The colours of this week: glowing blue, blue-gray and dark brown.
http://uudetvarikollaasit.blogspot.de/2016_04_01_archive.html
Author: eklastic
Zu alt, um nur zu spielen. Zu jung, um ohne Wunsch zu sein.
Like two sides to every story
The next step: “Symmetry“. Horizontal symmetry is more difficult to find than vertical symmetry. Often, though, horizontal symmetry is encountered in reflections. The photo below has little to do with photographic skills, it was taken on a compact camera without viewer which meant I took the shot practically blind because the screen was almost unreadable. Being at the right time at the right spot (at 2265 m altitude on the First above Grindelwald in Switzerland) was all it took.
In any case symmetry in architecture is easier to find than in landscapes because architects have discovered the power of symmetry long ago. The doors below are a case in point.
So are these. But although we look for symmetry as Cee states it is also a fact that flawless symmetry is not something we appreciate too much. Faces that are artificially made completely symmetric are rejected by viewers as they tend to look wrong. I find that slight deviations in the symmetry can enhance the pleasing effect of a photo. In the picture below it is the chalk lettering left by the Epiphany singers with the initials of the three kings, Caspar, Melchior, and Balthasar, and the year for which their blessing was given (2015) as well as the off centre doorknob which tip the balance.
Here the whole house has been built symmetrically, from the windows which are symmetrical in themselves, to the door with accompanying windows, the pediment, the steps and the railings.
Windows are often paired and lend themselves to symmetrical shots or, the photo can be cropped appropriately. The different reflections in the window panes keep the photofrom being boring but I could have done without the electrical icicles on the right.
Another set of interesting and symmetrical windows. The shadows, of course, point in the same direction and are thus not strictly symmetrical, neither is the plant in the left window but I think this adds interest.
These two doors obviously lead into houses that are build in mirror symmetry but probably furnished individually just like the colour difference. Having once moved from one side of such a house to the other, I know that this mirroring can be quite disconcerting.
An old church with a symmetrical entry through several arches.
But not just architecture, nature itself provides symmetrical topics altough I find them easier to discover on macro level. Again, it shows that’s Louis’ face is approximated rather than perfect symmetry and this is what makes him so attractive.
Evil is as evil does
“Perspective” and knowing what your main topic is – or, in my case, this often means only finding out later when I review my photos what the main topic was.
When I am out and about with my running friends I often snap photos – literally snap because I’m there to participate in the fun and taking pictures comes second. Usually my main objective is to capture the people that are there with me. We were having a break from our jogging/hiking day at the shores of Lake Constance. Beer was waiting for us bobbing on the waves. I like the fancy clothes people are wearing at these occasions and I am particularly drawn to runners’ socks and their messages.
The next four shots were all taken at a pre-wedding party. I was there with my camera and my brief was to take pictures of the guests as unobtrusively as possible.
In the first photo the focus is very obviously on the people and the overall garden setting showing off the newly acquired house of the soon-to-be-weds and the party area in front. Not a great shot per se but one setting the mood and showing the crowd. The second photo was taken from the same position but focussing on the balcony with its pretty flowers and the bird cut-out and reflection in the window.
The following two shots are again taken with completely different objectives in mind. The first one shows three guests on a cigarette break, totally unawares of being photographed. I liked the way they were standing next to the little amorette all in white. It would have been better if the third person had not been blocked by the one in the middle (I could have moved to the right to avoid that). The second shot focusses clearly on the head of one of the women. I found the colours of her dyed hair fascinating. Coming to think of it, this would have been a good photo to illustrate the 2/3 rule, bokeh and all.
CEE’S COMPOSE YOURSELF PHOTO CHALLENGE: WEEK #13 Perspective
Das Runde muss ins Eckige
A quote – reputedly from the former German national football coach Sepp Herberger – that’s not easy to translate since “eckig” means “angular” rather than “square”. But f0r Cee’s next topic: “Centre point – breaking the rule of thirds” it is spot on to say:
“The round thing has to go into the square thing.”
Round things are fairly easy to centre and so these flower balls are perfect to illustrate pictures with a centre point. In white:
and black:
and white again.
The rose below does not quite work as her middle is slightly off centre and the distribution of the petals is unbalanced.
The focal point here is the little bead below the earlobe which almost makes one miss the building reflected in the red stone.
I found this interesting as the centre point of this picture is found in the negative space slightly above and to the right of the knee but because of the diagonal division of the shot I think it works.
I like this little duckling and I’ve included a copy with the centre clearly marked. It is not the beak as one might expect but the fluff on its chest where the feathers create a swirl looking almost as if everything radiates from that point.
And here is Mama Duck with a magnificent orang beak as the centre point of the photo. I have changed the photo to black and white with selective colour for the beak in order to emphasize the centre point and not get distracted by the pinkish feet or the brown duck to the left.
Cee’s Compose Yourself Photo Challenge: Week #11 Centerpoint – Breaking the Rule of Thirds
Two thirds can make a whole
Cee’s next challenge is concerned with “Using 2/3 of your photo frame” just the opposite from the previous one.
I’ll start off with a gnarled treebark where the background was so light that it showed off completely white and featureless making the bark almost into a cut-out.
This was a “naturally occurring” 2/3 – a graveside flowerbed in a display of such plantings at the German horticultural show in Brandenburg an der Havel. These small plots showed off gardening en miniature and since it was also a competition for gardeners meticulously cared for, I watched a gardener trim a bed with something that looked like nail scissors. In this case the colourful display contrasted with the two variety of greens of the border.
A macro of a tulip – the spring colours at the moment are stunning. The dark green leaves in the out-of-focus range form the perfect contrast to the bright orange of the blossom.
The same botanical garden features this abundance of tulips. In both shots the colour covers two thirds. I think I prefer the second photo – neither of which I would have taken like this before reading Cee’s essay.
One more flower shot, this time another landscape photo shot from below to block out anything but the clear blue sky in the upper third.
A cockerel contrasted by the green bokeh behind and to the left.
And to finish off a close-up of a white pony.
Cee’s Compose Yourself Photo Challenge: Week #10 Using 2/3 of your photo frame
OWPC: Bottle
It’s spring – and yes, this means hayfever time is here!
Bonus pic: I kind of struggled with the word given this week – bottle – and the only other picture I could come up with was with this little creature loving his bottle a bit too much:
A late addition, but I just came across this picture in my archive and it reminds me of a fun day with all that beer in bottles stored in the cool waters of Lake Constance:
https://jennifernicholewells.com/2016/04/19/one-word-photo-challenge-bottle/
Woll, Woll
This is the decoration above a shop which sells knitwear and other fashions. It may be art, it may be a demonstration that their wares weather well. I’m not sure.
https://ceenphotography.com/cees-odd-ball-photo-challenge/
Countryroad, take me home
A road in the Rhein Plain in early spring with the hills of the Odenwald in the back – a view to end all feeling of homesickness – at least for me.
Eine Straße in der Rheinebene im Frühling mit den Bergen des Odenwalds im Hintergrund – zumindest für mich ein Anblick, der jedes Heimweh verscheucht.
Audit
I haven’t managed to work through the backlog of Cee’s challenge (I hesitate to call it challenge it feels more like my private online tutoring) so my choices are limited to the early assignments.
I’ll start off with a photo which is not the greatest but it reminds me of a wonderful holiday. The diagonal line divides the picture into two contrasting colours – not a hundred percent according to the colour wheel but close enough. The famous Eiger Nordwand is as geometrical as triangles come and the mountain to the right (I think it’s the Jungfrau but don’t quote me) is not only a triangle but the slope of the Eiger and the slope in the foreground create a negative triangle as well.
Here are harmonious colours, i.e. colours which are next to each other on the colour wheel. From the yellow green in the bottom third to the deep green of the cornstalks to the blueish hue of the upper third. Surprise! The photo is divided in more or less even thirds, and the different colours and patterns are so well defined that they create horizontal lines.
Another photo teeming with geometrical shapes from the pink rectangle on the left, the acute triangle next to it and the isosceles triangle with the right angle in the upper right hand corner. There are a couple of smaller triangles as well. But I like it because of the great laugh which is so infectious.
Lines seem to show off best in black and white photos.
Another leading curved line. The viewer is drawn along the the line created by the pier to the lighthouse which is off centre and a bit to the top. The sky above the horizont is an enormous amount of negative space.
And one of my favourites with contrasting colours (blue opposite the orangey rust), the seagull with her head, the focal point, in the upper right 3/9.
I have definitely learned about taking photos and have realised that I use some of the principles now instead of just clicking. But more so Cee has opened my eyes to see why I like some of happy-click photos a lot and others less. I tend now to think more before I click. What I want to say to Cee is: Thank you! You have taught me a lot in the last weeks (and I hope that you will keep doing this).
Cee’s Compose Yourself Photo Challenge: #20 Review and Practice
Drei mal drei macht neune 🎵🎶
This time it is Cee’s introduction to the rule of thirds – which harks back to the golden ratio.
Here are some simple versions of the rule of thirds – all taken in Northumberland – where the picture is divided by three lines, more or less dividing it into equal vertical stripes.
And now for something completely different – NOT. The same principle but from a very different landscape (the Odenwald in Southwest Germany) and in very different colours.
Back to the see with a rusty detail. It is often not so easy with automatic cameras to focus on a subject which is off centre – often this can be rescued later on with cropping.
This cat – Louis by name – shows off the rule of thirds to his advantage, the eyes are in the upper left field and are the obvious centre of this shot.
His mate Charly presents two focal point – his eye and his nose, in the upper right and lower left field of the photo. Both focal points vie for attention, the nose through its light pink colour but the eye with his intensive looks take the prize.
This is one of my favourite photographs with a model that posed like a pro. Again, the rule of thirds is displayed in the horizontal lines, the more solid lower one, the upper one being less obvious one, as well as in the main focal point of the photograph, the head of the seagull.
Cee’s Compose Yourself Photo Challenge: Week #9 Rule of Thirds Introduction
pictures imperfect blog 