I was going to have my advanced students do a project where they'd select one element of composition and study it in depth--creating two distinct images that utilized that element to strengthen the composition and highlight their subject. I always put myself in my students' shoes and test out my assignments first, so here are a few of my test shots. My favorite element is pattern (with symmetry in a close second place.) I started taking pictures really late in the evening, so light was limited, but I still like how they came out. I processed this fork photo quite heavily, and in this case I like the added noise. I experimented with several different fork/shadow patterns, but I liked the depth on this one the best.
This little guy is growing in a tree stump planter in my front yard. I like the pattern in the leaves (or are they called petals?) The low angle of the sun created the additional pattern of the shadows, which gives the plant a depth it might not have had if I had shot at noon. I think the reason that the element of pattern speaks to me so much in photographs (or in art in general) is because it can feel infinite. I wanted to include the tree stump, because it had a pattern as well, but I think if I had cropped in closer to the plant it'd feel even more infinite.
I have a super old iron, but it gets the job done. On this photograph I increased the contrast and played around with the sliders on the black and white layer to bring out all of the scratches in the metal part while darkening the wood in the background. I wanted the light on the iron to stand out the most. The iron looks very utilitarian--built for function not looks. Its scratches are a testament to that. The steam holes leading to the point at the top give a feeling that it's standing at attention.
