Horizontal

Back to the going through NZ photos. This one.

Yes, that horizon is level. Photographers and visual artists talk about lines a lot, leading or otherwise. One theory is that you don't really put a horizontal thing across the front of the photo because it will block the viewer, or at least discourage them from diving deeper into the image.

Certainly there is lots to look at in the rock. Yes, that is a rock not a piece of driftwood. I spent a bit of time admiring it and other nearby rocks. Why yes, those photos might show up here. But I think there's much more than the rock to look at that. The sky, for example, with all those lines leading back and forth. Then there's a bit of beach and water, with the headland off in the distance.

But it was a complicated photo. Light can be tricky. below is my first attempt at the scene. I looked at the back of the camera, looked at the scene itself, and winced. The clouds were a little dark, but the rock is really dark and all the detail is hiding. I didn't think it would get fixed in processing, so I took 3 more shots close together, one a bit brighter, one a lot brighter, and one darker.

Actually the camera does all the work, firing all three shots in 1/250th of a second with one press of a button. That way the waves don't move much. Then the computer can combine the images so you see detail in the dark places, and don't lose the detail in the bright places. The trick is to complete the processing so that it all looks natural. It's really easy find yourself in Mordor. Many people don't like the look of HDR for that reason. Like everything else, there is a time and a place. I still ended up treating the sky differently than the rest to get the look I wanted.

Here's another one with strong horizontal lines. There are many others, of course, driftwood and beaches tending to horizontal. The light was better so it's all one shot, but again, the processing was a bit more involved, treating the sky differently to bring out the detail in the clouds. I loved the contrast between the soft horizon line, the hard edge between the water and beach, and the sinuous curves of the driftwood and sand.

Curtis, in another throwback to a year ago. He knows perfectly well he's not supposed to be up on the kitchen counters. He remains convinced that if we let him out, he would contribute to the household economy by bringing home the hot buttered mouse he is sure he could catch. Maybe a bunny if he's really on his game. We suspect he wants to look for better humans.

Driftwood of the Day
And yes, if you remember the discussion about 3rds rule from yesterday, the ladybug is at the intersection, but I had to crop the photo to do it.

To revert back to the horizontal discussion, there's a series of lines, but the ladybug breaks the pattern. I wouldn't have taken the photo without it. The patterns of grain and colour don't give quite enough interest on their own.

And did you notice what I did with the Curtis photo?