i got the shot photography
  • HOME
  • ABOUT
  • PETS
  • PEOPLE
  • SESSION INFORMATION
  • PRODUCTS
    • Christmas Greetings
  • GIVING BACK
  • CONTACT INFORMATION
  • BLOG
Elaine Mueller Tweedy
           (570) 575-1705

Week 22 - Project 52: Horizons

6/3/2016

3 Comments

 
The best sentence our author gave us  in this chapter on horizons is:  "A boring photograph starts long before we get to 'Where do I put my horizon?' " This actually made me laugh.

Horizons usually incorporate a sky or water.  When a sky or water is not present, there may be no horizon in a photo at all.  If a sky is uninteresting, and you haven't spent the money to buy a "paint in the clouds and sky" overlay package, you may want to skip it as a main feature in your image.

Even when a sky or water (or clean horizon break) is not a part of your photo, you still have a "line" in the photo that you could consider a horizon.  I always like my lines to be straight, but that's a matter of preference, and, yes, after a glass of wine, I can be prompted to once-in-a-while have my lines at an angle.  But that's a WHOLE other blog post.

The best place for your horizon is where it will have the most impact.  If the sky is a Renoir, you might want to devote more space to it.  If whatever is in your foreground sets an "oh my" standard, that may take precedence.  Different angles and/or different lenses may also help the cause.

This week was tricky for me because, Dear Mr. Duchemin, as much as I have prayed and given up goodies for lent, and lit candles, I have still not realized my dream of living by the ocean.  It's about, oh, FIVE hours away in heavy traffic.  So I was not going to be able to hone my skills with a "clean" horizon.  I live amongst the trees.  Think wood nymphs and faeries.  I sure do.  It's all green here, and lately looks more like a rain forest than anything.

I have to get in my car and drive about 3 miles to find a good horizon.  I usually think of doing this ONLY when the sky is a blank slate of gray. With that in mind, here is what I came up with for this week's challenging theme. A comparison.  Starting with this first photo of Moe that does not use my line or Moe's placement, or even my camera angle to an advantage.
Picture
While I did not use a lot of foreground in this photo (believe me it looks the same....green....long.....grass), the high grass is still overpowering.  My lines aren't matching in terms of the bottom of Moe's chair and the end of the line of grass behind him (before the trees), and it would be better if you could see more of the legs of the chair.  Moe's expression is saying "I seriously CANNOT FIT on this chair and I have no idea what you were thinking putting me on it, human" and he is in the middle of the photo. Those trees do not look very interesting at this angle either.  I am basically photographing this image straight on, even with Moe in my lens angle.

If we think of the trees as the sky, I didn't give you a very good look at them, did I?

How about this image?
Picture
 I am going to bet that most of you will like this image WAY BETTER than the first one.  Let's see what I did differently.

First, we do have some great things going for us in this scene to begin with.  There is, of course, Moe.  And the white chair. I never moved the chair, Moe just changed his angle a little and his expression is more relaxed.  And I changed my angle too.  I got down on the ground and shot upward. I stayed in the exact same spot where I shot the first image, just changed my angle (remember? we learned about that several blogs ago).  My chair line is straight, and my back line is straight, and you are no longer overpowered by the grass-that-must-be-mowed-every-two-days.  Moe is also placed off center. You are seeing more of the trees, which at this time of day, had  great golden sun flecks shining through them.

Here is one more take on this same image, only with a few tonal changes and a bit darker editing of the trees. The trees take the place of the sky.  So, which photo do you prefer?
Picture
I am looking forward to seeing what others in the blog circle did for this week's theme.  Let's start here with Charlotte NC dog walker turned dog photographer, Kim Hollis, of See Spot Run Photography.  Enjoy!
3 Comments
Susannah link
6/3/2016 08:08:42 am

Nice job! Love how you did this with the horizon of trees and grass. If you think the ocean is far away from you...*sigh*

Reply
Kim link
6/3/2016 08:21:37 pm

I really enjoy your story telling and this last photo is my favorite with the darker trees surrounding your precious dog.

Reply
KellyM
6/14/2016 12:06:41 am

Your examples are perfect! Wonderful scene to shoot. :O)

Reply

Your comment will be posted after it is approved.


Leave a Reply.

    i got the shot

    What People Are Saying:

    "From start to finish I had a great experience with I Got The Shot Photography.  I highly recommend Elaine and her excellent work!"
                                ~Carol C.


    "I LOVE MY PHOTOS. Thank you so much for getting a beautiful portrait of my two babies together.  It is perfect!"
                               ~Melinda F.

    "Elaine’s photos capture the very spirit of her subject."
                               ~Tim S.

    Archives By month

    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    February 2015
    September 2014
    May 2014
    March 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013

    RSS Feed

(c) Copyright  I Got the Shot Photography
 All Rights Reserved

Proudly powered by Weebly