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.
Lines
I shared about shapes a week ago and today am going to look at the role lines play in a composition. Lines can be straight,diagonal, curved, short and long, stable, or chaotic and create many moods in a photograph. I used to say that I liked trees because of their shape, but after thinking about it, realized that it was the lines of the limbs that attracted me as well as the overall shape of the foliage. I will show some man-made lines as well as ones found in nature.
Here is an example of simple curved lines mixed with straight lines that I took while attending the workshop last week.
Next is an example of two lines. The fact that they are crossed creates some tension and provides a focal point.
Sometimes lines are singular.
Or repeated, such as in this photo of an old barn.
There is the “s” curve, always a pleasing line to the eye…
and here is an example of a mix of stable lines and a single curved line…
and straight lines combined with chaotic lines that I took yesterday in the park…
Lines of perspective can create depth and lead you into the photo …
There are an endless variety of lines and many ways to use them and I know that I have more ideas just by doing this exercise.It helps me to look at potential photos and maybe change my point of view so that I may use lines to have a stronger composition. Happy shooting!
Wind Sculptures
We have had a bit of snow each day for a couple of days and with it came the wind which makes for some pretty spectacular designs. I went out for an hour and took pictures of the drifts and now am in my warm home curled up in blankets to rid myself of the chill. Hope you enjoy the moments snapped.
© Jane Chesebrough
© Jane Chesebrough
Building Demolition
I have been fascinated with a downtown building that is being torn down. It has been surrounded with netting and there is a crane or dozer or some sort of machinery in the top floors pulling it apart.I liked the textures and promised myself that I would take some photos. So today was the day. I will include a couple of photos here; one in colour and one in black and white. Click on the photos to enlarge.
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- Jane Chesebrough
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- Jane Chesebrough
A good Christmas gift
- ©Jane Chesebrough
I went out with the photo club today to a huge new complex . It was a visual feast and the owners were wonderful at giving us access to various vantage points. all these trees and poinsettas and what do I put in my blog? Socks! But aren’t they lovely?
Double Exposure using HDR
I went with my friend to the lake near where she lives to take some photos of the ice at the water’s edge and combined a shot of the river with the shot of the birds-want to experiment with multi exposures and see what I can do. I am using HDR merge in my Corel Paint Shop Pro program to get the effect. After I took the picture of the pigeons I noticed the heart shape- thought that that was really a neat thing! I also played with different modes starting with the “sport” setting then changed to live view and Time Value then “Manual”.
©Jane Chesebrough
It was a good day with a good friend and a latte to take the chill away-doesn’t get any better than that!
Bark Texture
©Jane Chesebrough
I haven’t been out much lately but have been reading other people’s work and looking at photos and while realizing a need to practise the basics of photography and elements of design, I have been inspired to push the envelope and explore more ways of expressing myself through the medium of photography.So off I go…
Creative Design: Line
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
©Jane Chesebrough
I just started a course in Creative Design and our first assignment was to submit 3 photos on the topic of “line”. Decided to have some fun and the pictures show what I came up with.Shot everything in manual mode except for auto focus.
My Heartsong 