One of the many traditions you can expect from our nation’s capital is that majestic trees will be decorated and lighted as we approach Christmas. For frequent fliers, Reagan Washington Airport (DCA) provides us every year with a Grand Fir that reaches over 20 feet high and reminds us the season is here. Not only do the permanent flags decorating the terminals prompt our patriotic nature and remind us where we reside. But now, the addition of lights and colors let us know that home is just a roundtrip away. As per the travelers visiting this fantastic city and airport, it is a good reminder that in DC, we value our traditions.
“Christmas Tree DCA” copyright Alex Palma 2015
Therefore, modifying the picture emphasizes the majestic tree’s nature without benches or the glass wall interference. Consequently, choosing a 1×1 ratio, the terminal length becomes equal and creates the path for those traveling out of DC as a background.
“Cropped Christmas Tree DCA” copyright Alex Palma 2015
While on a weekend trip to Orlando, my husband and I went on the safari ride at Animal Kingdom. On the ride, we saw these elephants and I quickly captured them with my iPhone. If you’ve been on the safari ride, you know that they slow down a little, but rarely stop for the passengers to take photos of the animals. While I think I got a good shot of the two elephants, there is a lot of vegetation in the foreground and really all around them. You can tell the photo was taken from a distance.
Using Photopea, I cropped my original image. Now, in my new image, the elephants appear much closer and you can see more detail. You almost feel like you could reach out and touch them. Using the rule of thirds, I cropped out some of the vegetation in the foreground and all around them to bring them more into focus. In this picture, your eye is drawn to the lighter colored elephant in the front, but you are also able to observe the darker elephant in the background. A trip to Africa is on my bucket list, but for now, Animal Kingdom in Orlando will have to do!
This is a picture of my mom’s cat, Freyja, sleeping on my lap from a few months ago. When I took the picture I left a lot of unnecessary background in it, that distracted from the focal point, which should be Freyja’s adorable sleeping face! So I cropped out the extra background as much as possible, and focused on Freyja’s face in the rule of thirds. I tried to include her little paw in the lower right corner, but the framing didn’t work right, so I did it this way.
Please enjoy this little cat face, I hope it makes you smile!
I took this picture at a cat cafe in Savannah, Georgia. This room had about 6 cats roaming around playing with each other or taking a nap. But this one lonely gray cat is staring outside the window. I was trying to capture it’s emotion of it wanting to be adopted, be in its forever home, or just be able to run free outside.
In the original photograph, it the cat is slightly off centered and almost being framed by the window sill. At first glance, it feels like my eyes will go directly to look at the cat since it sort of in center. Then after looking at the cat, it makes me want to focus outward towards the other objects and environment in the photograph. There is a focus point, but the distance feels too far away.
I cropped the photograph the way I did because I wanted the focus to be on the cat and also to see what the cat is looking at, which is the outside world. I was trying to use the rule of thirds after cropping. Positioning the cat towards the left side while showing more of the right side of the window to focus on the flowers. I wanted to give the illusion that the cat is being framed by the window. I was also trying to change the story of the image too. Does it look like the cat is relaxing at a bookstore or maybe in cozy home? Does it look like it is enjoying a sunbathing session?
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.
In March of 2019, my sister and I had the opportunity to travel with our church to Washington, DC. During our visit, we toured the Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial, a 30-foot-high statue that honors the life and legacy of Dr. King. Dr. King fought for freedom, equality, and justice.
The before photo below is a picture of that cold day in Washington while sightseeing at the MLK memorial. The resolution of the photo is not the best, but I wanted to use this photo because of the impact it had on me that day. History came alive to me on that day. That day I thought about the struggles my grandparents faced while growing up in the 1960’s and how Dr. King and other civil rights leaders gave them hope for a better world. That day also taught me to Keep my eyes on the prize which is to dream of a world where freedom and equality will be granted to all.
The focal point of the photo is the MLK memorial; however, you have a lady on the left walking and other distractions in the background. This photo could use better composition.
I used PhotoPea to crop the photo. Although I really hate the resolution, the cropped photo now has the focal point on the MLK Memorial which towers over my sister and I as we reflect on the life and legacy of Dr. King. The cropped photo is better composition and creates a more powerful photo.
Oh that kiss! R2D2’s head begins to spin around and around. C3PO looks down at his little friend and says, “R2, I believe you have a girlfriend.” Just one kiss, started my Berriprincess’s love affair with the most adorable droid out there. And her love didn’t fade even though her path didn’t cross with R2 again for several years. But she drew pictures and decorated her room with her love. She wore R2 decorated t-shirts and dresses to show her affection. She even carried around a R2D2 purse. Of all the droids in the galaxy, she remained devoted to her beloved even while they were worlds apart.
Then one day, a few years later in the early spring, Berriprincess and her brother visited a spaceport called, “Hollywood Studios” where they learned of the Millennium Falcon’s arrival. Dare she hope that her lost love was onboard? Wading through the crowd, they managed to find Luke and Leia, and yes, R2D2 was still with them! Berriprincess’s brother greeted these old friends and began asking Luke how he might train to be a Jedi. While the boys were engaged, Leia tried to make polite communication with our Berriprincess.
Although the marketplace was thick with conversations around them, the world fell silent, melting away for a brief moment, as her hand reached out to find him. Nothing else in the world mattered. They were together again!
Technical Notes: I cropped two photos to tell the story of my daughter’s love for R2D2. It was important to remove the others from the images to center the story around the characters. In the first photo, I use the cropping tool to focus the reader on the kiss that started it all. By cropping the second image, I was able to focus the reader’s attention on the little detail of her hand placed on R2D2 using the rule of thirds. I also used the blur and brush elements in Photoshop to remove small traces of Leia’s robe that was not easily cropped from the bottom right size of the photo.
This photo was taken before I knew anything about photo composition (except “that looks good to me”), but that is not the whole story for why the original is framed the way it is. First, to the immediate right of the frame was a fisherman that I did not want in the photo, which is why the pelican is nearby. They are not above begging for a free meal! Second, I spent more than a few minutes inching up on my subject and had determined that I was as close as I could get without causing him to fly away.
The crop succeeds in emphasizing the focal points of the photo (the pelican and the sunrise) by using the rule of thirds, leaves out all the unnecessary beach, ocean and sky, and uncenters the subject. I tried to be aware of where the horizon line fell in the frame; leaving the brightest light slightly above the top third line so the foreground would be highlighted. In order to display the images side by side, I had to reduce the resolution to a width of 400px.
Now, if you can forget that I told you about begging the fisherman, doesn’t it look like the pelican is enjoying the sunrise?
I chose to crop this image as I felt that the original compostion didn’t have a focal point. I tried out a few croppings with the man on the bicycle and the shadow, but felt that with both it was too centered and busy. I chose instead to focus on the shadow of the man on the bicycle as I felt like the texture of the wall and the shadows were the most interesting part. When cropping I took into account the rule of thirds. Unfortunately, to get the image I wanted without any of the physical bicycle it does halt movement in the frame after it was cropped like mentioned in class.
The calmness during the destruction and fighting for freedom can be seen in the marketplace, where people can gather and continue to uplift each other. Looking through the many vendors and their differing trades, you can see the people conversing and catching up on any news or gossip while bartering and selling or buying. This idyll is a relief for the many that live in bombed houses and areas, allowing Palestinians to remember the normalcy inside the insanity.
I was interested in this photo since it reminded me so much of the marketplaces that I have visited in Honduras. Sometimes, I forget that certain places can have the same feelings and emotions in any part of the world.
