Saturday, March 14, 2015

Take Different Types of Photographs

When I started in to photography again after retiring, my typical picture was simply a snapshot of what I was seeing.  I've expanded that a lot with my tripod, slower waterfall shots, and close-ups.  But over the past year I've pushed myself in new directions just to take different sorts of photos, and this has really expanded what I look for in a good photograph.  One way to do this for me is through participating in  blog memes.

The meme 'Good Fences' is one of the most popular, so I find myself photographing fences while I tour the rural landscape here.  This one also suits 'The  Barn Collective', and it was the barns that I was driving around to photograph; the fence I just came upon.

And it's not a big step from barns to other buildings, like this old schoolhouse, now a private residence.  Now I'm getting interested in local historic buildings, a whole new direction for my photography.  And I've also learned a lot about sunlight, shadows, and the time of day for photos.

Thanks to the 'Skywatch Friday' meme, I now pay a lot more attention to the skies overhead, either for their own sake, or as part of a picture of something else.  And seeking shadows, with which to link to the 'Shadow Shot Sunday' meme has taught me about watching for the direction of the sun, as well as the time of day.

Memes are simply fun too, but for me, participating in them has expanded how I think about photography, especially about keeping an eye on the sun and time of day for what you wish to photograph.

The same point can be made about travel photography.  There you may not have a choice about light conditions or sunshine, but you can still enrich your holiday photos by looking for different types of photos.  This would be my typical shot of a vineyard in central Italy.  I was there, so I can relate to it, but it doesn't actually jump out at me as enough to tell the story of a vineyard.

A close-up of some grapes tells a lot more.  In fact, if you had to rely on one shot, I think this expresses it better than the first.  Together they do begin to tell the story.

But what visit to a vineyard would be complete without a picture of the wine itself?  Not my typical sort of photo, but it helps tell the story of this little bit of our trip.

Another travel suggestion I've heard and just started to try is to take pictures of something easily recognizable, like this sign at Hidcote Garden in the Cotswolds, simply to identify it.  On our holiday last year I think we stopped at 17 different gardens.  It's really handy to scan through and know when each new garden's photos start and end; they have a lot of similarities.  And they can serve as good titles for slideshows.

So I've expanded my thinking about what sorts of photos to take, and what to look for when out chasing photos, a lot, by trying to take different sorts of photos from my usual scenic snapshots.  Now I watch the weather, the sun and sky, and the time of day like a hawk when planning photos!

13 comments:

  1. wow lovely scenery where you live. those grapes look very appetising too

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  2. Having a blog seems to open your eyes and your mind to more things!

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  3. I find memes to be challenging too. I have a huge backlog of photos though; I am taking so many!

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  4. Great hints! Your classes really show in your posts, too.

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  5. Love your different photos. The fenche in winter is so beautiful, the old schoolhoude is wonderful and shadows in the snow are great.
    I think a lot like you taking photos.
    Have a nice time.

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  6. Especially love the fence. What a fabulous shadow.
    I usually put together a photo book after each holiday so we can flip through it easily to recall fun times instead of having to click back and forth on the computer. So I try to take photos that will help us remember: road signs, station names, garden and museum signs are all good. And details help to build the picture too. I find I photograph lots of down pipes and hoppers on historic buildings!

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  7. I am having fun learning about my camera, thanks to you and your photography tips. I sometimes have the old mindset that I need to take only a few pictures with one setting because I was so accustomed to film. But heck, I took a dozen yesterday with different settings and kept only the best one. When I download the pictures into iPhoto, all the settings are retained so I can see what I did. :-)

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  8. Nice landscape shots! I particularly like the close-up of the grapes.

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  9. The old schoolhouse is a real beauty.

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  10. Hello, Just got home from a nice trip to Arkansas to celebrate George's birthday. I will blog about it tomorrow.

    Now--it's time to start working in the yard, cleaning up all of the 'junk' from the ice storm. What a mess!!!

    Good photographers (like YOU) see things in a different way.... I certainly look at things differently than I used to... Great post. (Glad you are on FB)

    Hope you are doing well.
    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  11. Wise words. You obviously practise what you preach as those photos were great especially the fence one.

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  12. Great tips! Yep, I believe making photos opens your eyes.

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