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 close up 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 (actually diamonds), 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
