"i like photos like this. seems to be lots of negative space in here but these sure look nice. i dont quite get it, what makes these work
Autumn Finale by Rob Blair
Silent Night by Rob Blair"
More stuff you may not understand ...
I do rely heavily on the concept of personality type when it comes to education. From all that you've posted here, I'd guess you would not be a predominantly visual personality type. My guess is you favor the tactile experience of photography and this means you will struggle with the tools of composition employed within photography.
Which leads me to ask, what have you done to strengthen your composition skills?
Relying on the most basic rules of composition, a rule of thirds for example, as your guiding light to composition becomes increasingly boring as each shot becomes simply a minor rearrangement of the last. The viewer quickly learns all the tricks you know and what to expect with the next image. Yes, you can use tricks such as flipping the image upside down to view a less simplified image in your own mind, but that's still only a "trick" which can again become tired and worn out once it is over used.
Negative space is also simply another tool though one which has become more well known in recent decades. As described in the groundbreaking instructional book aimed at students of illustration (
Dr Betty Edwards: world-renowned art innovator and educator), negative space is the space which surrounds objects. It is the compositional tool most often neglected by those students who are not predominantly visual in their assimilation of data.
It is, though, simply one more tool in your kit when it comes to composition.
Both images you refer to employ negative space, as does virtually any image with a defined boundary of something. Both images even tend to break a cardinal rule of photography which is to not place the horizon at the center of the image. Yet both images also rely on the centered line of the horizon to direct the viewer's eyes in a manner which keeps them moving from location to location to location. The image of the stork is in its simplicity almost a pachinko game of visual clues and directional changes. At the same time, it is a very calming image due to its use of symbols.
The autumn scene relies heavily on color - obviously - which, along with the drama brewing in the sky, evokes universal emotions of change at the same time autumn always says to us it is time to settle in for a calming period of quiet and solitude. The peace and tranquility being suggested by the autumn scene is simply brought to the fore in the night scene with its completely quiet waters (also seen in the autumn image).
Therefore, what is the photography and the photographer suggesting to you through use of symbols? This is yet another lesson in composition. One well worth study.
Both scenes "work" for many viewers due to the near universal symbolism employed in the photography. What does the stork symbolize? Well, to some extent, that specific reference is a cultural one which may suggest very different things to people with different backgrounds. Place it within an image filled with calm waters and now the symbolism is deepened.
Next, take a look at the lines of the image and you'll see a scene in each of your examples which is never at rest as your eye continues to move from location to location within the scene. Now you have a contrast of calm yet busy.
The night scene invites the viewer to look more deeply into the clues being provided. The autumn scene has elements which are at odds with each other and yet come to a conclusion with the play of colors against one another.
Lines within the images hold the viewer's attention by never allowing a resting point when there is more to inspect. As in the lessons from the illustration book, we are defining what we see by way of the lines which we follow. And symbols. And space not filled which can be either restful or angry. The space in your own examples tends to miss on these points. With your images, space tends to be jumbled and meaningless.
Add the manner in which color is used and not used in the night scene and you have high contrast which is always a bit mysterious to the viewer. No doubt, seeing in your mind's eye where and when to add mystery to your images is a key to making your photos more memorable.
Therefore, explaining the hows and whys of these images is of use to you as a learning tool on many levels. I would highly doubt though the photographer had to flip either image upside down to get his shot. These were simply automatic images he could see as he viewed what was before him.
The night image is almost an abstract idea which should (IMO) lead you to question why some people prefer non-representational art. Take that idea and study it for, say, a dozen years and you'll still have only scratched the surface of "composition".
You cannot change your personality type, it is embedded within you and it is how you work and always have worked. If you begin as a tactile personality, you will not over time learn how to be an auditory personality. Nor will you become a visual personality. You can, however, learn the rules and concepts employed by great artists of any generation and place them in your tool kit. Then you will have them at your disposal when you need them. They may be a mechanical function at first but over time these tools will become more familiar just as a carpenter learns the various saws and hammers and fastening techniques at their disposal.
One lesson I would say to take away from either of the examples is the photographer expressed "universal emotion". He did so using rather universal symbols. None of your own examples demonstrate you have given due consideration to either of these tools. As I have suggested in my earlier post, photography is not about "SQUIRREL!"
If you care for these two images, study them for why they are appealing to you as a viewer. What is it you see in them? What do you not see? For one thing, you do not see a photographer who has rushed through the process of creating an image and moved on simply to take more less than inspired photos.
Once you have studied, and feel you have understood these images, take the next step and begin to study the tools of composition itself. Then move to symbolism, then to emotional impact, etc, etc, etc. They all overlap one another. For the visual personality type, these are what they experience constantly, one great image to another great image all falling in line every moment of the day.
For the tactile or the auditory personality, these are simply tools you must learn and then learn how to use.
DSC_0061 by Daniel Caldwell, on Flickr
