Gallery: using triangles in photography
The stars are the apexes of what wonderful triangles! What distant and different beings in the various mansions of the universe are contemplating the same one at the same moment!
Henry David Thoreau
That’s quite a thought from Thoreau. Two people in very different locations on earth will form a triangle with any star they are looking at simultaneously. So too though will two beings of any kind anywhere in the universe. Wow!
Triangles are one of the fundamental shapes in geometry. There are various kinds, but always with three sides and three corners, of course. In photography, triangles add dynamism to an image, leading the viewer’s gaze towards a focal point or important element within the shot. They can also create a sense of balance and stability, depending on their shape and placement.
From buildings to mountains, fabrics to flowers, triangles are everywhere if only we look! So for Debbie’s One Word Sunday I offer a selection of triangular shaped objects from around the world.
Spices for sale in the souks of Marrakesh
My feature photo was taken in the same city
Colourful piles of powdered dyes used for Holi, Fort Kochi, Kerala
Detail of decorations on the Hall of Preserved Harmony in the Forbidden City, Beijing
Sarangkot, the Fishtail Mountain, as seen from the Pokhara Peace Pagoda, Nepal
The flag of Nepal consists of two triangles
(taken at Pokhara Lakeside)
Hibiscus flower, Temple Tree Resort, Pokhara, Nepal
An iceberg broken away from Glacier Grey, Torres del Paine NP, Chile
The ultra-modern Hyangsan Hotel, by far the best we stayed at in North Korea!
The ice rink, Pyongyang
The architect apparently took inspiration from the hats traditionally worn when skating here
Cocktail at the Koryo Hotel’s revolving restaurant in Pyongyang, North Korea, on a stormy afternoon when we were forbidden to leave the hotel
The unmistakable cone of Mount Fuji, Japan
Kamijinko, one of several storehouses at Toshogu Shrine in Nikko, Japan
The elephant carvings are known as the ‘Imaginary Elephants’ because the artist, Kano Tanyu, would never have seen the real thing. He drew them from his imagination having heard accounts and descriptions, and really didn’t do a bad job under those circumstances. Just think how hard it would be to conceive of an animal that looked like an elephant if you had never come across any, or any picture of one!
The Jantar Mantar, Jaipur
This is one of a group of 19 astronomical instruments built by a Rajput king in the early 18th century
58 Comments
Jane Lurie
I love triangles and you’ve got a fine set of them, Sarah. It’s great in Landscapes, too, when you will often find a zig zag of triangles as your eye progresses from foreground to background. Love that. 😍🔺🔻
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Jane 😊 I know what you mean about landscapes too!
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leightontravels
Another excellent collection of captivating images. I actually had to let out an audible gasp because I recognise and remember that decorative flourish in The Forbidden City!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Leighton 🙂 How fun that you recognised that decorative panel!
wetanddustyroads
The spices in triangles immediately attract one’s attention. What happens when the spice vendor takes a scoop full for a customer … does he make it into a triangle again? Wow, how beautiful is the Fishtail Mountain in Nepal – it has to be one of the most beautiful triangles I have ever seen 🔺.
Sarah Wilkie
That’s a great question – I think he must do so, as the piles are almost always perfect! And yes, the Fishtail Mountain is stunning 😮
Paul
Great examples of triangles. Stunning colors and sharp images.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Paul, I’m glad you like them 😀
Anne Sandler
Wonderful triangular examples Sarah!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Anne, I appreciate you commenting on all my recent posts 😀
sheetalbravon
Sarah, your photos are a sight for sore eyes. A reminder to be more observant. Also any time you post about India, I can’t help but smile. It’s always a pleasure to see my country through your lens.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Sheetal – your country is so photogenic, I have a wealth of shots in my archives!
equinoxio21
Very interesting. I’ll pay more attention to triangles from now.
Now about Thoreau, I have a friend in Penang, Malaysia. her blog is called Bulan (The moon in Malay). I once told her that the Bulan the Moon was the only object we could both see (almost) at the same time, across half the world. Now we send each other a photo of the full moon from wherever we are. Fun.
🙏🏻
(🙏🏻 is also a triangle. 😉)
Sarah Wilkie
That’s a lovely way to connect with a friend 🌓🌔🌕🌖🌗
equinoxio21
We call it Bulan mail. Or Moon mail. Sending telepathic (or not) messages when we see the moon. Nice…
Sarah Wilkie
Very nice 😀
Teresa
Interesting images. My favourite is the iceberg from Chile and the colours of Kerala.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Teresa – that Chile shot is a favourite of mine, the blue and turquoise colours there were so striking!
equinoxio21
Kerala must be fascinating colour-wise.
SoyBend
Great examples of triangles! I especially liked your pictures of the spices and dyes. The hibiscus, shown in profile, was gorgeous.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you again Siobhan 🙂 I think those spices and dyes are proving the most popular in this post!
grandmisadventures
Interesting and beautiful collection of triangles. I love the detail in the shrine in Japan! 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you – the whole of Toshugo is full of stunning buildings like that one – I must do a full post about it one day!
susurrus
The imagined elephants are extraordinary.
Sarah Wilkie
Aren’t they?! Can you imagine trying to draw one from a verbal description, when they are so unlike any animal found in your own country?
Graham Stephen
wonderful collection!
🔻🔺🚩📐🔼▶️🔽◀️📐🚩🔻🔺
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Graham – I appreciate the ‘triangular’ comment 😆
Graham Stephen
😌🙏✨
kzmcb
Great colours and, yes, balance. It’s a shot that really engages the mind.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 🙂
Aletta - nowathome
I knew you would have the most interesting photos of triangles, Sarah! The spices and colours are definitely my favourites!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Aletta – those spices seem to be the general favourites 🙂
Aletta - nowathome
😊
Mike and Kellye Hefner
Fabulous, Sarah! All such perfect triangles and colorful. I bet you had fun looking through your photos to find these.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Kellye 🙂 You’re right, I always enjoy these trawls through my archives and I sometimes unearth photos I’d totally forgotten about!
Nemorino
An impressive collection of triangles from around the world. I would never have guessed that the Hyangsan Hotel was in North Korea.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Don 🙂 That hotel is certainly much better than is the norm there, though we stayed in another almost as good in a ski resort. The standard varied wildly on that trip!
PR
What a great selection of triangles Sarah 😀. Happy to see the saris and holi color piles from India.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you, I’m glad you like them!
Brad M
Nice geometry. Once you see the shapes, they start to appear everywhere! Even if the tour guides don’t want you to see them. 😉
Sarah Wilkie
That’s true you see them everywhere but I’m not sure what you mean about tour guides not wanting us to see them?
Brad M
Flash back to NK story.
Alison
Love these images, it must have taken some to collate these images. You do take beautiful photos, especially the one of the spices 😊
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Alison 🙂 It took a while but most of them had stuck in my memory for one reason or another!
Marie
Wow!!! You’ve nailed it! Don’t you just love the spices when you’re away – a far cry from the little Tesco jars!! That Beijing detail is so beautiful…
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Marie 😊 Yes, the spices in those countries are wonderful and put ours to shame both in terms of colour and flavour!
thehungrytravellers.blog
It amazes me how they make those perfect triangles with the powder in spice markets, I could labour all day and it still wouldn’t be as neat as that. Great photos again, all round. A triangle has three points….which is also what you get for a stunning opening day victory….
Sarah Wilkie
I know, I’ve often wondered how they achieve such perfect piles! As for the football, a fantastic start to the season – three points as you say, and a good boost to our goal difference. We have some tough matches coming up so it was good to get those points on the board ⚽⚽⚽⚽⚽
Alli Templeton
Hi Sarah, back from the wilds of the north now, and pleased to see you’re on as fine a form as ever with this interesting and varied selection of triangles from your travels. There’s something about the number three isn’t there? It seems to be something of a cosmic rule for anything from speech making to primary colours, to composition in art. And, of course, they say ‘three is a magic number’! Your collection is full of colour, beauty and light and I thought they were all excellent representatives of the subject. It’s hard to pinpoint a favourite as they’re all so good, but one standout for me is your cocktail in North Korea. Somehow it’s simplicity really chimed with me, and the light on the glass with that background of a grey, stormy day makes the shot incredibly atmospheric. 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
Hi Alli 🙂 Good to ‘see’ you back. I hope you had a great time? Coincidentally I’m writing this from Newcastle where we’re spending the week. Yes, there’s definitely something about the number three, it seems to make everything more interesting! Glad you liked that cocktail shot. It was a somewhat bizarre afternoon even by North Korean standards and with nothing else to do some of us gathered in that restaurant. The ‘revolving’ element was off and on – I think the weather had got to it! And the cocktails were a bit weird – all nice but few of them tasting of what they were meant to!
Alli Templeton
Unidentifiable cocktails and a static revolving restaurant – the mind boggles! That seems worth a post alone! 😀
We had a wonderful time in Northumberland, despite the mixed bag of weather, and there will be posts to follow shortly. Enjoy Newcastle and give my love to the county we love so much! 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
I look forward to hearing all about it!
Sue
Oh, wow, what a tangle of triangles! I love the spices, and decorations on the Hall of Preserved Harmony….etc, etc!
Sarah Wilkie
A ‘tangle of triangles’ – I like that! (I wish I’d thought of it as a title 😉 )
Sue
Yay!
margaret21
Wonderful. Aren’t those spices and dyes fabulous? And Sarangkot, and … well, all of tgem actually.
Sarah Wilkie
Oh yes, I have so many similar photos from Marrakesh and different parts of India! Thanks Margaret 😀