When it comes to catching the beauty of nature, we often view it through the lense of our own experiences and on our own scale. This is even more apparent in the world of photography. That being said, Mel B. does a wonderful job of capturing a fleeting moment of cohabitation between human and wild creature in her photo “Bird and surfers“. The brief moment before the bird takes flight juxtaposes well with the idle relaxation of the surfers in the background. However, with how blurry the background is compared to the bird on the pier, it can seem too busy and distracting. The primary focus should be on the clearest part of the image.
Now take a moment to look at the similar image above. The rule of thirds plays a very important role here. By cropping in and shifting the center of the bird to the top left third of the image, we enhance the focus of the original image. Also, by removing a portion of the background it helps make it less busy and distracting, thus adding the effect of the world blurring away. With this enhanced focus, your eyes are more likely to fall upon the bird first, followed closely by the path that lays ahead of it, inviting you to join it where it goes.
Hi Aleisha,
First off, I really loved the photo you chose for this week’s blog post. I love animal shots and the bird walking the pier just before taking flight is a powerful picture that really grabs your attention and causes you to stop in your tracks and appreciate all that nature and animals have to offer.
I think the original photo is a very good photo that captures the bird as its walking the pier; however, as far as stopping me in my tracks, I feel the cropped photo tells a more powerful story. Here’s why. The second photo uses the rule of thirds to position the bird into the top left portion of the frame. The bird now becomes more of the focal point of the photo whereas in the original photo the bird was not the center focus of the frame. By utilizing the rule of thirds, you feel as though you are more connected with the bird as it walks the pier and gets ready to take flight. I also liked how you cropped out more of the surfers and the beach which are less important in the picture. This picture is about the bird and how the photographer was able to capture the bird walking the pier before it took off into the air.
Great job in improving the composition of this photo and in using the rule of thirds to give the picture a more powerful connection with the viewer.
P.S
Also, great job in using Photopea to look at the RGB colors within the photo.
Hey Aleisha, great job on the crop. Looking at the original image, I am distracted by the beach and the people in the water. That is where my eyes focus on initially looking at the picture, ignoring the bird. Look at your cropped image, my eyes are drawn to the bird. I actually imaged the bird being a grumpy old man with his hands in his pockets, walking by himself mumbling, lol. Good Job.