Pattern in Wood

The fascinating patterns in the wood of this tree stump are, I am sure, partly the result of it spending some significant time in the sea. It would be easy to mistake them for some kind of animal markings or camouflage and claw marks!

patterns in wood

patterns in wood

Proportion, Perspective and Atmosphere

Talking about images rather than roads, it is up to you whether or not you stick to the “rules”, but it is so often said that “rules are made to be broken”, it is almost a rule in itself that you shouldn’t stick to them!

I have used the “rule” of thirds (approximately) in the first two images below and each presents to me a different atmosphere and perspective. My personal preference is for the second shot but “to each his own”. Do you have a preference?

The “thirds” rule is broken in the third shot but the focus is on (or at least my attention was drawn to) the arc of a dog’s paw prints across the beach. I hope I have managed to frame the shot successfully. The eye follows the arc of prints and is brought neatly to a stop with the change in direction of the horizontal structure on the beach and the punctuation mark of the man – who presumably owns the invisible dog! The small proportion of land and sky simply to give the scene some geographical context.

Swansea Beach

Swansea Beach

Swansea Beach

Effects of the Sun

Taking a photo into the sun is not usually recommended if you want a half decent shot but having an idea of what was going to happen doing this with my iPhone, I went ahead and broke the rules. A very important rule in photography is first to understand the rules – and then to try breaking them.

The resulting photograph was not what you see below – that has had the darker areas adjusted (minimally) but I made no other changes as I actually like the strange light the image has. The thing that is frustrating though, is the effect of the sun itself and without lens filters, I don’t I have much control over that. I don’t mean the lens flare – I like that too. I mean the uneven edge to the white area . . . but the more I look at it, the more I like that too. To each their own – you can make up your own mind about it!

And the shell? This is a very common and fascinating object on Swansea Beach.

Swansea Bay Winter Sunshine

Swansea Bay Shell

Photos taken and adjusted on my iPhone 5c. Check out StillWalks on Instagram for more of my iPhonography.

This week’s featured StillWalks video is the introductory welcome video to the StillWalks website. On this you will meet me and see just a little of what goes into making a StillWalks video.

You can use the Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

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Sea of Sand – Low Level iPhonography

Changing the angle at which you look at things may be an essential rule of life (at least in my life) – see Monday’s post – but it is also invaluable when it comes to photography and perhaps even more so when it come to iPhonography.

Justin Balog of the iPhone Photography School spoke about this recently via Instagram. It was one of his most important tips in my opinion but he has many others. I’m pleased to say that when I discovered the website, I was already incorporating much of his advice and many of his tips. There is always room to learn more though, and even if you already know stuff, the occasional reminder never goes amiss.

So if anyone got a new smart phone for Christmas and you want to learn a bit about using it for photography, the iPhone Photography School wouldn’t be a bad place to start 🙂

Sand Patterns

Sand Patterns

Sand Patterns

Photos taken and adjusted on my iPhone 5c. Check out StillWalks on Instagram for more of my iPhonography.

This week’s featured StillWalks video is the introductory welcome video to the StillWalks website. On this you will meet me and see just a little of what goes into making a StillWalks video.

You can use the Donate button below to help StillWalks. Pay how much you want and receive a high quality download of this week’s featured StillWalks video. DVD Collections are available to order in the StillWalks Shop.

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