Said it before. Saying it again. Good photography is attributable in part to the photographer’s sense of perspective imbedded in his or her photos. I’m not just talking about distances and angles, but light and shadows and surroundings and context. (Life, too, is about recognizing your own position within it. This can be a hard thing to do. Many fail and become: politicians, editors of major newspapers, owners of major sports teams, residents of Hollywood or serial killers.)
Here is some perspective:
One of my favorite photography Blogs is Street Silhouettes, published by Horatio Tan. Mr. Tan has access to the latest and greatest photography kit, irrespective of cost. His posts involve comparisons or reviews of cameras or lenses in the context of his photographs of attractive young women. Among the young women who serve as his models there is Anna. Anna is his favorite and regular. (She’s my favorite as well.) They often travel together to exotic or far-flung locations where he conducts his comparisons. He is an excellent photographer.
I have Comet. Comet is a 13-month-old Golden Doodle. He is really cute. Many people think so. They say so. They compare him to Barkley from Sesame Street or a man in a dog costume or a stuffed teddy bear. He is large for a Golden Doodle and his hair is more sheep dog shaggy than poodle curly. He seems to know he is really cute. People often ask to take pictures of or with him. These requests we oblige. Like me and like Mr. Tan, Comet has his own Instagram page. Mr. Tan has a multitude of followers more than me. So too Comet, with roughly four times my followers.
Comet is no Anna. I am no Mr. Tan.
September 3 of last year, I blogged about a certain cast iron drainage pipe and how I obsessed over shooting it from the proper perspective. Well, this past fall, I had another opportunity to revisit that pipe and shoot it from yet a different perspective. A better perspective because I took my time and considered shooting it from many different perspectives. I think that patience paid off. I think these shots are more dramatic or compelling. Yes, I used dramatic and compelling to describe photographs of a cast iron drainage pipe.
