“To consult the rules of composition before making a picture is a little like consulting the law of gravitation before going for a walk.” Edward Weston

The Cabot Tower

Fibonacci...the Golden Ratio and... the Rule of Thirds...

As you might have guessed, I've been focusing on the cardinal rule of composition since my last post - the famous - or infamous, depending on which way you look at it - "Rule of Thirds".   

The notion that one should be able to divide a frame into thirds, both vertically and horizontally, and then place a  subject(s) precisely at the point(s) where the lines intersect, naturally, is absurd.  I know this, because I've spent the past eighteen days trying to do it!


The frustration of  trying to squeeze subjects into a finite set of rules has taught me that there is no magic bullet, when it comes to composition. Yes, there are rules of thumb that one should keep in mind, but training your eye to see through the lens differently, is something that can only come with practice.


Hmmmm....do I see a recurring theme here?  As the American photographer Jim Richardson once said "If you want to be a better photographer, stand in front of more interesting stuff" .  In other words, forget the rules Photoist - just get out there and keep taking pictures!



For seventeen of the last eighteen days, I have been focusing on the Cabot Tower, with disappointing results (see picture above).  This morning, a group of birdwatchers arrived while I was shooting, and I turned my attention to them for a while instead.  I found them to be a  much more interesting subject. Hopefully you will too.  

The irony of course, is that the Cabot Tower became more interesting too, with the birders in the foreground!

Double click on any of the pictures to enlarge.

 

"Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst"

Those were the words of the famous French master Henri Cartier-Bresson.  I read them somewhere today and then considered how many pictures I’d taken over the last year. Were they enough to get me over the proverbial 10k hump? Sadly, I concluded, they were not.  In fact, I’ve barely taken a thousand snaps in the last 18 months.  Could this be the reason so many of my photos are over or under exposed, and why my sense of composition is still so far off? If quantity is the key, then I’m doomed!

As I sit here now and ponder my photographic future, it occurs to me that becoming a “photographer”, amateur or otherwise, like most things in life, will take time and dedication. I need to develop a relationship with my camera and learn its nuances.  In short, I need to get out there and start using it!


So, here I am, still near the beginning of the learning curve and starting my countdown to 10,001.  To paraphrase the great Chinese philosopher Lao-Tzu, the journey of ten thousand photos begins with a single click!





Taken in a cafe in Quebec City - last summer.