Lines, Lines, and More Lines
A personal fascination
Once again I’m traveling. This time it’s by car, where I’ve been following dotted lines and solid ones for many, many miles. So many miles and so many lines. Lines you can cross legally, and those you’re not supposed to cross.
“Not supposed to” is different than can’t, though. So long as you’re not hurting other people or putting yourself in harm’s way, I say you should cross them once in a while. You might discover something.
Graphical Lines
I’m not going to talk a lot about each of the following images, but I do want to say something briefly about one of the “rules” of photography. A frequently-taught compositional technique is the Rule of Thirds. It’s a design guideline to make “pleasing'“ images, the idea being that if you divide an image into an empty tic-tac-toe board, then place the subject at one of the four places where the lines intersect, that’s a “good” design idea. The general rule says that the result will be more pleasing than it might have otherwise been, better than if the subject were in the center of the frame, or someplace else.
I get what they are saying. But my mind’s ascetic just doesn’t want to follow the rule all that often. As an example, in the next image the subject is the horizon line. In theory the horizon you see below is in the wrong location to make a pleasing composition. In practice, I disagree. Putting the horizon 1/3 of the way from the top or bottom is not “better.” Not to my eye, at least.
Beyond this observation and returning to the topic of Lines, I’ll just say that I’m personally attracted to graphic lines of all sorts, and I absolutely love to use them in my own compositions. Straight ones and curved ones catch my eye repeatedly, and they can be curated in many ways. Not every image contains strong lines of course; I have plenty of images that I’ve made for other reasons or in other ways. But when I see strong lines I immediately look for a composition I can create. I just love them. I can’t get enough.
I don’t choose to photograph architecture all that often, but occasionally a structure will strike me, as it did with these next few.
If the lines aren’t naturally there to begin with, sometimes I feel the urge to create them.
Perhaps it’s just personal to me, but I can’t help myself. Give me more lines!
Until next time,
Limited Edition Prints for Sale
Another channel of my photography. Oof. But as promised, I’ve got this new set of Limited Edition prints available for purchase. Any unsold African wildlife images from last fall, as promised, have been retired from circulation.
Each edition consists of ten Numbered Prints and two Artists Prints, 16x24” silver halide, with certificate of authentication. As before, these are limited both by number and duration of the offer. If you’d like one or more for that special person, don’t hesitate. You wouldn't want to become he who is lost!
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Great photos, DD. Long live LINES!
Fantastic offerings here. Lines, lines, and more lines. Along with a broken rule or two.