I was inspired and motivated by Neill’s photographs and writing on nature’s patterns to complete a longstanding series I’d done on water and its patterns. Underlying the many modifications and patterns that occur in nature is a hidden unity.” “My By Nature’s Design photographs invite the viewer to discover and appreciate natural patterns: the sensuous ripples of glistening wet mud in a desert stream the repeated tracings of veins in fallen leaves the intricate cracking of tree bark or the crystalline forms seen in ice. When I ordered a copy of William Neill: Photographer ‒ A Retrospective direct from the photographer himself, Neill’s eloquent writing in a chapter called By Nature’s Design made an impact on me. After you read it, create a series of photographs inspired by one main idea in the book that has inspired you. Get a printed book by a photographer you enjoy. Wielding a prime lens minimizes the time spent on focusing and exposure, which places my attention on the subject and not on the screen or gear. For landscape and still subjects, instead of zooming or auto-focusing, I set the camera settings to Manual mode. This keeps me from overshooting, lets me concentrate on light, timing, and composition. I like to make solo trips with only one camera body and one lens. This is often more valuable than any piece of gear. This means investing time finding new vantage points and angles in search of compelling pictures. The reason behind all these methods of shifting our position, and taking time, is to expand our awareness of how we compose. If you tend to spend just a few minutes with a subject, invest more time and spend 30 minutes or longer looking, gazing and absorbing just a single subject matter. Do you place a high value on photographs that are sharp from corner to corner? Then experiment with softness and blur. If you often take 5-10 shots of a single thing, take only one frame of each subject. Do you habitually check your LCD screen? Turn it off. Change the process of how you make images. By overcoming a habit of making shots from a standing position at eye level, we can see a greater variety of compositions. Ask yourself: “how would a 3-year-old see that dog, or how could an eagle view that cliff, or how might would a butterfly see that river?” The reason to vary your camera height and position is simple. Shift your perspective to get lower, higher or closer. Go out to photograph no matter what the weather is like, being mindful of the light and weather that is present, not the conditions you expected. With a positive, energized attitude, dress for the conditions outdoors. #2 – Commit & Goĭecide, the night before a shoot, that the next mornings’ sunrise will be unique and beautiful. Colors that are in balance, together, resonate with each other like two tuning forks. Initially, try to avoid photographing “off-balance” colors. Too much saturation detracts from the form, space, and line that are part of a good composition. This takes, time the longer we look, the more textures we can find within a single color.Īvoid the “Max Slider” approach overly-saturated color can become the visual equivalent of screaming. Paying attention to just one color, and those hues that harmonize with it boosts our appreciation of how we see hues. Our color concepts limit how we perceive our visual experience. For example, in some cultures, light blue and dark blue are two different colors and given completely different names. The joy of this color exercise is thinking outside our color boundaries. The colors red and yellow are complimentary to blue and provide a balance. It is a dominant color, and I spent part of the time in the Bahamas, where a billion shades of blue emerge from sky and water.įor this exercise, it’s OK to include contrasting hues that harmonize with your main color. Practice photographing that color, and its complimentary hues, for at least four outings. THEME: Water is a coherent theme for the five images above. LEVEL: Beginner, Intermediate, Enthusiast. Ideas and Exercises to Expand Your Thoughts on Your Photography PHOTO 5: Piling from a dock to waters where a fish school gathers on a cloudy day. PHOTO 4: A Bahamas needlefish in shallows. PHOTO 2: Ancient cathedral nave after a rain.
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