Photography Module Project

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  Last week, there was this horrible ice storm, and here in the Pacific NW we don't really get that nasty winter weather you do. So it was a big deal. I had this enormous, gorgeous black locust tree in my front yard. It was quite stately. These photos are of this once-beautiful tree. 

  I wanted to show the beauty and terror of the ice storm. So while I took some photos that only showed the beauty, I ended up not choosing them because I wanted the contrast with the terror. In both photos, you can see the beauty of the ice and snow, but also the terror of the damage this poor tree withstood.
  

  In my more compelling photo, I did a couple of things. Most importantly, I positioned myself so that the fresh wound down the side of the tree was readily apparent. In the not-so-compelling photo, the wound is there, but not as noticeable. In addition, I tried to position the tree, with that obvious fresh wound, off center, using the rule of thirds. This creates a bit of white space on one side, but I think it works. In the less compelling photo, the tree is more or less centered, and takes up the whole photo. I didn't think this worked quite as well.
   

  I also attempted to work with lines. I read that intersecting lines are more powerful, and that you want incoming not outgoing lines. Now, I can't tell the difference between lines that come into a photo and those that go out of it, as it seems to me any line can do either. However, I did see many interconnecting lines in both photos, as the tree still had many branches. In the less compelling photo, the lines are every which way. However, in the more compelling photo, the main branches all intersect near that gaping wound, which I think adds emphasis to it.
   

  Another thing I learned about was framing. In the less compelling photo, there is no framing. The picture is just of an ice-laden tree, all mid-ground. However, in the more compelling photo, one of the branches is more in the fore-ground, which, if I understand correctly, adds some framing to the photo.
  

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  Carolyn Moss I think you should play up the color of the moss! That is what strikes me the most from the photo. I think because it is so green but then the snow puts me in a different season. Interesting!
  

  Ashley Wright I hadn't even noticed it. I was just so traumatized by the damage done to the tree, and trying to focus on everything I learned in those readings about how to take a good photo.
  

  Filius Infinita Ashley, I think that your second picture is more compelling than the first. With the close focus that the first picture ushers the rest of the devastation is concealed that the second picture shows. To me, the wider area shown in the second picture elicits a stronger sense of nature's fragility
  

  Marrakech Arbuckle I actually found the first photograph more compelling, perhaps because of the overall layout, or as Carolyn Moss mentions, the striking green moss - so out of place. Good job! 

  Laurie Steed I have to agree iwth Filius on this one. I think the second photo is very strong, especially with the pull from both sides of the photo down to the center and the middle of the tree.
  

  Neringa Katiliute T I agree with Carolyn. When I look at the picture, I see this lonely tree. But what makes it stand out is the moss. I think the first picture is more compelling.
  

  Tara Swanepoel I also like the green moss! The tree is nicely off center, following the "rule of thirds." The dark trunk makes a great contrast against the surrounding white. And then that green just makes the whole thing stand out.