Category: Postcards

Images from my travels

Playing with Swirls

I was interested to play with some photo effects after reading a blog post on one of my favourite sites – The World According to Dina – about swirls and twirls.

I don’t have Photoshop, but I do have a version of Photoshop Elements so I thought I’d give it a go. I selected two photos that aren’t the best compositions.

(1) Tulip – I was interested to see how these colours would transform

I followed the video linked to in Dina’s blog, but I made some changes and stopped when I got this result because I rather like it.

Changing the colour hues makes a very different image

(2) Dusk – this was a fairly poor shot of a sunset and I dislike the trees at the bottom of the photo, but thought the streaks might work well.

And this is the result. I kept it very soft and pastel.

While we can’t go out to create new photos, or at least photos of different scenes, then using photo editing software to be creative is one way of enjoying photography at this time.

Thanks Hanne for the idea.

2020 Photo Challenge #17

April’s theme / technique: Being Creative with Lines

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 2019 purely on lines – check out some of my entries for that 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 month's final assignment - Curved lines. Curved lines allow the viewer to explore an entire image, meandering from one part to another. S curves divide an image into equal parts and lead your eye through the image.

Continue reading 2020 Photo Challenge #17

2020 Photo Challenge #16

April’s theme / technique: Being Creative with Lines

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 November purely on lines – check out some of my entries for that 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 – 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 - Converging lines. These convey a sense of depth and distance, try to have something of interest at the point where they appear to meet. Or position them on the diagonal to infer motion.

Continue reading 2020 Photo Challenge #16

2020 Photo Challenge #15

April’s theme / technique: Being Creative with Lines

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 November purely on lines – check out some of my entries if you need 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 vertical lines. Vertical lines convey a sense of power and strength, especially when the subject itself is towering and imposing, such as a very tall tree or building. Watch out for diminishing perspective on very tall buildings.

Continue reading 2020 Photo Challenge #15

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.

Continue reading 2020 Photo Challenge #14