Paul-Lesson 1-Decisive Moment
(photographing with the soul)
I've attached by pictures from the this week. You've definitely have me looking for photos opportunities in my every day life. I am looking forward to your feedback.
Cannis
One of the large lessons already seeming to get into your bloodstream is IMMERSION. There is no doubt where you wanted to be—that is IN the tangle and web of the plant life. Vantage Point comes next, but seems the freedom of not having a viewfinder let you "explore" this scene/space very thoroughly. In essence, giving us a bug's life view of this tangled "forest". Some of the stalks have a nice white/light tone to them and those same tonal values get picket up in the slats and downspouts in the house in the background. It is great stuff when you can get a language to tones running through your photograph! The dark recesses/shadows also provide good contrast and mystery. Who needs such burdens like Viewfinders?
Driving in the Shadows
Another nice little bit of insight or vision into the world of Commuting-to-Work. Like a slice from a larger photo essay. I'm thrilled right off by how well you are seeing the hidden graphic power in the photograph—that of the car shadows making their own traffic line on the concrete divider. As I try to point out consistently, the story of the SLOW SLOG in a vehicle might be told best by not showing the actual vehicles themselves. In fact, we might gain more insight into the notions of traffic by seeing only the imprint of the traffic via shadow. Somehow the abstraction of the shadows really makes the frustration of traveling very emphasized. Like dominoes! The daylight stripes that mark the pavement in between each car shadow is also a nice graphic touch. Nicely seen shot, or nicely "unseen" as the case may be.
Steeple
Your framing is remarkably tight/strong without having used the viewfinder at any time. (You did tape off everything, correct?) The reach of this steeple is a nice compositional technique of stretching a form WELL up into the "negative space" of the sky. [Negative Space = uniform and often empty areas in the photograph that are not the subject/object, but surround those objects.] Again, a decent interplay in this one with graphic lines in the vent slats of the steeple paralleling the side slats on the church/chapel. As with any fully geometric design (triangles, wedges, cross), it serves the picture well to include the organic bit of tree at lower left. In general, consider that notion in all your photographs—that is, breaking up the predominant design/order with a suprise/accident/unexpected/contrary form!