Compose Your Frame

I'll be the first to admit, photography and I usually don't go well together. Regardless to say, I've procrastinated this assignment for just shy of two months. And because I did so, I'm treating you to not one, but many of the photos I took.

 

The above photograph plays on the rule of thirds in a few different ways. (Disclaimer: I cropped the photo just a tiny bit, so that the rule of thirds would be more prominent.) The sun, as it peaks over the mountains in the distance, rests on the bottom right point in the rule of thirds grid. The mountaintops and horizon line touch the bottom rule of third gridline, allowing the sky to take up the top two-thirds of the image. The road and signs act as graphic vectors, guiding your eye through the photo and towards the sun. The viewer should have an understanding that, if they were in a car on the road, they'd most likely be traveling toward the sun. The diagonal lines of the power cables create movement, also sending the viewers' eye to the sun, the focal point of the image.

This photo, too, lends itself a spot in the rule of thirds. The "Do Not Enter" sign is positioned in the left third of the photograph, sending your eye immediately there. However, upon further observation, the viewer's eyes travel down the road, as it acts as a motion vector. The tops of the houses provide a diagonal line, sending the viewers' eyes to the road. The "Do Not Enter" sign is an index vector.

The sign that's closest to the viewer rests in the right third of the photograph. Your eye should first be drawn there but then direct itself down the diagonal line of the signs and path of the road. The signs, road, and power lines, act as both motion and graphic vectors in this image, guiding the eye down the road and out of the image. While they each act as vectors, they also play out the diagonal rule, in that they provide movement and direction to the image.

The trees closest in the image rest on the left third and right third of the image. The homes play on the diagonal rule, giving movement to the photo. There's also a figure-ground relationship between the bushes and trees that are in the foreground of the image and the houses and plateau that are in the background of the image.

Similar to the image directly above, the tree in the far right of the photo is where your eye should first be directed; it rests in the right third of the photograph. The mountains and a few of the clouds rest in the bottom third of the photograph, and the bushes, trees, and homes are in the foreground while the mountains are in the background. The branches on the tree closest play on the diagonal rule, directing your eye up and out of the photograph.

 

The more I look at the above photo, the more I'm drawn to it. The snow-covered shrubbery, the Dixie-red rock and the dust-covered clouds are in the bottom third of the photograph, allowing the bright blue sky to take up the top third of the photograph. The clouds and mountains play a little bit on the diagonal rule, providing movement in the image. The shrubbery is in the foreground, while the red rock and clouds are in the background. The highest cloud on the far right acts as a motion vector in a way, sending your eye out of the image.

 

 

Now, as much as I'd love to take credit for this photo, it was actually my husband who captured this shot. I thought I'd post it anyway because it plays on the rule of third perfectly. The largest icicle rests on the left third of the photograph, while the largest of the smaller icicles extends down to the top third of the photograph. The icicles act as graphic vectors as they hang from the rooftop of a house. The light purple against the dark purple of the exterior paint on the house play on the diagonal rule, sending your eye back and forth along the bottom third of the image.