Travelling teaches us that people around the world have more in common than we sometimes realise. People everywhere laugh, cry, worry, and hope for the same basic things. And when good things happen, we celebrate. There are small family celebrations: a new baby, a wedding, a birthday. And then there are the celebrations that bring people together on a much bigger scale. A national holiday, a religious festival, a sporting success …
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! London hasn’t seen any rain now for 37 days (although a light sprinkling is forecast for this morning before a return to heatwave conditions. The temperature has swung between the high 20s centigrade (reasonably comfortable) to the low and even mid 30s (not so comfortable!)
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Travel creates adventures. They may seem quite small at the time, like a chance but memorable encounter with a local person that changes your perspective on the world. Or they may seem huge, visiting an iconic world sight that you’ve dreamed about seeing for years. But whether large or small, long planned for or serendipitous, the adventures experienced while travelling are, in my opinion, among the best to be found.
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The letter B, the second letter of our alphabet, is one of the first a child learns to recognise. ‘A is for Apple, B is for …’ Yes, what objects do begin with a B? I had great fun trawling my archives for these 'B' images!
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As photographers we are trying to convey three-dimensional scenes and objects on a flat two-dimensional surface, whether paper or screen, and we can use similar tricks to those of the Renaissance artists. Lines that converge on a point close to the horizon (‘leading lines’) create a sense of distance, as do receding objects.
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From the well-known (think Grand Canyon or Great Pyramid of Giza) to the less lauded (an ancient artefact, a beautiful stained-glass window, a snow-capped mountain, a colourful bird, a surprise encounter with wildlife) … the world is full of wonders. I am fortunate to be able to travel and to appreciate the wonders I am able to discover far from home.
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It's important not to get so hung up on technique that we forget to concentrate on what really matters in our photography: creating an emotional connection with our subject. Yet technique is important, and good technique can help bring out that feeling.
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As a general rule, a group of three in a picture is particularly pleasing to the eye and can hold the attention of the viewer for longer than a group of even numbers. This is true of any odd number but especially so of three.
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Sometimes it's easy to forget that 'small is beautiful'. Also, how much of that beauty can be found very close to home. There may be a whole wide world out there, but that world begins as soon as we step out of our own back (or front) door.
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A photograph is a two-dimensional artefact, whether digital or printed. Yet its apparently flat surface can reveal three-dimensional textures, especially when we get the lighting right. Texture is most clearly seen when hit by lighting at an angle, bringing out areas of light and shade. Contrasting colours help, but the light is (almost) everything!
