Month: Mar 2020

2020 Photo Challenge #13

March’s theme / technique: Being Creative with texture

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 textures. While the structure of an object is its form, the material from which it is made constitutes its texture. Is it hard or soft, smooth or rough?  You are aiming at translating texture visually, bringing life and energy to a photo through shape, tone and colour. Study the texture and forget about the object. Texture becomes the subject here.

    • Try contrasting rough against smooth
    • Shoot at different times of the day. Does it change the effect?
    • Capture details – like the fibres in a rope or a carpet.
    • Try altering the angle of light to avoid flat and dull images. You might be able to do this with your editing software too.
    • Use different angles to discover how much texture appears.
This month's final assignment - Get close to your subject and capture just the texture itself, without the context. Then Zoom out so that you capture both the context of the texture as well as the texture itself.

Continue reading 2020 Photo Challenge #13

The Birks of Aberfeldy

Popularised in a song by Robert Burns, the fine circular walk up the steep gorge of the Moness burn reveals several waterfalls.

Begin along the obvious trail from the car park, bearing left to cross the large bridge over the foaming Moness burn.

This lower part of the Birks is in fact mostly a beech wood. The walk continues along the path beside the attractive burn with several small waterfalls.

“Now Simmer blinks on flowery braes,
And o’er the crystal streamlets plays;
Come let us spend the lightsome days,
In the birks of Aberfeldy.”

The Birks (Scots for birch trees) still cloak the steep slopes of the Moness gorge, along with oak, ash, elm and willow.

“The braes ascend like lofty wa’s,
The foaming stream deep-roarin’ fa’s
O’erhung wi’ fragrant spreading shaws
The birks of Aberfeldy”

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #89 | River

2020 Photo Challenge #12

March’s theme / technique: Being Creative with texture

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 textures. While the structure of an object is its form, the material from which it is made constitutes its texture. Is it hard or soft, smooth or rough?  You are aiming at translating texture visually, bringing life and energy to a photo through shape, tone and colour. Study the texture and forget about the object. Texture becomes the subject here.

    • Try contrasting rough against smooth
    • Shoot at different times of the day. Does it change the effect?
    • Capture details – like the fibres in a rope or a carpet.
    • Try altering the angle of light to avoid flat and dull images. You might be able to do this with your editing software too.
    • Use different angles to discover how much texture appears.
This week's assignment - Try to mix your texture with other colours and patterns

Continue reading 2020 Photo Challenge #12

2020 Photo Challenge #11

March’s theme / technique: Being Creative with texture

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 textures. While the structure of an object is its form, the material from which it is made constitutes its texture. Is it hard or soft, smooth or rough?  You are aiming at translating texture visually, bringing life and energy to a photo through shape, tone and colour. Study the texture and forget about the object. Texture becomes the subject here.

    • Try contrasting rough against smooth
    • Shoot at different times of the day. Does it change the effect?
    • Capture details – like the fibres in a rope or a carpet.
    • Try altering the angle of light to avoid flat and dull images. You might be able to do this with your editing software too.
    • Use different angles to discover how much texture appears.
This week's assignment - Play with angles. This might mean getting down on your stomach to shoot upwards. Or zoom in to focus on the texture and not the subject itself.

Continue reading 2020 Photo Challenge #11

On Reflection

Whilst looking through some older posts I came across one about Painshill Park in Surrey which I wrote about over 4 years ago. Time flies…

The Chinese Bridge with just a small reflection in the somewhat weed-ridden river

The five arched bridge

Lady in Pink

The ruined abbey

The vineyard

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #87 | Reflections