grassandwire

grassandwire, originally uploaded by Bexley98.

I was chatting with uber-underwater photographer John, about the rule of thirds and how, on a lot of my landscapes my horizon sits in the middle of the shot, and should either be a third or two thirds from the bottom of the frame…so you get more sky or more land, depending on what is more dramatic. It’s one of these rules that is can be used to great effect or completely ignored.

I decided that on my weekend trip out and about, I’d focus on two things – firstly looking for landscapes that would help feed my ongoing HDR fetish and secondly, taking pictures that either complied with the RO3rds or challenged it!

So, here’s ‘grass&wire’…I’ve taken a fair few barbed wire shots…probably something Freudian about that…anyway, I noticed that the wire fence could be used to form a meticulous “rule of thirds” grid if I shot it straight on, so I decided to get as low as possible and shoot diagonally at the fence, grabbing a bit of barbed wire and some silhouetted grass stems in the process. I doubt the pic would win any awards, but as a beginner I’m really pleased that I’m slowly starting to form an understanding of what my photographic style will be and interpret these tried and tested concepts into my own language.

Something I’m finding increasingly useful when I’m out with the camera is setting myself tasks. Such as “challenge the rule of thirds” or “depth of field” or a theme like “strength” or “rocks” or whatever…competitions are a great way of getting ideas for challenges, I’ve only ever entered a couple of the competitions but I’ve used dozens of their themes. Living in Scotland with so much landscape, it’s often difficult to give a big beach shot perspective or inject drama into open moorland.

If you look at one of my favorite Scottish flickr photographers, Craig Robertson, you can see how he often uses seemingly insignificant things in very grand locations to capture the mood or feel of the place he’s shooting. His jaw-dropping shot of Nairn beach is one I try and emulate on a fortnightly basis! This shot of Loch Ashie sums up my point entirely. I studied this shot for some time…trying to comprehend Craigs ability that despite being so dwarfed by the majestic surroundings (that have been snapped a million times) he was able to focus on a few boring stalks and then work miracles. Well worth a look.