Varying Your Composition

This post is written by Guest Contributor, Janet Ochs Lowenbach. If you are also interested in writing a guest blog, please reach out using the form in the Contact page.

On a crisp, abnormally warm winter day, I decided to photograph a local amusement park that had been closed and made into an art center. Assignments like this are challenging because you have to try to do something different from everybody else. You have to go underneath the obvious scene (and its parts) and think about the meaning of what you see.  For example, does the building look abandoned and sad? Does it make you feel lonely?  Does a sign naming the park remind you of happy times? Does the carousel connote the laughter of children? By approaching the scene with an understanding of what it means to you, you can change the way you portray the park and it elements.

There are other ways that you can make your pictures alive. Look for shapes and lines, the quality of light, for repeating patterns, shots from far and near (or wide angle and telephoto),  parts of things that give the whole meaning, reflections – remember you can photograph anything you see-light and dark, textures.

Sometimes people take 10, 20, or 30 pictures the same way over and over again. They stand with the camera at eye level, not moving, and go blam, blam, blam.  To change this boring approach, you must move into different positions when you take the picture. The result will be a new way of viewing the subject that you hadn’t thought about before. Eventually you will learn from your movements and be able to predict how you will change the impact of the photo. Repeat after me: up, down, over, under, past, by (past and by mean alongside an object like a wall). These changes add depth and impact to your photos. Note the grass shot from under the pattern of the mirrors on the white building which was top shot past, and the carousel pieces shot down and far and near. Note also that shooting up gives importance to the subject while shooting down diminishes it.

Next time I will shoot more up and down and also demonstrate the impact of Lightroom which I used to edit these pictures.

What I Saw In Skyline Drive, Virginia

I always wanted to capture the colors of autumn. I am fascinated by the pictures of beautiful trees with combination of green, yellow and red leaves. Every fall season, the colorful display of leaves gives me the energy to get out of my comfort zone and capture those natural moments. But, because of work schedule, my fall trip was on hold for a long time. Finally, I couldn't wait any longer and decided to make a short trip to park nearby and capture the beauty of the season. This is probably one of my best shot in Skyline Drive. I really like how trees from both side coming close towards each other and the road is leading us from the center.

Skyline Drive, VA

Focal Length : 65mm     Exposure : f/5.6     Shutter : 1/40 sec     ISO : 200

On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, I took leave from work and headed to Skyline Drive in Virginia. The Drive is a 105-mile road that runs the entire length of the Shenandoah National Park in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, generally along the ridges of the mountains. The scenic drive is particularly popular in the fall when the leaves are changing colors. According to Wikipedia, each year, over two million people visit the Skyline Drive, which has been designated a National Scenic Byway.

Skyline Drive Fall Colors

Focal Length : 18mm     Exposure : f/3.5     Shutter : 1/40 sec     ISO : 200

The weather was so perfect that I didn't notice almost 90 miles of driving from my home. As soon as I reached the park, I saw an amazingly harmonious blend of nature and human development. Inside the park, you can't drive faster than 35 miles per hour due to curves on the road, wildlife crossings, and walking or cycling tourists. While driving, you can see stopped vehicles whose occupants are either enjoying the wildlife or viewing the valley from overlooks. As a driving precaution, you have to be extra careful about roads which take winding paths along the mountaintops where deer, bear and other wildlife crossing the road may appear without warning. If you go there during the peak of the season, you will be amazed by the colors.

Skyline Drive Scenic Drive

Focal Length : 40mm     Exposure : f/5     Shutter : 1/160 sec     ISO : 200

When you get the $15 dollar visitor ticket (it can be used an unlimited number of times throughout one week) at the entrance,  you will also get maps and information about the National Park. There are nearly seventy-five overlooks throughout the drive, which offers some of the most spectacular views of the surrounding valleys. I didn't have much time to drive through all the overlooks but each one I visited was fantastic. The park is also famous for hiking and camping on its many trails and biking and horseback riding, on the roads.

Please feel free to share your moments if you have been there and tell us what did you feel about the park.

Sunset Photography Tips

This post is written by Guest Contributor, Janet Ochs Lowenbach. If you are also interested in writing a guest blog, please reach out using the form in the Contact page.

The setting sun is one of the glories of the day and possibly the best memory of a vacation. But it takes some skill to produce photos that stand out from the crowd. First off, decide what you will include in your shot. Go to the site an hour ahead (you might want to look up the time of sunset earlier in the day), and walk around. See what scenes you might want to include and what objects you might want to place in the foreground of the shot for interest. (Silhouettes in the foreground are a valuable compositional device.) Plan to bring a tripod.

You might even go over the possible exposures in your mind. (It is best to use the smallest possible aperture is to increase depth of field.) Even though the sun is going down, it is important not to look directly at it when it is too bright. A rule of thumb I use is to hold my fist up to the horizon; I can shoot when the sun is below that. Frankly I have also looked directly at the sun when it is higher, but I am here to tell you I have read enough to know that is a very dangerous thing for your eyes and the camera itself. IT ISN'T WORTH IT! It is particularly important to never look directly at the sun through a long lens, which magnifies the light.

Begin taking the shots a half hour or so ahead of the event– the clouds take on wonderful colors before and after sunset. There is something exciting too about photographing the sun continuously as it dips below the horizon.

Sunset at Bailey Island

Plan to shoot at a variety of focal lengths –sometimes a wide panorama is best; sometimes you will want to narrow the field.

Sometimes the lack of contrast makes it hard to focus when the camera is on automatic; sometimes the shot won’t work at all and sometimes the camera misfocuses, but you won’t notice the fuzz until later. So make sure you take a fair number of shots on manual focus!

Remember the rule of thirds, and keep the major elements of your shots off center.

Make sure you experiment. You may choose aperture priority to make sure you have adequate depth of field. I like to experiment by shooting on manual (bracketing), once I have chosen the basic exposure from program priority.  Manual shooting makes you familiar with the exposures that work in various settings. I like to see the effects of more or less exposure (or even flash in the foreground) on the clouds as they are lit up by the dying of the light.

Here are some other sunset shots I took this summer in Bailey Island, a beautifully isolated spot on Casco Bay, an hour from Portland.

I suggest you to go out and try yourself. You might make a few mistakes but that is how you learn and grow. Best of luck!