December 12, 2008

Breaking the Rules

A couple of weeks ago, I was over at a friend’s house in the Heights (an old neighborhood near downtown Houston).  While in his backyard, I noticed this very interesting wall.  It is made of all sorts of material—old bricks, stone and cement.  It has a lot of character; so, naturally, I grabbed my camera bag.

I decided that I wanted to do two things:  break some photographic “rules” and use a little flash to add interest to a flat wall.  

I think that some people get all tied-up with this photographic rule or that one.  I think it is fun to just go out and break the rules.  I also think that it is one of the best ways to learn what really works, and why it works.  I centered the subject and tried to make sure everything in the photo was in focus and sharp.   I set my camera to record at vivid color.

I wanted just a splash of light across the walI, so I used a snot on my flash and set the flash at 1/64th power.

Before my blog, this would have been one of those photos that I took only for me.  It would be a learning shot—did it work, why did it not work, how can I change it, etc., etc. etc.  Now I share it with everyone in cyberspace and let all of you out there decide.

Camera settings:  Nikon D3, 105mm Macro f/2.8, at ISO 200, f/11 and 1/30 on a tripod.

Post Processing:  Lightroom—set white and black point, and added mid-tone contrast and increased color saturation of various colors to add depth to the image.


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4 comments:

  1. Barry ArmerDecember 12, 2008 at 7:41 AM

    Beautiful shot Patrick!

    I like it a lot but I think you'll have to work harder if you want to "break the rules" in an obvious way. To me the grouping of three bricks is the subject and that grouping is skewed toward the left third of the photo. I think you're such a good photographer that your subconscious won't let you break the rules! :-)

    Cheers!
    Barry

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  2. AnonymousDecember 12, 2008 at 10:12 AM

    Barry is onto something here. If you would have used your snooted flash pointed directly at the two middle bricks rather than lighting them from an angle, I think your breaking the rules would be more evident and you still may have had an interesting photo.
    I do not think that people take enough photos of simple things like this. I would like to see you do a series of photos like this one.
    The Professor

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  3. AnonymousDecember 13, 2008 at 5:13 PM

    I like it. Not sure I would have photographed it. Also, not sure that the lighting adds much to the overall photo. I do like the colors and textures.
    Anne

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnonymousDecember 14, 2008 at 8:24 PM

    Interesting but not your most compiling photograph. I am not sure what you were trying to do with this one.
    Ralph

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