DC, Composition, and Photography Contemplations
It has been a very busy last few months for this hobby photographer. I am still battling backlog and anticipate the problem getting worse before the month ends. July will need to be devoted to clearing out that mess so I have a completely clean slate come August (and our trip to Rio). In the meantime, to keep this place from getting too dusty, I figured it would be a good time to talk about my last big trip: Washington, DC.
When I was initially in town, I didn't think much of the photos I was taking. In fact, I didn't feel super enthusiastic about them. When I look back, though, I found I was experimenting with composition more than I ever had on vacation. I have plenty of ideas as to why that happened. The one I support the most is I was alone, which gave me the flexibility and space to wait for shots or find slightly more tucked away areas to get some pictures.
One thing I found myself doing on accident is playing with negative space, as you can sort of see in this shoot. For me, it was less about negative space and more about riffing on the rule of thirds. It was only after I saw some negative space photos on Adorama's Facebook page that I started to learn about negative space and realize that this photo of the moon flirts with negative space. Discovering the concept of negative space has actually changed some of my preplanning for Rio. I'm now brainstorming shots that use negative space. One that I know isn't super original (but I'm proud of thinking up on my own) is for the canoe slalom events, capturing a participant waiting to go on course and laying out the course as the eye travels from the left side of the image to the right. Of course, that involves actually getting into the canoe slalom event would help, and so far the odds are not looking good for me. That's a pity.
Another thing I did by accident was work with silhouettes. Growing up in Florida, I strongly associate silhouettes with sunrises and sunsets. Therefore, I didn't realize I had created this one until well after I'd returned home. When I was visiting the Lincoln Memorial, I was more interested in photographing the tourist behavior than the memorial itself. In this case, I was enamored with this gentleman taking advantage of the height and relative quiet of the area to get some more photographs of Memorial Row. Fun fact: Some people do occasionally wander around the sides and rear of the Lincoln Memorial. That's what I was doing when I came across this.
One thing I do try to consciously do whenever I'm taking photos is fill the frame. This actually has its roots not just in photography. In fifth grade, my teacher had us create pictures for folders we'd use to hold our science lesson assignments. The key to getting a high grade for these designs (because of course they were graded) was to fill the page. The really good designs even got featured in the classroom for the duration of the chapter we were studying. I made it to that Wall of Fame a couple times, and that has contributed to my tendency to fill the frame whenever possible. I enjoy filling the frame with close ups, and in this case I'm lucky my lens extends as far as it does. The DX sensor type also helps.
Another bit that was a little more deliberate was playing with layers. In this particular case, this statue was located right in front of the Arts and Industries west entrance. The building's exterior is a marvel in itself. Since it's being renovated, I wasn't able to go inside. In any case, the statue and entrance design elements formed a nice little stack, so I took advantage of it. While there are differences in focus between the fore, middle and backgrounds, nothing is completely blurred. It's especially helpful for the statue, which on its own isn't that grandiose in scope.
All this composition experimentation happens to coincide with an interesting milestone. I really started to take an interest in photography back in 2000. I was 15 going on 16 during my first DC trip, and that's when I had my first camera that I actively used. Now that I'm 32, I'm at the point where I've been practicing photography for half my life. Thing is, there's still a lot in photography I haven't explored or tried. I have contemplated taking classes or workshops. Online reviews and sneak peeks into workshops have left me skittish due to the ever present notion of elitism I detect.
So what do I do to continue developing as a photographer? The answer I have right now is continue to shoot and get another portfolio together. I made a portfolio four years ago, one that chronicled my work with three different cameras. None of those cameras were DSLRs. I am thinking I'm due for a DSLR-related portfolio, as I've done quite a bit of work since switching over nearly three years ago. Once I have a portfolio together, I'll start looking at possible online courses. Not workshops, though. I'm nowhere near ready for that. I'll also keep this site going, and you may have noticed a couple little tweaks. I now have multiple collections available for viewing, including one for DC. There will be more added, so I encourage you to browse them. I'll provide a few more sneak peeks as well. :-)
