Archives September 2016

I love equipment. For reasons beyond my comprehension, I could sit and watch road work equipment all day. I could watch heavy construction gear for hours. Since I’m always on the lookout for things to photograph, my eye is constantly scanning my horizon. Yesterday it fell on this piece of farm gear.

Actually it’s not quite “farm” equipment, per se. It’s a grapple from the Bobcat. But sitting out all by its lonesome, it was almost posing. The colors stand out from the greens of the leaves and grass. No, it’s not a fabulous picture, but it can tell a story. Is it out of place in the greens of nature? Is it off doing its own thing, “finding itself?” We have several photogenic farm implements, but it’s hard to get them off alone. They seem to hang out together in groups. I need to remind my hubby to drop one off just slightly remotely from the others one afternoon

The Equipment is Off Center–Why?

Not only did the grapple catch my eye, but you’ll notice that I purposely set it off-center.  It works much better as an image than centering the subject would have done. I considered placing it up or down into either the top or bottom two-thirds of the frame, but it just didn’t feel right.  By using the center third of the horizontal plane and the rightmost two-thirds of the vertical plane, the subject still holds the focus but makes a much more interesting shot.

I’m still experimenting with the rule of thirds, and I am pleased with the results. By mentally dividing the frame into thirds both vertically and horizontally, the only square that is off limits as a solo resting square is the one right in the center. Center is fine as long as the subject fully occupies at least one adjoining square.

I still need a lot of practice composing with the Rule of Thirds, and Darren Rowse at Digital Photography School does a great job of explaining it here.

I’m always fascinated by patterns. I can’t help but notice them in sight, sound, and concept. So I’ve enjoyed watching our birds grow from baby puffballs into birds with patterned feathers.

As I mentioned before, photographing animals can be a challenge, and even a fairly docile peacock, who should be marvelously photogenic, simply won’t stand still for a picture. But as you can see in the image, his adult feathers coming in form a mesmerizing pattern.

Patterns can make interesting prints, especially without the context of the rest of the subject.  Play around with patterns and see what you find. Ripples on the water, fence posts, the bark of trees, birds on a wire, rows of cars, a wall of windows.

Lost Focus

On the display of the camera, this shot looked wonderful! But when I put it up on the computer screen, it was horribly out of focus. Lesson learned–don’t be satisfied with the first shot that looks good. Take many more.

Fortunately, since the peacock lives behind my house, I’ll have plenty of opportunities to grab that shot again. If I do, I’ll post it. But I have other birds with fascinating feather patters to get first. He had his chance to be famous.

What are your favorite patterns to capture? What secrets do you have to find them?