1: Textures
Texture is everywhere yet it's “the very thing that beginning photographers tend to overlook”. Don’t obsess over big spectacular vistas; look close instead. There’s beauty in detail.
Holes in yellow.
Bumps (do your eyes play the same tricks as mine?) in yellow and purple. More on complementary colors below.
“Patterns” might be another word for these things -- that’s the term I used before I took the Textures lesson.Lines affect a viewer’s emotions and reactions in ways I hadn’t considered. Horizontal lines are the norm for many of us (we generally process information from side to side, especially left to right), and often are calming. None of the photos I took featured horizontal lines alone. Maybe their calmness makes it difficult to create interesting compositions.Vertical lines are more exciting. They can suggest strength -- for example trees or towers or waterfalls. Or not, for example a cast iron drainage ditch cover. But even here vertical strikes me as more attention-getting than horizontal.
Lines in a sidewalk may be mundane, but I find them engrossing.
Mix a bunch together -- vertical, horizontal, diagonal -- and the eye will be either totally captivated by the excitement, or confused.Intriguing? ... or over-whelming?
Lines also provide paths for the eye to follow. A line can direct a viewer to an object, in this case a few plants in a concrete ecosystem.The color lesson was more challenging. I skipped the monochromatic section. I couldn’t find suitable subjects, but maybe I just need to be more open-minded. In contrast, complementary colors quickly drew me in. These are positioned opposite each other on the color wheel: red and green, yellow and purple, blue and orange. In combination they’re powerful. I was surprised to find complementary pairs, and in interesting situations.
Blue Orange 1
Blue Orange 2
Red Green 1
Red Green 2
In Red Green 2, I captured both complementary colors and a warm accent in a cool background -- “one of the best color interactions”. Cool green leaves fill the photo but the hot red flower grabs the eye. It’s irresistible.7: FramesI found many frames to include within the overall frame of a photo. A second frame is a bit unexpected, and can “add a new dimension” or “create a story”.
Entrance and ...
... Exit, with frames and lines to direct the eye.
As always, I became absorbed in abstract compositions of shapes, colors, shadows and light. They fascinate me for reasons I don’t understand. But maybe after I read Book 2 ...Vertical line and frame -- power and story.