Simplify, simplify, simplify
-- Henry David Thoreau, WaldenKeep things simple. So much easier said than done. The world around us is complex, busy and untidy. Isolating simplicity and a single point of view from the surrounding environment is one of the photographer's primary challenges.
Harbour beacon, Port Credit
(click on image for a larger view)Take this beacon, for example. The Port Credit Harbour, where I often take photo walks, offers lots of interesting detail but the details can be difficult to isolate. When I walked to the end of the pedestrian sidewalk I hadn't succeeded in finding anything "new". Then I looked up at the harbour beacon and saw that it provided strong lines and a hard contrast against the blue sky. Result: one new photograph in the portfolio. There's often a spontaneity in photography that you learn to trust. If an image feels like it might work, try it. The worst it can do is fail. (And if you're shooting digital, you can simply erase the ones that didn't work.)
Late summer grasses
(click on image for a larger view)By contrast, these late summer ornamental grasses were easy to spot. The backlighting made them stand out vividly from the background, isolating the graceful sway and the bright seed tips. My job was to frame the scene as pleasingly as possible and expose the image so that the grasses dominated.
The good news is that simplicity, in photography, can be learned. The bad news is that this doesn't necessarily carry over into other aspects of your life. Pardon me whilst I go re-read Walden.
(30-Sep-2003, Revised 16-Jun-2004)
www.NorthernJourney.com -- gene@wilburn.ca