken in large chunks had a greenish tinge to it. There are large waves of frozen and buckled ice in the lake so you have to be careful where you go-the depth can change quickly and there is flowing water under the ice.
Rocky Landscapes
During my travels this summer, I was in the mountains and visited lakes, streams and rivers. There was lots of water and flooding due to large amounts of snow and spring run off. But another aspect of this country was the rocky landscapes that I so enjoy. They could provide warm places to lie out in the sun. They could shelter me from strong winds. There were places that inspired me to take closer shots than the usual mountain vistas.
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
Florals
I was so happy to see the blooms of paint brush and Western wood lilies decorate the sides of the highway when I was travelling through the mountains. I was inspired to buy a book on shrubs and flowers when I reached Nordegg and was I ever overwhelmed by the varieties! It is hard to determine which is which-so much information but I will try to keep it simple. I share with you the colours of the landscape with those blooms that I have identified as well as the rest of the “pretty flowers”. I am sorry about the blurriness of the first one but curious about what this is.
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
Western Wood Lily
I took this high above Abraham Lake and like the colour of the lily with the aqua water in the background and the surrounding greens and oranges.I wanted to try something a little different from my typical snap shot. A lot of people call this the Tiger Lily and it is one of my favourites to see at this time of year.
©Jane Chesebrough
Changing Colour
This is a photo of Abraham Lake on highway 11 east of Red Deer, named after Silas Abraham a native resident of the Saskatchewan Valley in the 1900’s. I first saw this lake a few years ago and was astounded by its colour, a rich turquoise. It is more of an aqua colour at this time of year because of the silt from spring run-off but probably by the time of posting will have changed to a deeper tone. One of my favourite spots is Windy Point which is where I was when I took the photo. This is the calmest that I have experienced it in three visits. I like it because of the colours and I can get close to the water and see and feel the energy. Windy Point lives up to its name and I have had to do some serious cleaning of my sensor after being here because the wind blows all sorts of debris into my camera without taking off the lens. It is a long lake , 32 kilometers that stretches from outside Nordegg to the Sakatchewan Crossing at the mountains. man-made, and has a dam, the Big Horn, at the east end that you can see in this photo on the right.
©Jane Chesebrough
A Place to sit and Contemplate
It is great to get on the road and travel, take tons of photos, go for short hikes and even buy over-priced items but it is so important in the travelling to stop and take a breather, to take that pause, and just breathe. I did a lot of travelling in a week but did make a point of taking a moment, or a few, to find a quiet or noisy spot and just sit, be still within myself, and soak in the beauty. Here are some of those places: water lilies at Jackfish Lake. Medicine Lake on Maligne Lake Road, misty evening at Fish Lake, Patricia Lake shoreline, bench beside Sunwapta River, Beauty Creek, and Windy Point on Abraham Lake.
©Jane Chesebrough
- ©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
My Heartsong 