2020 Photo Challenge #5

February’s theme / technique: Being Creative with Patterns

If you want to see what this month’s assignments are in advance then please click here. All the assignments are available from the menu on the left under the 2020 Photo Challenge / Assignments.

The six visual keys to a great photograph are:

• • Patterns
  • Texture
  • Lines
  • Light
  • Depth of field
  • Space

This month we are going to look at Patterns. Patterns can be found everywhere, in nature or man-made constructions. For a photographer, using patterns is key to a good composition.

They are made up of repeated objects, geometric shapes or abstract patterns, or colours and they may be random or ordered. Visual patterns in nature are often loose and organic – think of spirals, waves, rock formations, sand.

• • Try using patterns as the main subject of your photo with the focal point on the patterns removing the context.
  • Or you can use the pattern as a backdrop to something else.
  • Try abstract imagery using close-up photography – peeling paint, rust stains for example
  • Break the pattern, for instance position one red apple in the midst of a pile of green ones. And of course remembering the rule of thirds, any break should be on an intersection.
  • Create your own patterns.
  • Combine patterns. Contrasting or complementary patterns work well.

This week's assignment – look for various types of patterns - squares, circles, triangles and so on.

When you find an interesting example take several shots, shifting your camera position slightly between each one. Examine your pictures carefully to see which one produces the best result. It may not be the one you expected.

Fruit or vegetables on a market stall can create interesting patterns and I particularly liked the contrasting colours here of the red and green apples, particularly as they change colour along a diagonal line. It is easy to miss this kind of slight change which I think looks pleasing to the eye.

Green and Red

Citrus fruit

Apples

Now I have to ask myself, is it the colours that make these images appealing, or the rounded shapes or the random patterns? Or possibly a combination of all three.

In contrast this image below using circles in various sizes (imitation ammonites) as paving stones certainly relies on the pattern for effect.

If you would like to join in with the 2020 photo challenge then please take a look at my 2020 Photo Challenge page. No complicated rules, just a camera required 🙂

• • Create your own post with some information about how you composed the shot.
  • Include a link to this page in your post so others can find it too
  • Add the tag #2020PhotoChallenge so everyone can find your entry easily in the WP Reader
  • Get your post(s) in by the end of the month, as the new theme comes out on the first Sunday in March.

And here are some more photo essays from last month’s theme about composition: It has been interesting reading how you have composed your shots.

• • Cathy from ~wander.essence~ talks us through the photo techniques she used where her subject is a pair of statues: Maitreya, the smiling Buddha, and Guanyin situated in an exceptionally challenging location.
  • susurrus (Susan Rushton) has a delightful photo essay about roses.
  • Kaz also focuses on flowers to explain how to use the rule of thirds in your composition.
  • And Pauline has the most amazing photo of Magpies for her take on ‘Less is more’
  • Hannah of Zebra’s Child has a closer look at a bench and describes how she framed her shot. 

I thank everyone who has taken the time to join January’s topic. That was just the warm up.