The following five frames are of the same subject as last week, shot under different circumstances or rather reasons; in short I had to clear my mind and consider my stance on a particular matter.
Not a bad start, not too bad a shot; Except for the top of the flagpole on the left - it's not in the frame, and the lack of this simple item is distracting. I simply was not paying enough attention to my framing, it is my fault, not the camera's, and although I could say "Gee Golly Gosh, it was blowing a hooley, I didn't have my furry hat on, I was sooo cold and you know what? - no-one's gonna notice the top of the damm flagpole anyway so who really gives a hoot anyway?"
Reframing, even just a little, and one small step makes a big difference.
I've seen, and photographed, this sculpture before,
and the frame above, although ok, is nothing really to write home about. However, I did file the subject away in the "h'mm there's something there, I'll come back to it and take a closer look" category as I continued my walk. This really is no different from what I tend to do as I photograph people at weddings or other events; I might see someone or a group of people and think "H'mm, interesting - I'll come back here and see what I can find." Often times that decision is because I am moving to photograph someone else, sometimes though it is because the group or the person has observed my arrival and I may feel that their awareness of my presence will alter the image I "saw" or wished to capture.
The only horizontal frame, out of twelve total, I shot that morning. By this time my thoughts have returned to the sculture I had passed so I headed back that way looking for a better image.
Here's my shot, the one that made me happy, the one that I was, and stil am, pleased with. The metering and exposure details? I'm not really worried about them at all, they're pretty much second nature; manual mode, spot metering, focus and recompose. The framing however, is deliberate - the flag, the sculpture and the statue were all my main considerations before I captured the above.
And of course you've guessed it; the clarity of mind I had been seeking when I left my office was achieved and I was then better able to address the challenge I had been wrestling with.
