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!
Using my Toolkit
I am recovering and feel better today. In retrospect I got busy.Real busy. Then I stopped using one of the most important tools in my kit. The daily practise of quiet time, prayer, meditation, sitting in the silence, whatever I choose to call it. The name is not important but the practise is. It is the difference between practising the problem or practising the solution.
©Jane Chesebrough
Sometimes the size of my tool kit overwhelms me and I get stuck with indecision – the paralysis of analysis. This is the time to ” just pick one. ” “Use it.” Everything turns around from there. My best tool is the “take the time” tool. Next is the “gratitude” tool. invaluable but totally useless if I don’t use them. Have a great day!
©Jane Chesebrough
Not Been Myself Lately
I was on sick benefits for 15 weeks starting May, a perfect gift for a photographer like me who loves birding, too. It was good for me to get outdoors, walking at a slow pace, building strength and stamina.
I switched over to regular employment insurance benefits in the fall and enrolled in a Learning Center to take Personal Development courses and Job Search workshops. It felt good to stimulate my mind and get into a regular routine plus the support was important to me.
I found the process mentally, emotionally and physically challenging and knew I needed to take care of a persistent productive cough. I went to a doctor and was proactive in finding solutions. It has been a real “high” running on energy that was more recently due to a prescription for Prednisone which brings down the inflammation in the lungs. It was having an effect, but I realized it wasn’t totally working. I checked with the doctor about the results of the x-rays and the report was that the technician noted it was “worse than the last x-ray but not sure if it was pneumonia or old scar tissue.”
I also kept pushing myself to keep up with the growing demand and expectations of the learning Centre. Then bang! I hit a wall, all of a sudden, the day I called about the x-ray. I knew I had pneumonia. I felt exhaustion and spasms in my lungs. I stopped everything and stayed home to rest. Relief! Felt a lot of pain and could not lie down at night so sat up, propped by pillows and wrapped in cozy blankets and drinking lots of fluids, wondering if I should go to the hospital but didn’t want to pay for an ambulance and didn’t know if I should drive and where would I park, or should I call someone to take me in…for about four nights.
This passed.
I am facing a tough decision: not really well enough to be ready for work or looking for work “right now”. Every day I report in sick to the learning centre which is sponsored by Service Canada Employment insurance I do not get paid because I am not “ready, able and willing to work”. Do I get a doctor’s note and apply for social assistance or push forward ? But pushing myself is how I got to this point in the first place.
I am FATIGUED. I have been operating mainly on the “willing” part of being ready for work. I opted for antibiotics and there has been huge improvement but still need to rest-not sure for how long. Making decisions -I can’t think my way out of a paper bag when I am sick.
I have two doctor’s appointments today: one to see the doctor that I visited recently to get “results”; the other with my own doctor to talk about getting a note
That is enough for today.
Glad to hear from some of you after the big storm but am a little anxious to hear from others that haven’t posted blogs yet…hope you are okay. Lastly,
HAPPY HALLOWEEN everyone! Have fun and be safe.
©Jane Chesebrough
A Journey to the Past
I think that I can do this right today. I mean, getting both the words and the photos down in a blog together. I am going through my old photos and disgarding duplicates and just plain “bad” photos. I am finallyletting go of the photos from , can you believe it, four years ago from a disasterous relationship that left me heart-broken and bitter. The year I broke up with this man I went on a vacation through the Canadian Rockies, through Banff , Jasper, and Yoho National Parks.
I took my drum and my bicycle with me and stayed at hostels and met people from around the world. Other than a couple of drunks most people were polite and well- mannered. I really enjoyed the trip and loved the beauty of the mountains.I was fairly physically fit and did some moderate hikes.
I have been to the mountains a few times since then and always enjoy the journey, setting off with nuts, licorice and a cup of ” Tim’s”. Healthy food was abundant on these trips, after shopping at grocery stores and allowing an indulgence at a restuarant or two. As an aside, don’t go grocery shopping in Lake Louise unless you like paying twice the price as everywhere else. A loaf of bread was $5.00, long before the recent insanity of sky-rocketing food and gas prices. In Yoho four years ago I paid $4.00 for a can of Chunky soup. So shop in the larger centers outside the parks if you are on a restricted budget. I don’t mind paying for entry to the parks themselves as it protects conservation.
Anyway here is a pleasant journey to the past and I invite you to come and join me to see the sights. I shot these photos with a hundred-dollar point and shoot before I got my DSLR. Click on the images to enlarge.
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- Jane Chesebrough Lake Louise
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- Jane Chesebrough Morraine Lake Valley of Ten Peaks
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- Jane Chesebrough Emerald Lake Yoho NP
The Large and Small of It All
I found this photo as I was deleting a few from the past and noticed the difference in the size of the mountains and the people beside the pond. This was taken a couple of years ago from the upper trail part of the loop to the Edith Cavell pond at Mount Edith Cavell in Jasper National Park, Canada. It is an amazing walk to the pond and back and relatively short, only 1.6 km. The upper part of the trail is visible before me and the lower is in the bottom right of the photo. I have gone twice now and find it spectacular. Maybe I will go again this year to take photos of the meadows in bloom later in summer.Mount Edith Cavell dominates the skyline from many viewpoints just outside of the town of Jasper and I wanted to share a brief history of it’s namesake.
Mount Edith Cavell is named after a British nurse to nonour her bravery and action. She nursed soldiers of all sides and trained other nurses during the first world war while stationed in Belgium. After being arrested for administering to the enemy, she admitted openly to caring for any soldier regardless of his country and was jailed then executed.This is a quote from her in 1915 before her execution. “Standing as I do in view of God and Eternity, I realize that Patriotism is not enough. I must have no hatred or bitterness toward anyone.” Edith Louisa Cavell 1865-1915
Cavell Pond ©Jane Chesebrough
My Heartsong 