Namibia – Let Color Carry The Day
Sometimes color, pure and simple, is all you need.
Catch it while you can.
Find out about my 2010 Namibia workshop here.
Namibia – The Function of Form
Form can serve a lot of functions. One can be to take the eye on an exciting journey. Rectilinear? Curvilinear? Fast? Slow? Simple? Complex? They all have a unique character. Contrasting different types of form can intensify one another. You can do this in a single image or in multiple images. Then you can identify other ideas that aren’t represented – and go get more images.
Visit here tomorrow for more of my images from Namibia.
Find out about my 2010 Namibia workshop here.
Namibia – Establishing Shots
Every photo essay needs establishing shots. You might need just be one for the whole series. Or you might need one for each subset within the series. Establishing shots set the stage the drama is about to take place on. They’re about context / place. They’re generally wide angle and show as many aspects of a place as possible. They are the big picture. They place actions and details.
Here two establishing shots work together. One’s above the clouds looking out to the fog covered sea. The other’s under the clouds looking inland towards the shoreline and receding dune. It’s a 180 degree shift in perspective that tells a larger story than either one can alone.
Visit here tomorrow for more of my images from Namibia.
Find out about my 2010 Namibia workshop here.
Namibia – Guiding Metaphors
Guiding metaphors can transforms a commonplace perspective into an exceptional one. This enlivens the images you make. I relate to dunes as human bodies. This is sensed by the viewer, always on an subconscious level, sometimes on a conscious level. It helps me to know what my guiding metaphor is so I can intensify this interpretation while I’m on the spot. It makes the work stronger. So when choosing between these horizontal and vertical compositions, I’ll choose the composition that emphasizes that metaphor.
(By the way, it’s always a good idea to shoot both horizontal and vertical. Watch how it changes things. Long after, you may find you relate to the images differently than you do on the spot. But there’s often no going back, so get it while you can. Or should I say, get both while you can.)
Visit here tomorrow for more of my images from Namibia.
Find out about my 2010 Namibia workshop here.
Namibia – Take the Postcard and Then Try A Different Approach
Sossusvlei, Namibia has some of the most famous dunes in the world – 750 foot high coral dunes that close in towards one another as you move up the valley. When you think Namibia, you think Sossusvlei. Everyone who goes there has a similar version of my first shot. I took it too. Then I tried a different approach. I found the dunes made wonderful abstract panoramas.
Visit here tomorrow for more of my images from Namibia.
Find out about my 2010 Namibia workshop here.