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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

I was instanly drawn into the image by the highlights on the top of the clip and found that I spent alot of time examing the details around the clip and the wall behind it.  The vignetting really helped draw my eye into the focal point of the card and note rather than wandering further into the detail of the background.  What I really like about the subject matter of the image was that it can mean something different to everyone.  Maybe it’s a marker for Stephen’s photo blog, maybe it’s a relationship milestome for someone else!

Great stuff Stephen!  I would encourage everyone to stop by and have a look through Stephen’s great collection of work.

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.

So why did I decide on this image?

• The wide open space in this image really pulls me into the photograph.  I found myself lingering for quite sometime seeing if there was something else to be found in the grass, I love when an image grabs my attention like this one.
• The brightest area of this image is the mountain range, and that really drew me deep into the image.  After scanning the grass, I didn’t lose interest at all – the light mountain range really helped.
• The dark edges of this image kept me looking…if it was on a gallery wall, I would stay here for longer than normal.
• Finally, I am not sure about how much post-processing Austin did on this image, but the colours pop, and the contrast between sky, land and mountain range is great!

First, I want to extend my apologies to all my readers out there – I seriously fell off the wagon last week with regards to posting on the blog! Thanks for the emails, everything is fine! Real-life got a little hectic and the blog suffered.

Now back to our previously scheduled show. This weeks image comes courtesy of Kathleen over at Durham Township. Here’s why I decided that her image was this weeks image of the week,

• I did a little storm chasing a few weeks back and this image is what I wanted to capture.
• The contrast between the sky and the foreground really makes this image pop.
• The rainbow adds so much to this image
• As usual the post-processing on Kathleen’s images is top-notch.

Awesome work, make sure that you check out Katherine’s incredible work at Durham Township.