Blog on Photoblogs

Image number 13 is here and comes courtesy of Marcel of Aktuelle Kamera.  I am a sucker for repetition in any photograph, and this particular image does not disappoint in that category!

Rule of Thirds

I am not a huge fan of “following the rules”, but you usually can’t miss when you apply the “Rule of Thirds” to your work.  It helps move the viewer around the image, and Marcel’s done a great job of doing just that in this photograph.

Brighter Foreground

The brighter foreground helps to define what is important in the image and tends to draw your eye.  I found when looking at this photograph for the first time, that I spent quite a bit of time looking at the person, and them examining the detail in the foreground, after that the darker background drew me further into the image.
The inclusion of a nice bright t-shirt doesn’t hurt either!

Human Element

I think that this picture would not make near the impression that it does without the inclusion of the “human touch”.  The inclusion of people in any images helps create scale.  Without the person in this image you would have no idea just how massive this stadium really is.

Our latest featured image is courtesy of Armands of A.B.C. Photography.  Much like the last featured image, Armands photograph draws me into one of my favourite times of year.

Here’s why I decided to feature this photograph,

Sunset
They are everywhere, and I can guarantee that 100% of you have at least a few Sunset images in your image stores.  What makes this one stand out? It has some visual interest in the foreground (the bale) which stops it from becoming just another sunset shot. I found myself examining the detail in the bale and then thinking, “Wow, is that sky ever nice!” When it comes to sunsets (or sunrises) it’s all about the timing, and Armands was dead-on with this one. Great capture!

Colour Saturation
If you look back over the last few featured images, you can probably guess that I am a colour freak!  Armands image does not disappoint in this category. There’s a nice balance between the foreground and background so that you don’t become overly focused on when area which I find is a difficult thing to do at times.

Exposure
Spot on in this category as well. With a dark foreground and bright horizon this could be one of those shots that you feel some disappoint with once you get it on the big monitor. I am not sure how much post-processing went into this image (does it matter), but the foreground is exposed nicely to show detail, while maintain the highlights in the sky!

I recommend that everyone check out A.B.C. Photography and see what other great photographers Armands has been kind enough to share with us.

The latest image to grace the IMOTW page comes to us courtesy of Dave McIntyre.  Dave’s photograph makes me realize exactly why I enjoy this time of year so much, and why most other photographer do as well.

Here’s why I chose Dave’s image…

Colour Saturation
Much like the last image, the colours in this image just fly off the screen. You’re instantly drawn into the main focus of the photograph, the treeline on the other shore and your eye moves out from there.

Dramatic Sky
There’s just something about a nicely post-processed sky. I feel that it’s the one area where you can “push” your processing without it looking over the top.

Reflection
What can you say about the reflection, it’s just plain perfect. Some ripples in the foreground add a nice amount of detail, but in the distance the surface becomes glass like and it really makes the reflection pop.

Here we go again.  Another new featured image.  This time I came across Marcie Scudder’s Daily Practice the other day (Did I mention how much of a fan I am of Google Alerts?).

First thing, the photoblog name is just awesome - Daily Practice.  This sums up how you should be approaching your photoblog, practice.  Don’t be afraid to experiment, have fun, and try some new techniques on your site!

Now let’s talk a little about the image that I selected.

Colour Saturation
This one is pretty obvious, Marcie image has some serious pop and in my opinion that’s due to the colour saturation of the flowers when compared to all other aspects of the image.  It’s a great technique to draw focus to the main subject in your image.

Rule of Thirds
Am I an avid follower of the “Rule of Thirds”? No, not by a long shot, I believe in experimented with my work, but it really works in the image!

Light to Dark
Another technique to draw people’s attention to a certain area of the photo and again I feel that Marcie has nailed it.  The vignetting makes the flowers pop even more!

Make sure that you check out Marcie’s photoblog today! She’s posted some fantastic work!

Marcie’s work reminds alot of one of my favourite photography books Welcome to Oz, by Vincent Versace.  It’s a must-have book for anyone who takes their work seriously.  I highly recommend that you get a copy if you don’t already own it.

Also, I owe an apology to the last two featured folks who had featured images,

• Bbouwsema
• Urban Views

Thanks to some blog editting on my end, I messed up and their write-ups weren’t showing.  Please make sure you show them both some love and check out the featured image and their blogs.

Did I tell you that I just love Google Alerts?  If you’re not using it to help discover new talent, I suggest that you get over to Google right now and get an alert setup right now!  Thanks to this great service, I came across Brents photoblog today and was immediately impressed with his work.  The particular image that really jumped out at me is entitled “Nine” and it’s pretty obvious why.

The saturation of colours in this image are just incredible, but unlike some other images I have seen, it’s not over the top.  Brent doesn’t provide any details on the equipment he used when taking this image, or whether the sharpness was increased in post-processing, but the sharpness is just outta this world!  Maybe if Brent stops by he’ll fill us in a little.

On top of the great images, Brent’s photoblog is clean, and is clearly about the images, I recommend that you stop by  Bbouwsema and spend some time looking at this talented photographer’s work.

A few of you know how much I enjoy architectural and what I like to refer to as urban landscape photography.  The other day I google’d urban photography and stumbled across a great photoblog by Markus Hartel called Urban Views.

I knew right away that I wanted to feature Markus’ work on the site, and I eventually decided on a photograph entitled “Final Reductions”.  Trust me, there’s so much great work on Markus’ site that I had a difficult time choosing.

What caught my eye about this image in particular was how it made me feel.  The long exposure Markus used in this image really captures the “life” of urban areas.  They are always in motion and this image really portrays that.   I also really enjoyed the way that the background pops and after you are finished with the movement in the foreground you still have quite a bit detail to enjoy.

I recommend that you head on over to Markus’ photoblog and check out his work today!

This weeks profiled image comes to us courtesy of Stephen over at One Stone Eye. When I found Stephen’s photoblog, I found myself spending quite a bit of time admiring the detail that appears in his work, and this image in particular really caught my eye.

This amazing image was created by Cerstin Kleilein of CandreK diffuse and has to be one of my favourite images as of late.

What stuck me right away about this photograph was the obviously the pin-sharp focus and the vibrant colours.  Not sure exactly how the image was created, but it areas of the picture seem to be slightly desaturated which really helps the yellow and purple pop right out of the image.

Great work!!

If you’ve never tried destaturated areas of your work, give it a try, I am sure that you won’t be disappointed with the results.