Restarting Photography

I now have had my gear for some while and I have found some time practicing my skills and trying to get better. One technique I employ that has helped me when I started out, is to go for a walk in a limited area and focus on one skill only. What I intend to do now, is to write several summaries and reflect on some topics

• One reflection on each walk and where the topic helped make a picture a little better
• Some summary reflection on several walks, where the topic was employed but didn’t work out
• Some summary reflection on other perspectives regarding the photos and where what worked. Could include things like monochrome, high key, low key, depth of field and others

This first installment is about perspective and the golden ratio and where it worked out for me and why. The equipment used in all photos during this walk is Nikon Z6 and the Nikkor Z 24-200/4-6.3 VR lens.

The first image is an image where the subject is quite far of, letting me try to position myself, so the subject is aligned to the golden ratio. I also tried to work with a fast aperture to get some softness in the foreground to emphasize the subject.

I tried to place the center of the tower close to the line of the golden ratio on the gilded roof at the intersection. It didn’t work out perfectly when I checked it against guides available in Lightroom, but it is not far of. I tried to crop it to make it follow the guides perfectly, but that would have cut the building in the lower left corner and in the end, my feeling was that it made the image worse.

The way it is now, there is no doubt on what the subject is, and the tree-line in the bottom part of the image give a weight and balance to it.

The perspective I choose for the next image made it hard to try to align it in the viewfinder, so to make sure I got everything in focus I choose a slow f/22 aperture. The Bay window to the right was intended to be the subject. According to the rules for the golden ration it should have been a bit more to the left and center. Again, I tried to correct that with crop in post processing, but that would have cut the window sill to the left in half. In my opinion the way it is now, that darker spot where you do not know exactly what it is adds weight and counter balance to the image, making it a better picture as it is. However, I think it would have been even better, if I had managed to angle the camera slightly more, so the delineation between building and sky would have been a bit lower and followed the golden ratio.

I shot the images this day without a tripod and the position to take this image was difficult. So one learning is definitely to bring a tripod, if possible. That would have made angling this shot much easier and led to a better image. Possibly I will return to this place with my tripod and try it out.

In the next image, there is no clear subject, but I was drawn to the way the long walk made these converging lines possible. So the room itself was intended to be the subject. The way the top of the arches align and that the ground gets more than half the space in height, gives the image a certain gravity and balance. I think it is not one of my best pictures and not very interesting, except as a study to see how the lines affect the feeling and balance of the image.

I end with this monochrome, framed picture. The spire is aligned with the photographing tourist. The line of the pillars in the arch align neatly around the guideline. I think the image would have been even better, if I could have gotten a slightly elevated position to get the delineation between sky and trees closer to the golden ratio. I tried on it on site, but that would have cut off the top of the framing arch. In hindsight, I should have taken both pictures and made a comparison later. That would have been interesting.

Learnings I will try to take with me from this outing are

• Even small changes in position, especially in height can influence the perspective quite a lot. I will try to let go of my old habit from analogue days and take more shots with slightly changing positions
• Bring (and use) the tripod if possible
• Try out more shots from unusual angles as with the brick wall

My next reflection will be on training to employ lots of blur using the tilt lens and highlight the subject with selective focus.