I am always fascinated by the beauty of nature in its most exquisite detail. I’m sure some people would look at my files and think, “Jeez, what a bunch of boring shots of plants!” I like to think that if I focus on presentation, I can redeem the endless green. The “Rule of Thirds” is a helpful tool for adding interest and eye-appeal to the composition of a shot. Tina outlines this concept and poses this week’s Challenge in informative detail. Visit her post HERE to see how it’s done.
I picked up a few additional pointers from Tina’s post that I will keep in mind. “It’s important to compose birds with an area of open space in front, visually implying they could fly away at a given moment.“
“Another approach to composing is a “Z” configuration – structuring your image so that the viewer’s eye is moving from left to right – as most of our viewers typically read.“
“Good composition is like a suspension bridge – each line adds strength and takes none away…Making lines run into each other is not composition. There must be motive for the connection. Get the art of controlling the observer – that is composition.” – Robert Henri
These are interesting concepts to ponder. What makes something pleasing or interesting to your eye? Leading lines, balance and symmetry, color, subject matter…there’s so much to consider in photography. And so much to see that’s pleasing and interesting in this wide world. Happy snapping, photographers!
hu·mor /ˈ(h)yo͞omər/ noun 1. the quality of being amusing or comic.
What makes something humorous or funny? And how would you represent that in a photograph? Is it the unexpectedness of it, the surprise? I think that’s what makes the juxtaposition of objects in an image comical. There’s also the imagining of behavior between subjects in an image.
“Two things are infinite: the universe and human stupidity; and I’m not sure about the universe.” ― Albert Einstein
“As soon as you have made a thought, laugh at it.” ― Lao Tzu
“Lord, what fools these mortals be!” ― William Shakespeare
“You will do foolish things, but do them with enthusiasm.” ― Colette
Our guest host for this week’s challenge is John RH. Please visit HIS POST to help yourself to some humor and to join in the fun.
“Earth teach me stillness, as the grasses are stilled with light…
Earth teach me suffering, as old stones suffer with memory…
Earth teach me caring, as parents who secure their young…
Earth teach me courage, as the tree which stands all alone…
Earth teach me limitation, as the ant which crawls on the ground..
Earth teach me freedom, as the eagle which soars in the sky…
Earth teach me resignation, as the leaves which die in the fall…
Earth teach me regeneration, as the seed which rises in the spring.
Earth teach me to forget myself, as melted snow forgets its life…
Earth teach me to remember kindness, as dry fields weep with rain.”
from the Ute people of North America, in “Singing the Living Tradition”
The international observance of Earth Day is for me the most important holiday on the calendar. I can’t imagine anything more important, or anything that makes as much a difference to everything that lives, as planet Earth. I am still working on how to make this day Holy. I want to marvel at, record, and lovingly share as many memories as I can. I want to be physically active outdoors. I want to help mitigate some of the damage that humans have done. And I want to invite, encourage, and implore everyone to join in the celebration and protection of our lives’ Host. We are all interconnected, living expressions of Earth-ness, alongside everything else on the home crust. What an amazing community to belong to! This year, I’ve added a new page to my blog celebrating Oregon as my home Place. Please take a look! https://scillagrace.com/oregon-outdoors/
“Nature always wears the colors of the spirit.” ― Ralph Waldo Emerson
“I think it pisses God off if you walk by the color purple in a field somewhere and don’t notice it.” ― Alice Walker
“Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night.” ― Rainer Maria Rilke
“Let me, O let me bathe my soul in colours; let me swallow the sunset and drink the rainbow.” ― Khalil Gibran
“Nature in her green, tranquil woods heals and soothes all afflictions.” ― John Muir
Anne Sandler has chosen “Colorful Expressions” for the theme of this week’s photo challenge. Please visit her post HERE to learn how color enhances photographs and see her wonderful examples. As the global community celebrates Earth Day this week, I hope you’ll feel a gratitude and affection for our planet that compels you to protect and defend her with your best efforts.
Sofia, our host for this challenge, writes: “The term bokeh was first used to distinguish normal motion blur from the blur obtained when things are out of focus. It literally means blur in Japanese. The Nikon website, after a more complex and technical explanation reduces it to simply this: ‘bokeh is the pleasing or aesthetic quality of out-of-focus blur in a photograph’.” The picture above is of a very young fern, its leaves all rolled up. The soft focus background draws attention to the inward curl, like tiny arms hugging its own precious new life.
I like how the background blur in this closeup of a dewdrop on some beard lichen reminds me of neuron pathways in the brain. (I do wish the drop were in sharper focus, though.) The bokeh background feels very Zen-like to me. It’s what happens when you are calmly mindful of the thing right in front of you, while the background fades into a peaceful blur. Here’s a gallery of my nature close-ups with bokeh backgrounds:
Please visit Sofia’s post, HERE, for more on this technique and instructions for participating in the challenge.
In my family, we have clusters of birthdays in August and in late March/early April. It provides the opportunity to get several households together at one time for a joint party. I love it when we’re all crowded into the kitchen, cooking together, sipping something, laughing, and singing. We tend to break into song for no particular reason. We also love to dance, and we happen to have a music producer/DJ in the family, so dance parties with a house bass beat add to the celebration. I’ve been taking photos of birthdays for more than 30 years now. The difference is that my kids don’t want to have their faces in these photos anymore. Still, I have enough material to offer a gallery of birthday ambience and celebration. I hope you enjoy it!
Here’s a birthday photo I didn’t take. It’s my third birthday, and I’m at my grandmother’s beach cottage on Lake Michigan. At that age, the most important part of the day was that I got to eat chocolate cake! (Some things haven’t changed much…)
Our host for this photo challenge party is Johnbo. Visit his site HERE.
scillagrace 