We travel of course to see the big sights. We want to see for ourselves the Colosseum in Rome, the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Empire State Building in New York. We want to marvel at the height of the Alps or Himalayas, the endless sands of the Sahara, the dense rainforests of Amazonia. But what we sometimes remember just as much are the people we meet along the way.
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Did you know that there is a World Lemur Day? No, nor did I, until we happened to find ourselves in Madagascar on the last Fridy of October which is when it is celebrated. It was wonderful in any case to be able to view these beautiful animals in their natural setting, but especially so to do so on their special day!
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It may seem contradictory to suggest that we photograph empty space. Shouldn’t a photo be OF something? But if we set our subject against a large area of relative emptiness and create ‘breathing room’ around our subject, we can help the viewer to see that subject differently.
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When you first start using a camera, the tendency is to look straight ahead at a scene. We get caught up in what we see right in front of us. We may look ahead, to the left and right, down and even behind us, but many times we forget to look up.
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In photography, when you choose to fill the frame with your subject, leaving out everything that surrounds it, you remove all distractions and by doing so force the viewer to look only at this one thing. This can be very impactful.
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While I sometimes enjoy the harmony of a perfectly symmetrical shot, on the whole I find the asymmetrical more interesting. An image that is off-centre is more dynamic and encourages the eye to explore rather than settling in one spot.
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Our world is full of signs, both those we erect ourselves to convey a message, and the more subtle ones we can read in landscapes and nature. The latter include the signs that speak of changing seasons, like autumn leaves or buds on trees. There are signs in the rocks telling of seismic changes in the earth’s crust, or more subtly speaking of people that came before us.
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Contrast must be one of the most used words in photography. Usually we are talking about the lighting conditions for an image; the contrast between the light and dark areas. Sometimes it can be hard to balance these, if the contrast is great.
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Everywhere you walk, every place you go is full of art, explicit or hidden! If you can see them, you will be the richest art collector and your memory will be the richest art gallery! [Mehmet Murat Ildan, Turkish playwright]
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I have long been fascinated by the roofs of the far east. The ornate figures that line the top edges if a Chinese roof. The intricately carved end tiles of a Japanese temple roof. The delicately painted beams that hold them up. And the steep temple roofs of Indochina.
