Project 52 - Week 18: Diagonal Lines

My task this week, was to go through some of my work over this last year and examine the lines in my photographs, specifically looking for diagonal lines.

Most people look at photos from left to right and top to bottom. A line that runs from top left to bottom right, will go with the natural flow of the eye, and will pull the eye to whatever is at the end of that line.  This, according to our author, David Duchemin, has the potential to give our image the most energy.

I found it interesting to go back through my images and see how close I had come to creating this type of diagonal line situation.  The first image, below, is one I took less than two weeks ago.

Two hens, one closer and the other further away, one with her nose buried in the new spring grass looking for bugs, and the other heading to her own patch of grass.  I do remember moving myself to be in a diagonal line with these hens, and while the line is not deep (not like train tracks running off in the distance, or a stream running through the woods), the second (blurry) hen actually makes this photo what it is.  Without her, and without the line, the first hen would just be a bird with her head in the grass, too close to the end of my frame.

This next photo (also chicken oriented) was taken at a local farm that runs a community supported agriculture program.  I recently featured one of these photos on my Facebook page, but this one is a more close up approach to the hen houses.

There are a number of lines here, but the predominant one is the diagonal line made by the hen houses.  Again, this was based on where I positioned myself when I took the photo and how I turned my camera.  Even the shadows from the  roof line reinforce the diagonal line of the hen houses.

Finally, there is the image below, which is from a past client photo session.  This is Woody, a distinguished beagle, who mostly wanted to keep his nose to the ground, but graced me with his presence on this large rock for a few moments.

This image, I believe, is closest to what the author of "The Visual Toolbox" is describing in terms of using diagonal lines.  Woody appears at the bottom right of the image, and the diagonal line of the background wooded area starts just shy of the left upper quadrant of the frame.  Do you think this image has energy?

I will definitely be paying close attention to using more diagonal lines in my photography work.  This was an interesting and introspective week for me.  Now to see what others have done with respect to diagonals and lines, start with  Kelly Middlebrooks of Little White Dog Pet Photography in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, then work your way through the blog circle until you find yourself back here again.  Enjoy and have a great weekend!