Dynamic U of A Lines

There is a thing called “dynamic lines” both in painting and in photography.   Diagonal, acute and oblique lines help to lead the eye toward a central subject or help to frame and break up the image into various elements.  I don’t think most photographers consciously are aware of these somewhat invisible lines within their images, but become aware of them in post processing of the images.  I tend to think this is a subconscious awareness that comes with years of photographing various subjects.

An example of this can be seen in the images I have shot of the buildings of the University of Arizona.  This is one of my favorite places to examine architectural subjects.  The images do not depict the complete buildings, but rather the emphasis is on lines and shapes that makeup their design.    

I have walked through this university many time and each time seen new perspectives that I didn’t see the first time.  With all landscape or architectural images the time of the day you choose to shoot will give you a different perspective of the image because of the quality, quantity and direction of the light falling on your subject.  These images were shot with the sun high in the sky, which tended to flatten out the shapes and open up some of the shadow areas.  The lens being used is a super wide fisheye lens, which exaggerates the perspective of the architectural shapes. 

The Rose

The photographer, Duane Michaels once said "photography deals exquisitely with appearances' but nothing is what it appears.”

I have found that one of the most difficult tasks a photographer faces is how to present through this medium what her or she sees and feels about the image being presented to the viewer.  The viewer may already have a preconceived notion or feeling about a given subject – but how do you counter that with a possible different perspective.

Recently, I visited a rose garden and was immediately struck by all the colors and varieties that existed.  As I looked at each of the roses, I became aware of the leaves and how they seem to fold within each plant.  It was if I was looking into a miniature abstract landscape.  It was at that point I decided this is what I wanted to capture.  And, here is my perspective on the rose.

BODY PARTS

The title of this post might be a little deceiving –the body parts I am presenting in this post have nothing to do with human body parts.  A dear friend of mine, who is an artist, once told me with regards to seeing –look at the detail rather than the whole of the image you are trying to create.  Move in close and use the light to define that detail because sometimes the detail is far more interesting than the whole. 

This post deals with the body parts of automobiles of the past.  The vehicles of yesteryear had well defined lines, lots of chrome and distinctive tail lights as compared to those of today which tend to have a more sculptured look with soft lines and very little to distinguish them.  My object is to show some of these design details by focusing on particular sections rather than the whole.  In-other-words,  this post is about shapes, form and design.