Seeing with the right side of the brain.
Check out my new workshop on the six concepts in the Psychology of Gestalt: Gestalt Workshop link
I was very lucky to have studied art all the years I was being educated, from high school all the way through college. During those years I took just about every art class you can think up: drawing I, II, III, painting I,II,III, composition I, II, and III, watercolor, figure-drawing, pastels, printmaking, Art History, and some I can’t even remember.
I studied all the elements of visual design and composition, and not knowingly, applied them the moment I picked up a camera and looked through the viewfinder. I had found my medium because it was instant gratification. No longer did I have to worry about meeting some deadline and having to stay up all night (sometimes for more than one night) finishing a drawing or painting. I could do it all in a blink of the ‘eye’….so to speak!
In my online class with the BPSOP, and in my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshop I conduct around our planet, I show my fellow photographers how to incorporate the elements of visual design into their imagery. I give each of them what I call my Artist Palette, and by the end of the class or workshop, that palette is filled with all the elements, including elements of good composition as well.
I talk a lot about right and left brain thinking. The left brain is the analytical side while the right side is the creative side. For example, if you were to look at a fence around a little league baseball infield, the left side would see a fence around a little league baseball infield. If you were to look at that same fence with the right side of your brain, you would see Pattern, Shape, and Line; three of the basic elements of visual design.
In the photo shown above, the left side of the brain sees a group of commercial greenhouses. Since I always look at things with the right side of my brain, when I looked at the buildings I saw Pattern, Texture, Line, Shape, and Form; all basic elements of visual design.
So my fellow photographers, the next time you strap on a camera and go out shooting, click off the left side of your brain and click on the right. You’ll be surprised at what you’ll start seeing.
Visit my website at: www.joebaraban, and follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/barabanjoe. Be sure to check on my workshop schedule. Come shoot with me sometime. It will be a whole new ballgame.
JoeB
