Challenge Brief:
The Rule of Thirds
Submit three photographs of the same subject demonstrating the rule of thirds. You can either take three photos, cropping your image differently, or take one picture and crop it three different ways.
(if you would like an example of what I mean then click here)
"An Asian Cowboy and A Little Helper"
I did two entires this week. I took these at the Iowa State Fair this summer, but haven't gotten to editing all of the photos yet. I sort of fell in love with both subjects: The Asian Cowboy? in Iowa? just thought he was interestingly out of place, yet so comfortable in his cowboy hat and on his red bench at the state fair. Then I found this little guy "helping" his dad in one of the animal barns….well look at him and his huge broom….he is just adorable…I couldn't resist. So there you have it. as to the technical part of this challenge…well…I never really think about the rule of thirds….like ever really. I think I might have it imbedded in my gut someplace because I almost always instinctually follow it without being conscious that I am. This is probably the one and only thing about photography and art in general that I pretty much just came by naturally and didn't really have to be taught or work at much. My eye somehow knows what looks best and what to do to achieve it and I just simply let it. But that certainly doesn't mean that I get it right every time, though I really strive to. So this challenge kind of made it a conscious thing for me and a good exercise. ;-)
*To see the rest of the entries from this week or even to enter yourself click the link below*
Posts
Hi Erin! So glad to see you in on this week's challenge!
ReplyDeleteWhen I first looked at both sets I felt like these pictures are lacking a certain sense of charm that is usually in your photos. Lately your portraits of people have been taken in a very non threatening confrontational way. Your portraits lately seem to contain a sense of an interaction between your subject and you. Even with the photo of Jamye where he's looking away, I can tell that there's still an interaction there. These images suggest a sense of timidity that I have not seen in your other photos. I find this very interesting since it is evident that these were strangers, and most of your other portraits are of people you know and love. This is by no means a criticism, only an observation.
My favorite image in the first set is the first one. I love that we can see the red bench this man is sitting on, but I'm left wanting more details...I wish we could see more of his face. Those glasses have so much character! In the second image of your cowboy, I think there's not enough information to make this picture compelling to look at. Because it's a side profile it's a less interesting portrait.
On to the second set.
What a wonderful thing to stumble upon! This little boy with a HUGE broom. For some reason I feel like the last image is the strongest composition.I like the use of negative space on the right hand side, it makes the boy seem even smaller against the back drop of all the pens.
I'm glad you went camera happy this summer! You've come up with some great work!
diana
I love the description you have of the photos, they are definitely interesting characters to take pictures of. I love the little boy with the huge broom, that's awesome, the last photo in that set I think is my favorite. It brings out the tininess of the boy and still makes the broom look gargantuan. Also, I like the detail and character you can see in the second picture of your first set.
ReplyDeleteI love the last photo!!! the little boy with the oversized broom is a great subject, but then he is also wearing this bright red shirt that seems to stand out even more because of the somewhat drab surroundings. I like the panoramic view of this one, as well- that you can see more of the lines created by the animal pens just adds to the feeling of this boy being really small comparatively.
ReplyDeleteOf the first set, I like the first one the best- the lines of the bench he is sitting on really adds some good movement to the photo. And color.
The middle one is intriguing cuz you can see more detail of the cowboy, but he seems a little too centered.
I love seeing your Iowa/midwest pictures- there's really something nostalgic to them- like it's something you want to cherish as much as possible. Thanks for sharing that!
Em
Diana: about the "charm"...
ReplyDeleteYou are right and it was keen of you to notice that there is a difference with these portraits than with some of my others.....
I did not know these people and I took both of these sets "paparazzi" style while the subjects did not know I was shooting them. So there is no interaction between us at all. Also in the one of the guy on the bench I was shooting those while stationary. I was also sitting on a red bench ;) and so I wasn't moving about and getting the best shots of him per say.
Just thought this was interesting of you to notice and thought I would give you some insight as to why they might be different. :)