So many elements from her Artist Palette.
Valeriano submitted this remarkable photo and asked what I thought of it. Here is what he said when I asked him to explain what he did:
“Hi Joe,
The exposure was 4 minutes (I have used a 10 stops ND filter and a 2 stops ND Grad to hold back the sky).
I knew the pier would have been a silhouette and I wanted to catch the muted colors of the last rays of sun at sunset. Also I have chosen to go for such a long exposure in order to get the ocean really calm an some movement in the clouds, juxtaposing it to the fixed figure of the pier structure. What do you think?”
OK, I have to preface my answer to him by saying that Valeriano was an online student of mine with the BPSOP. With both my online class and my “Stretching Your Frame of Mind” workshop I conduct around the planet, I teach people how to use the elements of visual design and composition to take their photography what I refer to as “Up a Notch”. We also work on color as a way to communicate ideas and light as the single most important element found on my Artist Palette.
In Valeriano’s photo, he has used his new Artist Palette to create a wonderful photo; a photo that will be remembered. His use of Negative Space to define the posts in the water, the railing on the pier, and the people and umbrellas was no accident. We start working on Negative Space in the first week since it’s so important to strike a balance between the Negative and Positive Space. Valeriano knew exactly what he was doing!!!
In the second week of my online class, we work on using Vanishing Points to lead the viewer around the frame, as well as to the horizon. Valeriano, by placing himself where he did, created a wonderful Vanishing Point, and as you can see, it’s a wonderful way to keep the viewer an active participant in our photography. When we do that, he’ll stick around longer, and that’s exactly what we want him to do.
By framing the way he did, he created “layers of interest” by anchoring the sitting area in the foreground. This is also what we work on..Perspective and depth. His use of a silhouette is something we spend an entire week on in my BPSOP part II class
If I could do anything, I would have asked if I could open all the umbrellas and create a pattern with them using Negative Space to define each one…we also work on Patterns (an element of visual design) as well.
It takes a lot of work and thinking to create a photo like this, and Valeriano should be proud of his accomplishment.
Thanks for the submission, I enjoyed looking at it.
Visit my website at: www.joebaraban.com and follow me on Instagram: www.instagram.com/barabanjoe come shoot with me sometime. You’ll walk away with your own Artist Palette as a souvenir of your experience.
JoeB
