Week 1--Composition

In photography, there are certain things that every photographer knows, it is pounded into us through classes, sealed tight through experience, and then tested and proved through mistakes. It forms for us a schema, a cluster of knowledge, things that are "second nature".

Within that schema, we have a script. There are rules that need to be followed (and at times broken!) and scripts that need to be run in order to form an interesting photograph. I hope to explore some scripts and schemata dealing with landscape photography!

The first thing I learned as a photographer was the importance of a well crafted photograph. What makes a good photograph is not just how things are situated in reality (even though sometimes that happens) but how things are situated in a photograph. I looked up on some tips and rules for the composition of a good landscape photograph (http://digital-photography-school.com/4-rules-of-composition-for-landscape-photography and http://www.outdoorphotographer.com/how-to/tip-of-the-week/let-it-evolve.html#.VgeCj7TFvVo )
and came up with these 5 rules:

1. Use lines, whether natural or created. Lines draw the eyes to a subject in the photo, or just around the photo itself.

2. Find shapes! Common shapes in a picture make it interesting and visually appealing.

3. The Rule of Thirds. The Rule of Thirds is placing a subject away from the middle of the photo, either in the upper or lower third or right and left third.

4. Frame it! Finding natural framing can be difficult but it creates an interesting picture.

5. Find the real image. A broader photo maybe nice, but there could be could a really interesting aspect to that photo. The real composition could be found in cropping.

This was pretty difficult. I never really shoot images with this much room. Out of the 50 or so images I took, these are the best I could do.

Here are 5 (well, technically 6) photographs demonstrating these five rules! What do you think?

Lines:

Shapes:

Rule of Thirds:

Frame it!

The Real Image:

Broad:

The Real Image:

Composition in a landscape format doesn't always have to be "what you see it what you get". Sometimes that best part of a landscape goes by unnoticed. It was great to get out and shoot!