2020 Photo Challenge #14

April’s theme / technique: Being Creative with Lines

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

Lines are everywhere in our world. Just look around you. Seek them out to add visual impact to your photographs (in fact Becky ran a Square Challenge in October purely on lines – check out some of my entries if you want ideas) There are lines within nature which can be straight or curved and man-made lines are everywhere in buildings and roads and even cars. Even a human arm is a line.

• • choose a subject and then look for lines in the scene that lead the viewer to it
  • find an interesting line then decide what your subject is going to be
  • start making looking for lines a part of every photographic outing and develop an eye for finding and placing lines in your composition.

Lines and perspective – Parallel lines never meet or touch but as they disappear an impression is given that they do. This is what fools the eye and brain into believing that there is distance in the image.  It is best illustrated when using a wide angle lens. Be sure though to include the focal point which is also known as the vanishing point, which is the point where the lines disappear into nothing.

Diminishing Lines – diminishing perspective of scale refers to the appearance of size that our eyes see. Take for example a row of telephone poles disappearing into the distance. Our brain tells us that they all should be the same height. But, because they are all gradually getting smaller the brain says they must be getting further apart. If you use this sense of perspective you will find it extremely effective in giving depth to your images. So when you are trying to achieve this, look for fences, trees, telephone poles, and similar repeated objects to include in your photo which will help create the depth.

Diagonal Lines – lead the eye from one part of an image to another and impart more energy than horizontals. It allows the viewer to scan the picture sweeping naturally through the frame.

Implied Lines – Are where there are no distinct lines but they are clearly part of the composition. Think about a line of people in a queue, a row of flowers, birds on the seashore.

This week's assignment - Look for horizontal lines. In a photograph, horizontal lines in particular need to be completely level across the frame, because your viewer's eye will perceive even a slightly skewed horizontal line as uncomfortable to look at or just incorrect.

I decided to go for several shots of the seascape at Hayle harbour. The horizontals are mostly implied, even the horizon: I saw lines created by the river and the water left behind at low tide; the seaweed; the shoreline; the rocks and the shadows.

I played around with different angles and views and later added some colour filters to the compositions.

And on the way back to the car I noticed the horizontals in this composition of the golf course and St Uny Church in Lelant although the wall is at a slight angle.

Luckily I took these shots shortly before the lockdown in March. I have been looking for man-made horizontals as in a fence or barn, but so far nothing has appeared which is distinctive. I shall keep on looking.

Edit: April 8th – I found a field gate with horizontal bars!

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 May.