Friday, February 5, 2010

Rule of Thirds... breaking the law


A snowless winter? We've only received a fraction of what is considered normal. One storm so far that dumped anything measurable and that melted during the January thaw.

I broke the law here... no I wasn't trespassing... I broke the basic photography law "The Rule of Thirds". Actually it is not a rule at all; it's a guideline, intended to help you when you are uncertain as to the placement of elements in a scene when you are framing the picture. By ignoring the rule, you may still have a great picture, depending on the content of the image and how well its elements are balanced. For example, if you want your viewer to ignore all other parts of your composition, then place your center of interest smack in the middle. The important thing is to note the reasons for object placement in your images. Knowing why you do something and what effect it will have leads to good composition. In this image bending the rule worked out well.

I've decided to finally post smaller images here... copies of the original. Several of my followers use my photos for desktop backgrounds, which is fine, yet I've discovered my work in some unlikely places which is an infringement and against the law... for real. I apologize to those of you who simply want to use them for personal use and if you would like to use a photo for any reason simply email me... and remember that I do sell reasonably priced prints.

5 comments:

Unknown said...

beatiful comp even if you did "break the law". love the sky.

Brook said...

...but the trees on the horizon lead your eye down to the hay bales which in turn sweep you eye across the page and then there is another little tree above the rightmost bale which draws your eye up and, rinse and repeat. This picture is not static at all. Plus I love the pink sky, and the snow is all down here this year. You can come get it any time you want! ;)

REG said...

Thanks for the lesson. What are the odds you would stumble upon your photos?

Unknown said...

I love that shot! very intriguing. I agree with you on people using photos without permission.

Cait said...

Actually, the more I look at this landscape,the more I think it still follows the 'rule of thirds'- albeit maybe subconsciously on your part! You've got an artificial line where the foreground brush ends, which creates a subtle third division horizontally. Vertically, the eye is drawn to the two distant trees in the left third of the frame.

Just food for thought, it's a beautiful picture!