Monday, October 31, 2011



These are all pictures that I took in Helena over the weekend at a park called Spring Meadow.  There was this cool algae that had collected along the outer edges of the lake and it created a cool setting for the leaves. 


I like the patterns in the algae and how they run through the picture.  I dont really like the two small shadows created by the leaf in the upper right hand corner

 I like this one with the interesting shadows and highlights on the leaf and how the lines in the algae outline the leaf.  I think the composition of this picture could have been a little better by maybe cutting off a little bit of the left edge so the same amount of leaf is off the frame like it is on the top
 I like the contrast of the red leaf covered with green algae floating on top of it.  The composition is not that interesting because the leaf is in the very center of the picture plane.  But it was on the very edge of the lake so I didnt have very many other options other than zooming out which would have taken away the detail and emphasis on the red leaf and the green algae.
 I like how water reflection plays into this picture and I think it makes the picture of an ordinary leaf much more interesting. I also like the smooth line where the water starts in contrast with the jagged outline of the leaf at the top of the picture plane.  I do not like the small reflection of the sun in the top part of the picture.

 Both of these pictures don't necessarily have leaves as the main subject though they are in the picture.  But I do like the composition of the above picture and how the eye travels along the water nicely through the picture and brings the viewers attention to the algae and covered in leaves.  In the picture below I like how the eye travels through the picture as it follows the highlighted fishing line.  however, I don't like the plain boring background.

Thursday, October 27, 2011

This photo taken by Kani Polat is of hot air balloons hovering over a ancient rock formation .  I think the composition of this photograph works really well.  I like the placement of all of the hot air balloons.  The red balloon in the upper left hand corner really stands out and closely follows the rule of thirds. From the red balloon the viewers eye jumps to the other colorful balloons that stand out against the background. It was taken at a great time of day where the sun was low so it created a lot of interesting shadows in the landscape and highlighted the mountains in the distance.  I also like this picture because of the contrast between the hot air balloons and the landscape.  You never would think to find a dozen brightly colored hot air balloons flying over a rocky desolate area.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

This is the photo of the day today for National Geographic.  It is a picture of marine catfish in Japan taken by a photographer named Brian Skerry. One thing about this picture that I like are how much the fish stand out because of their vibrant green color against the sandy ocean floor.  This photo has a lot of motion in it which also makes it an interesting picture to look at.  by using a longer shutter speed the photographer has made some of the fish blur along with the ocean floor.  I think this makes the picture more interesting because it almost gives it another layer for the viewer to look at.  The first thing or the top layer that I see are the fish that are in focus and as I look at it longer I see the fish that are in motion which is like a second layer.  The composition of the photo also gives it movement in that the school of fish are placed at the left and are swimming through the picture plane to the right. 

Thursday, October 6, 2011

This is a photograph by  David Doubilet a photographer for National Geographic.  This photo was the photo of the day for Wednesday October 5th.  I think photos taken under water are very interesting. The  silhouetted bushman standing on the boat above the water makes the picture interesting.  My eye travels through this picture well from the seaweed to the shadow and then the bushman and the rays of the sun. I also really like the color scheme in this picture.