Photo Challenge – Page 88

Sunlight

The new January Squares challenge, hosted as ever by Becky, the Queen of Squares, is all about ____light. That’s words ending in light. In this often dull month light of any kind is what we all need to lift our spirits as we wait impatiently for spring to begin.

Sunlight through water

We can’t have too much sunlight during January, so here is one more, this time highlighting waterlilies in a pond and their reflections.

sunlight (noun) = light from the sun.
highlight (verb) = draw special attention to.

January Squares | Day Twenty-Eight

Moonlight

Moonlight At Twilight

This lovely moonlit scene was captured during the ‘blue hour‘ in the pretty marina at Comox on the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia where we holidayed back in August 2005.

moonlight (noun) = light from the moon

January Squares | Day Twenty-Seven

Seeing Red

the National Museum of Australia, Canberra

This photo was taken of my son and eldest granddaughter just over five years ago when I visited her home town of Canberra. We spent the day visiting several of the capital city’s many free museums and galleries of which this was a favourite of mine. I found it particularly amusing that Miki was wearing a T-shirt with the logo “Offspring” on it. And had red hair at the time!

(This could also be a bonus square for Becky – Slatted-light or filtered-light be OK?)

Lens-Artists Photo Challenge #81 | Red

Lightleading-Light

lightleading-light

leading-light (noun) or range-lights are usually navigational lights in a harbour used by vessels to manoeuvre into harbour at night. Or it can refer to the pattern of lights at night on the mast of a vessel to indicate its size or in the case of a tug boat, the number of barges it is towing.

I have gone slightly off-piste here to use a (made-up) word lightleading-lights which in this instance are showing the way through this entrance/exit in the National Museum of Australia, Canberra.

January Squares | Day Twenty-Six

2020 Photo Challenge #4

January’s theme / technique: Composition and Framing

Composition and Framing is dictated by the camera and lens equipment as well as where you can and cannot stand whilst viewing the subject. Challenge yourself by using a prime lens or not using the zoom on your lens so you have to physically move to take the shot. Often the more creative images come about from taking the time to move around a subject. We’ll explore some of these techniques over the coming months, but for now consider these tips:

1. Horizontal vs vertical – which looks better? Why?
2. Missing parts of people or objects irritate the viewer and create an incomplete image. It distracts the eye. So watch the edges of your image.
3. Rule of thirds
4. Look for frames – These come in two types, natural or man-made. Natural would be an opening in trees or a rock formation with a hole in it. Man-made frames are doorways, windows or arches. All of these help contain the subject or scene in a form that is very pleasing to the eye.
5. Watch your background. Make sure that there is nothing there that would detract from your subject. Things like chimneys or lamp-posts growing out of heads and other subjects diverting the eye from the main subject. You want balance by not going in too close but including enough of the environment of the subject or object to contextualise it.

This month's final assignment - Simplify your image. What is it that you want the viewer to focus on?

Trying to include too much in an image often spoils it. An image that is cluttered causes the eye of the viewer to dart around the image trying to make sense of it.

- Less is more as the old saying goes.
- Eliminate anything that would distract the eye or is unnecessary to the memory you are attempting to create.
- Sometimes a photo becomes great because of what we choose to leave out.

Continue reading 2020 Photo Challenge #4