Group f11

In 2008 three photographers, starting out on their careers, decided to keep in contact through a blog page in which they could share ideas, post images and ask each other advice. This has since mutated into a web space where those photographers still meet, but so too do their students and other like-minded photographers.

If anybody would like to join all you need to do is email the blog administrator, Emil
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Thursday, June 3, 2010

seaing eye



The eyes have it. Or do they? Clearly it was the eye that drew me to this gull but there is something that troubles me about the framing.... Maybe I needed more head and less ass? ;-)





Okay, keeping it clean.... Any ideas? I sense there is an inprovement needed but can't quite put my finger on it...?




The image is from the archive, last year eye think! Specs: iso 100; f8 at 1/250th; 350 mm (560approx crop factor); shot off a tripod at about 2m. Meter read off the sky then added about 1/2 stop to keep the whites clean.
Paul.

1 comment:

Emil von Maltitz said...

Howzit Paul

Great shot, I love the colour, sharpness and textual detail in the feathers. And yes, the eye has it...which is why I agree with you on the assessment of the composition. the eye is just too far up and out of the way. My view is automatically led towards the eye, but there is no natural 'guidance' back into the picture.

I'm currently reading an old book on composition in landscape and still-life painting and the author, has a good point that painting, and I draw the link to photography here, is an exercise in design. Design here gives visual clues to the viewer in how to 'read' a picture. bringing the eye down and to the left and thereby closer to one of the 'eyes' of the picture you are utilizing what Niall Benvie points out is a psychological point of focus which forces the viewer to scan the rest of the picture. Well that's my 2 cents anyway :)

E