日本画

Posted by GJC (Kyoto (京都), Japan) on 9 October 2009 in Landscape & Rural and Portfolio.

Sunset out our back window.

Yesterday I wrote some thought about composition. How do you compose your shots?

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Comments (17)

Raevin Kumar from Petaling Jaya, Malaysia

wow. superb shot. i like how the mountains are different shades of grey. :)

9 Oct 2009 7:06am

Howard F. from South Pasadena, Calif., United States

Nice shot and well-composed.
The short answer is I use the 1/3 Rule more than anything. Sometimes the Spiral rule and the Triangle rule, but I use them when I want to creative dynamic feeling. Still, it all depend on what type of lens I am shooting and what subject and scene I am facing with. I another method is what soothes the eye, though I don't know the standard behind it, but it's one of those moments I feel I have to take this shot because it looks 'right'.

9 Oct 2009 8:26am

E.B from VOUZIERS, France

Huumm... SUPERBE !

9 Oct 2009 9:30am

Eric Cousineau from Sherwood Park, Canada

A stunning capture! Beautiful play of light and shadow..... ;-)

9 Oct 2009 12:39pm

Ronnie 2¢ from Atlantic Shores, United Kingdom

Such a classic composition of a subject that seldom fails and this one has all the qualities in top measure.

As to composition, I’m not sure I like to admit any firm rules. However, I have lived with wide-screen monitors for so long that I rarely consider a portrait format. I cannot, for instance, see the whole of your lovely image here on screen in one hit even with an f11 and, unless you ‘pad’ the sides to give an 800px width, the “small” option on AM3 has no effect on the size. Not the reply you expected but it came to mind within context !

9 Oct 2009 1:34pm

Sugata from Newark, United States

Lovely colours and composition!

As Howard F. said before me, I also use the rule of thirds more than anything else. However, sometimes some shots deserve different treatment - I trust my intuition for those cases. It is very difficult to say why I do what I do always. But the main difference between you and me is, when shooting digital, I usually crop my shots to a certain extent if that improves them. When shooting on film, my shots are all as composed on camera and any cropping done is a bare minimum which may be required to change the aspect ratio (say, for printing).

9 Oct 2009 2:09pm

philippe from dijon, France

Très belle image... tout bon pour moi, bravo, Philippe. Mon autre blog / my other blog ......... http://www.philibmonsite.com/

9 Oct 2009 3:20pm

Stu from Kyoto, Japan

I've really enjoyed reading everyone's thoughts on composition and am glad you put that question out there as it is something I've been wrestling with for a while. I too, as a "rule", follow the rule of thirds and it has proved to be effective in producing nice compositions however I also feel somewhat trapped by this convention too. I hate to be pigeon-holed. And while composition is usually foremost in my mind (over lighting unless in extreme circumstances) I wonder what shots I am missing because of it. Am I a slave to the rule or a rule of thirds junky? I don't know to be honest. I do allow my intuition to be the final judge of a shot so maybe there is hope for me, and I'm always looking for shots with a weirdly located subject. Rules were meant to be broken, afterall.
I've perhaps taken up too much space on your blog so I'll finish by suggesting that it's perhaps better to be bold and to go with your intuition and fail, than to play safe and partially succeed.
Thoughts?
Oh and I love the simplicity of this post by the way. Wonderful colours and lighting, and of the course the non-1/3rd compo!

9 Oct 2009 4:00pm

cat from Tel Aviv, Israel

What an amazingly beautiful and romantic view to have. I can't imagine that it would ever get passe or that one would cease to notice it. In terms of composition, this seems very simple and yet it is very effective - I think the clouds really add to the picture as they provide a contrast from the sharpness of the mountains. I don't have any hard and fast rules to follow but I think it would be interesting to study e.g. food photography or still lives where composition cannot be left to chance.

9 Oct 2009 4:20pm

António Pires from Lisbon, Portugal

Wonderful black and orange colour combination.
As for composition, I try to compose right when taking the photos, adjusting later. I prefer the landscape format to the portrait one.

9 Oct 2009 4:45pm

ordinaryimages from Kentucky Bluegrass, United States

Always nice to shoot close to home : ] best...jerry

9 Oct 2009 7:17pm

Tracy from La Selva Beach, United States

Wonderful contrast and composition! It has been fun to hear what other people think about when shooting!

9 Oct 2009 10:53pm

Ajay from Pune, India

In just one work... BEAutiful!!!! Love how each colour is fading into the other. Very balance colour composition.

10 Oct 2009 2:37am

Steve Rice from Olympia, United States

Really beautiful!

10 Oct 2009 6:00am

daina from New York, United States

Just a little addition to the composition issue. What surprised me is the number of comments stating conscious procedures and choices. Even with an intuitive approach no one mentions sort of getting in the “zone” where all these sort of considerations drop away and one simply acts. I forget which painter said (perhaps Motherwell) that sometimes when he paints there are many people in the room with him (in his mind) and sometimes he is by himself, but the best is when there is no one in the room at all.

I am happiest when I can get rid of all thought and just act and I can forget even myself - I try not to make very deliberate choices. Later I like to be surprised by what I have done. And is only later in the computer that I asses what to do with any of it.

10 Oct 2009 8:02pm