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Landscape

Rule of Thirds Used in a Landscape
Photo Commentary #26: Rule of Thirds 1024 606 varunvisuals

Photo Commentary #26: Rule of Thirds
Rule of Thirds Used in a Landscape

In this image, the Rule of Thirds is applied two times in two different ways – the waterfall is centered on an intersection point but the mountain is composed along one of the guidelines in the imaginary grid.

In one of my previous posts, I quickly mentioned a concept called the Rule of Thirds. The Rule of Thirds is a guideline that landscape photographers often utlizie when determining the composition of their photo. So how is this done?

Well imagine there is a 3×3 grid placed on top of the photo or scene you are trying to capture/edit (hence the name) – you may have seen this before, probably as one of the settiings in your phone’s camera. The idea is that you want to place your main subject at any of the 4 intersection points, or along one of the guidelines. Reason being that viewers’ eyes tend to naturally gravitate towards those area of an image, video, artwork, etc. Therefore, it makes more sense to place the subect where the audience will naturally look first.

This is similar to the idea behind leading lines – except rather than using a photo’s element to guide the viewers’ eyes, you are using natural human behavior to your advantage. However, both are pertinent to audience perception and attention.

In this beautiful photo taken by Ray Bilcliff, the waterfall sits near one of the intersection points of the imaginary grid – the bottom right intersection point in particular. To add to this, there is an obvious contrast between the warm hues of the sky and landscape compared to the cool white of the water (which is also another example of long exposure photography being utilized to capture waterscapes). The mountain on the other hand, sits on not an intersection point, but a guideline – the first vertical line from the left. In both cases, the subject(s) of the photo are composed in a way that the viewer has to search less and well…admire more. No wonder this photo is so visually appealing 

Also, check out Ray’s websiite and instagram to see more stunning waterscapes! He is a retired scuba and karate instructor, how cool is that!

Photographer: Ray Bilcliff
https://www.instagram.com/raybilcliff/
https://www.raybilcliff.com/

Photo Commentary #23: Manipulating the Environment to Your Favor 150 150 varunvisuals

Photo Commentary #23: Manipulating the Environment to Your Favor
This photo is a beautiful illustration of a reflection comprising a large part of the subject itself, rather than merely acting as a detail or separate element in the scene. This is largely in part due to the geometrical continuity between the bridge and its reflection, thus creating a full circular illusion despite the bridge only being a semi-circular structure.
This photo is a beautiful illustration of a reflection comprising a large part of the subject itself, rather than merely acting as a detail or separate element in the scene. This is largely in part due to the geometrical continuity between the bridge and its reflection, thus creating a full circular illusion despite the bridge only being a semi-circular structure.

In an earlier post, I had briefly touched on the significance of waterscapes and their ability to add contrast, color, and essentially, almost double of whatever they may be reflecting in the photo – if there is one photo that best exemplifies this fact, I would say this shot by Martin Damboldt is definitely in the running.  

In most instances, the reflective qualities of surfaces, whether it is water, metal, or something else, are used to accentuate, compliment, or build on the subject of the image. However, there are a few photos where the reflection is not just a mere accessory to the subject, but it is the subject itself (or at least part of it).  

In this visual, the reflection is quite literally half the subject, and without it, the image would definitely be incomplete. The calm water provides an excellent surface to reflect the other “half” of the bridge, thus presenting this mesmerizing illusion.   In the grander scheme of things, this image not only speaks to the significance of reflections, but the artistic ability to manipulate the surroundings in which the artist may find him or herself. In other words, to not only see what IS there, but also what ISN’T. Identifying the delineation between what is and what isn’t allows the photographer to exploit each category to his or her benefit. If you know what is there, you can make it go away, and if you know what isn’t, you can make it appear. In this case, Martin saw the half of the bridge that wasn’t there, and used his surroundings to negate the fact via the utilization of reflections.  

Photographer: Martin Damboldt
https://www.instagram.com/mdamboldt/
https://damboldt-photographie.com/
https://500px.com/mdx014

The Artist’s Spotlight #1: Benjamin Sutter 150 150 varunvisuals

The Artist’s Spotlight #1: Benjamin Sutter
Capturing the Northern Lights via Astrophotography This landscape testifies towards Benjamin’s skill in capturing dynamic scenes such as the Northern Lights, while also adhering to the basic principles of astrophotography. 

 
 
 
 
There are a select few photographers I have discovered that utilize a style or aesthetic to produce not just a single image, but a whole portfolio that I instantly fall in love with – Benjamin Suter is one such individual.
 
 
Gloomy Waterscape While many photos have been bright and full of colors, Benjamin is just as capable of producing moody, thought-provoking, high-contrast images.
 
 
 
 
Quite frankly, I don’t think posting one single image does the artist any justice, hence I have decided to use several photos that I think best encompass his style of capturing images with a myriad of vibrant colors, perfectly balanced with a landscape or …urban-based subject. This is something I am trying to master myself.
 
 
River Winding Through Canyon at Sunset This image stands out to me because of its unique take on depth of field – rather than using a firm and distinct foreground, middle ground, and background (one could definitely argue this point), Ben quite literally uses the river to help the viewer’s focus flow through the image. This creates a smoother transition, which is suitable for such a serene scene.
 
 
 
 
As we have all heard the phrase, a picture is worth a thousand words. Explaining everything I love about these images would simply take countless hours and pages, as they each are unique in not just what, but how, subject matter, technique, color, and elements of design are all interconnected with each other. I simply would not be able to pick them all out! 😂
 
 
Vantage View of a Colorful City at Night Almost a full 180 from the second photo, this urban scene is nothing short of a vibrant display of countless colors harmonizing with each other in a gradient like fashion. Notice the overall transition from orange in the lower left corner to light blue in the upper right corner.
 
 
 
 
With that being said, I will leave it up to you to interpret these images as to how you wish – while you should do this with ANY artistic work or photo, I want to give you more freedom this time to do so without any of my say or influence.
 
 
Star Trails Over an Urban Scene From a Vantage Point The last photo almost appears to combine the elements of the last two pictures. Despite being an urban scene, Ben utilizes the same depth of field approach characterized by gradual changes rather than distinct ones. Secondly, the more obvious fact, is that the image is once again a vantage view of the city, although the orange and blue hues are scattered rather than localized into a gradient pattern. Of course, the final touch is the star trail in the sky, likely done with masking (and of course, astrophotography).
 
 
 
 
Tell me which photos you love or what you like about each of them. Perhaps you may find something you are not a fan of – that is okay as well. Also, please do not be surprised if you see me posting more of his work in the future – I simply can’t get enough of it! 😊
 
Photographer: Benjamin Suter
 
One quick side note: if you haven’t already, I encourage you to join my group, “The Visionaries”. In it, I hold discussions about photos and techniques, except it won’t be so “one-sided”, like it is here on my regular Facebook page.
 
In the group, you can interact with fellow Visionaries and enjoy a more conversational atmosphere regarding photography and videography. I also periodically post “assignments” to spur on more discussion and participation. You will be able to post pictures yourself while providing your own commentaries (similar to how I do here) and simultaneously interact with other fellow photography lovers. The end goal is to have fun and appreciate the nature of such a beautiful visual art. Below I have attached a link to where you can sign up to join the group – hope to see you there!
 
Photo Commentary #22: Minimalist Landscapes 150 150 varunvisuals

Photo Commentary #22: Minimalist Landscapes
This photo taken by Quang Nguyen Vinh serves as a perfect example of a minimalist-like style of photography - in this case, the style was used with a landscape as the subject matter. However, minimalism can be seen across all genres of photography (and other mediums) like urbanscapes, architecture, street photography, and even portraits.
This photo taken by Quang Nguyen Vinh serves as a perfect example of a minimalist-like style of photography – in this case, the style was used with a landscape as the subject matter. However, minimalism can be seen across all genres of photography (and other mediums) like urbanscapes, architecture, street photography, and even portraits.
During these times of chaos, it is nice to take a deep breath and appreciate the more simpler things in life – there are few better examples than this serene landscape shot by Quang Nguyen Vinh.
 
While the image invokes a peaceful mood through its minimilastic presence, it still presents many concepts that I have spoken about earlier.
 
For instance, depth of field is exemplified by the algae covered rocks foreground, waterscape in the middle, and sky in the background.
 
Furthermore, it is possible that two photos were stitched together with masking, one of a long exposure of the waterscape, and another regular exposure of the sky.
 
The reason I say it is “possible” is because it is just as likely that one could find an in-land body of water with minimal ripples or waves. In which case, a “super long exposure” wouldn’t be required. Instead, a photographer could settle for only a 1-2 second shutter speed (thereby dealing with SOME unintentional blur in the rest of the photo – in this case it would be the clouds) to “calm the water” only as required. This is instead of needing to use a 30 second shutter speed to make a rough ocean look just as smooth. Great shot Quang!
 
Stay healthy everyone!
 
Photographer: Quang Nguyen Vinh
Photo Commentary #20: Depth of Field 150 150 varunvisuals

Photo Commentary #20: Depth of Field
This gorgeous landscape serves as a perfect example of how depth of field can create such a captivating scene of...well...fields ;)
This gorgeous landscape serves as a perfect example of how depth of field can create such a captivating scene of…well…fields 😉
This beautiful photo was captured by Christian Heitz. Frankly, I think over-analyzing it would be a crime. However, fortunately for us, not much needs to be said (which is completely different than saying not much went on to capture the photo). In fact, the aesthetic of the photo can be attributed with only three words: depth of field.
 
In nearly all my posts, photos have a foreground, middle ground, and background. Of course, the subject matter that occupies each depth will vary from picture to picture, as well as the distance between each level of depth. In this case, the foreground is the field, middle ground is the rolling hills, and background is the peaks and sky.
 
Verbalizing the depth of field in the image brings up another point: the variations in terrain and color. The diverse geographical features, alternating colors (orange-green-orange), and matching color palette (orange sunset and orange fields), wrap the photo up perfectly.
 
If you remember, the photo from two posts ago demonstrated the same idea but in an urbanscape (rather than landscape) – an orange sunset complimented with orange street lights. This is a perfect example of photography techniques being applicable across a multitude of subject matters.
 
Any guesses as to where this was taken? 🙂
 
Photographer: Christian Heitz

Masking in Landscape Photography
Photo Commentary #13: Masking 1024 683 varunvisuals

Photo Commentary #13: Masking
Masking in Landscape Photography
Masking is a highly effective tool in photography, especially in the world of landscapes. This image shot by Johannes Plenio exemplifies a moment where masking can be used to capture the best of two worlds.

At the end of my last post, I asked you to think about how photographers are able to retain areas of sharpness in a long exposure photo – today I will be discussing the answer.

Rather than starting with the solution, I figure it would be more interesting to work towards it. Let’s start with what we know. Imagine you are at the location of where this beautiful photo was taken. Your end goal is to arrive at the same photo. Based on the information I gave in the last post, you are successfully able to capture the rolling clouds in the sky. However, the tree on the right was also swaying in the wind so it is blurry. This applies to the grass as well.

You try to take another picture but with a faster shutter speed. Now the grass and trees are sharp but so are the clouds – once again, not what we want.

So now you have 2 pictures framed with the exact same composition (thanks to your trusty tripod), but neither has both the elements you want – sharp foreground and blurry sky. If only you could take the best parts of each photo and combine them into one…hmm.

Welcome to the process of masking. Masking is one of the most widely used processes in photography. Generally speaking, masking simply refers to covering up a certain portion of a photo to which you do (or do not) want certain characteristics to either be captured and/or edited. In this particular instance, you could utilize both images and via editing software, cover up the sharp clouds in one image and the blurry grass/trees in the other.

Of course, this is not the only time masking can be used!

So, what are your thoughts on masking?

Photographer: Johannes Plenio

http://www.coolfreepix.com/
https://www.instagram.com/jplenio/
https://unsplash.com/@jplenio
https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1104990498

Blurred Waterfalls
Photo Commentary #12: Long-Exposure Photography 1024 618 varunvisuals

Photo Commentary #12: Long-Exposure Photography
Taken by photographer Johannes Plenio, this image illustrates the utilization of long exposure photography to capture "blurred" trails of water that we typically see in waterfalls
Taken by photographer Johannes Plenio, this image illustrates the utilization of long exposure photography to capture “blurred” trails of water that we typically see in waterfalls

During my last post, I began to discuss the fantasy-like appearance of waterfalls in certain visuals. This image demonstrates a similar appearance.

So how are these shots achieved? Long-exposure photography. Exposure is a term that refers to the amount of light reaching a camera’s sensor. As you had learned in my astrophotography post, this can be adjusted through changes in ISO, aperture, and shutter speed. “Long” simply acknowledges the extended duration with which light reaches the sensor.

With these facts in mind, it becomes easy to comprehend how photographers can create such an image without having to travel to Narnia. By either reducing the shutter speed or widening the aperture of the lens, not only is more light able to reach the sensor, but the more time movement can be detected.

Each time light bounces off the subject and into the lens, the subject will have moved ever so slightly. This process repeats itself to the point where we have given it a casual term – blur. When you take a photo of your son at a track meet, it’s easy to see blurring in the image because of the quick movement. While it’s not ideal in that scenario, it can be utilized properly in others, such as when shooting waterfalls.

Light strikes each drop of water as it falls, and what you end up seeing is quite literally “blurred water”. However one thing that must be noted is the ISO – if you would like a longer exposure or more “blurring”, the ISO must be reduced. Otherwise, the image could be “blown out” – a way of describing a situation when TOO MUCH light enters the lens. The result is super bright, almost white like, areas in the photo with minimal details visible. The bright portions of a photo (also known as “highlights”) are most susceptible to this effect.

One thing is certain – it’s hard to explain photo flaws when looking at an image as perfect as this! Love the work Johannes!

Oh and here’s something to think about: if the water is blurry in this photo, why are the background elements in the photos (like the trees and grass) sharp? Surely they must have been moving a little bit so why aren’t they blurry as well? More on this in the next post 

Photographer: Johannes Plenio

http://www.coolfreepix.com/
https://www.instagram.com/jplenio/
https://unsplash.com/@jplenio
https://m.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1104990498

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