Composition and all that Arty stuff - discussion thread.

[jetcode]

Originally Posted by airfrogusmc

Just got back from some much needed R&R.

Joe,

I just said it reminded of that image of Adams and if you've read anything I've written here or in any thread you would see I am in total agreement with the notion of not having any pre conceived ideas or rules of any kind. I have still not read any objective explanation of why the strip of land is not distracting. I to really like both images but the one without the strip of land is stronger. These kinds of discussions are what a critique is all about.

Hey Allen long time. Hope you are well. A friend of mine (www.glennsteiner.com) watched Ansel burn through a 100 sheet box of 8x10 paper in a couple of hours trying to get the best print. Ansel suffered the same issues as everyone else. And he came home with a few gems. In terms of composition and what makes a photograph come alive I would have to say that the scene says it in an instant or the task becomes one of invention. In either case the photographer had to make the effort to be there, to show up, and to capture or create the image. That reality will never change.

[jetcode]

Here's one for mtimber and the panel of viewers here.
The question is simple. Can shape, color, and light carry a composition successfully?

West Marin (best viewed in a color managed browser)


or is a subject required?

West Marin

[airfrogusmc]

Originally Posted by jetcode

Here's one for mtimber and the panel of viewers here.
The question is simple. Can shape, color, and light carry a composition successfully?

West Marin (best viewed in a color managed browser)

Love it Joe and I think its a very strong image.

Heres why, It capture the gentile rolling of the landsscpe and almost looks like human form. Very Weston of you The use of shadow and Light create depth and help emphasize the shape giving the image a real 3 D effect. Color pallet is very simple shades of green and blue work perfectly together. The clouds not only add texture to the sky their shape though smaller is also mimicked in the grass. Everything in the frame is supporting the visual statement so yes this image is working very well!!!! No fat and in my opinion nothing should be changed.

[mtimber]

Originally Posted by jetcode

Here's one for mtimber and the panel of viewers here.
The question is simple. Can shape, color, and light carry a composition successfully?

West Marin (best viewed in a color managed browser)


or is a subject required?

West Marin

Really like the first one, as it works very well, the colour and light really draw the eye to the "sand dunes".

The second one is a bit of a struggle for me though, I find my eye drawn to the broad white section of the boat.

Then it sort of gets trapped in the brown grass at the bottom of the image.

So I find it does not lead my eye around the image.


If someone can see something else in this I am missing, I would love to hear it.


Thanks for putting them up JC.

[Ricardo222]

Love that first shot....and after enjoying it for a while a couple of questions went through my mind. Like...did you have to wait for the shadow to cover the furthest hill? Did you conciously wait until those clouds arranged themselves so nicely. Because as a regular "landscaper" I am aware of the difference a few minutes or even seconds makes.

Not that it matters in the appreciation of the picture...a shot either works or not, and that one works in spades!

edit: And in answer to your question....yes, you've proved it. Shape, colour and light can carry a picture. They are the "subject matter" of this shot, but the subject itself is a more personal thing...for me it is a reminder of times past when I spent time in country like that, and of land feeling so solid, yet the beautiful balance of light reminding us of the fleeting nature of things.

[jetcode]

I waited for the clouds and light to synchronize and these moments lasted a second or two. I shot for about 1/2 hour and caught several different phases of light. This shot has the best contrast of elements. The boat is more about the break in light. The light is early afternoon so the color temperature is not the best. The boat is dead on in the frame and has seen better days. It's an old boat.

[sas8888]

This is a photo that I took as a HDR panorama. This was during the Super Moon and wanted to get the brightness and the rays of the moon with the reflection of the coconut trees.

[mtimber]

Originally Posted by sas8888

This is a photo that I took as a HDR panorama. This was during the Super Moon and wanted to get the brightness and the rays of the moon with the reflection of the coconut trees.

Really nice.

Love the light rays and the balance of the sky, then the lights, then the trees.

Really like it.

[Ricardo222]

Yes, works for me, too. The composition works well and I specially like that it doesn't have an over processed look.
Skillful job!

[sas8888]

The first photo I feel works very very well. Colors are wonderful with shapes that flow
The second photo also works for me as I center on the boat then my eyes are drawn to the bare land user left. Looking at the green grass on right following to the left it makes me feel when this boat was working and producing to when it was beached and broken and unfruitful.

Originally Posted by jetcode

Here's one for mtimber and the panel of viewers here.
The question is simple. Can shape, color, and light carry a composition successfully?

West Marin (best viewed in a color managed browser)


or is a subject required?

West Marin

[garbidz]

Originally Posted by elrey2375

This is exactly the way I feel about it. The minute you start searching for something, you lose it. You have to be open to shoot what's there. In sports, which is my main area, you often times can't frame things as you would like but I took this one last night and I liked it. I converted it to B&W because I think it makes the players and their position within the frame stand out more.

This picture is very dynamic and I think it is because of the two sets of diagonals.
You can check it against a classical composition by cutting it vertically in two in the middle and then drawing (in your mind is enough, do not smear your screens) lines connecting the corners of each of the two rectangles.

You see how nicely this photo fits a very, very old basic composition scheme.
I do not know if you had the Old Masters in mind when you took this shot, but an exceptionally good shot you made.
Congrats.

Now we can start nitpicking about how one should and should not crop parts of the people but that is certainly not the first thing that hits the eye looking at this shot.
You had a fraction of a second and you took advantage of it. Takes skill.

[garbidz]

Originally Posted by jetcode

Here's one for mtimber and the panel of viewers here.
The question is simple. Can shape, color, and light carry a composition successfully?

West Marin (best viewed in a color managed browser)


or is a subject required?

West Marin

I like your green hills, though a Real Minimalist would have taken only one hill in the picture. Two hills always distracts the male mind.

Magritte would have taken in more clouds. My feeling is that you could have added some interest by putting the hills a bit lower. There is no subject, after all. (/end humor)

On your boat picture I cannot really see any 'bigger form'. Somehow, the eye is not finding the path to follow. Exaggerating the storm cloud a bit might have created a diagonal with the white of the boat.

Your tonal quality is impeccable.

[Antarion]

Here is a picture i'm not sure about if its too overloaded or actually good. When framing it i wanted to show the different levels even when that means I had to cut the upper and lower stages but I thought its more interesting this way.

[Ricardo222]

Originally Posted by garbidz

...

....
Now we can start nitpicking about how one should and should not crop parts of the people but that is certainly not the first thing that hits the eye looking at this shot.
You had a fraction of a second and you took advantage of it. Takes skill.

I wouldn't even go there for shots like this...if everything is neatly within the frame it tends to isolate the action within that frame, whereas cutting off part of the umpire helps include the rest of the field and players.

As you said, it's a good shot and the characters all play their part. I think the B&W conversion was a good idea as well as it compells us to be involved in the action.

[airfrogusmc]

Lets talk a little bit more about content. The one photo that I've seen in the last few posts that moves beyond the obvious is the hill and cloud shot that Joe posted in #542.

We all are good at shooting nouns or showing something the way it really is but where it gets really difficult is showing something the way the photographer sees it. To show it as more than it really is or to see beneath the surface and reveal something special about not only the subject but the person taking the photograph.

And as far as where to crop or how to compose that is as Weston pointed out part of a personal way of seeing. I always say if its not important to the visual statement why include it? I would suggest always trying to find the moment in photographs and only including what is essential. Looking at the work of Bresson, Frank, Winogrand and Meyerowitz are great places for inspiration. Not to copy but to see how its done really well.