Where Does the Border Begin?

Yellow Legs in Black and White

I have been thinking about  the use of borders placed upon an image during post processing.  For most of my photographs, I choose not to use one.  I think that for landscapes, street scenes, portraits, candid photos, wildlife, etc., borders add little to the presentation.  However, every now and then I see a photo where a border brings a feeling of completion to the photo.  What bothers me is that I don't seem to have a particular rule or reason to add a border.

Using this week's photo as an example, the reason that I placed it within a border was to make it stand out from the white background on this page.  This decision had nothing to due with the photo itself but everything to do with where I was intending to display it. "To border or not to border" is a question that doesn't seem to offer any guidelines similar to the way that the rule of thirds or use of leading lines offer to assist in creating a composition.  

Speaking of composition, I have been experimenting a bit by placing subjects in different areas of my compositions disregarding the rule of thirds guideline.  My thought is that sometimes it occasionally works by creating tension for the viewer by drawing their eye through the photo to an unfamiliar place.  There is a hint of that strategy in this week's photo where I intentionally left a greater amount of negative space at the top by using a severe portrait style crop referencing the traditional Eastern Asian scripts that are to be read vertically.  

As further research,  I plan to see if this placement of objects within a frame concept has an application aside from photography.  To do so, I will be placing our tupperware lids away from their corresponding containers just to get feedback from my wife.  Perhaps, it will lead to eating fewer leftovers!

 Warp Speed

My blog is a bit of a turkey this week.  Easter plans and preparations and a handful of delightful interuptions hindered a more thoughtful commentary.  Never the less, who said that photography shouldn't be fun?

My photo this week was taken about two weeks ago at a local state park.  I had gone there to photograph some loons that others had reported to be passing through the area.  I longed for that loon shot where they are serenely gliding across the water's smooth surface.  No loons for me that day.  However, before exiting the park, I pulled to the side of the road to take a call.  This turkey scurried by me along the roadway like he was heading for a five alarm fire.

His scurrying by me caused me to believe he was having a day similar to those I have had this week -- rushed and a blur of activity.  Sometimes you roll with the cosmic forces, and so I assisted this old bird in post processing by adding a little extra speed blur.  I wish Photoshop would create an app that would allow me to introduce this concept into those days when I feel like I need to move at warp speed.  

Hope you all have a nice Easter and  your day was blessed by bunnies and not turkeys!

 Where You Sits is How You See It!

Nygren Wetland Pelicans Spring 25 

During my college days, I had a philosophy professor use the expression, "Where you sits is how you sees it!"  He used it on the opening days of class when speaking about the gray areas in assigning student grades, but it was very appropriate for the content of the course where we were introduced to different philosphers from different eras and studied their world views.  It has been a statement that resonated with me after all the years reminding me about my relationships with people and their ideas.

What initially motivated me to write this blog was my participation in a 52 weeks photo project where I committed to creating one photo per week responding to some loosely interpreted subject or concept.  I think the idea of such projects is a good one because it makes you practice your photography each week and depending on the theme for the week, it can push you outside of your comfort zone. The downside for me was that it made me feel like I was in competition with others or even with myself to produce something better and more creative each week.  I discovered that when I focused on trying to produce a beautiful image (product) to share, it came at my expense in experiencing photography as a personal expression.  In other words, I was looking for a specific thing to photograph and ignored my own feelings and thoughts as the scene unfolded before me.  I lost the wonder within the moment by not being fully available to the present.

The photo for this week is my interpretation of a drab spring scene at the wetlands this past Wednesday.  The photo is not intended to be an actual record of the day, but what I experienced, felt, and remembered about the moment.  The texture I added in post processing flattened and subdued colors of spring which were trying to emerge from winter's chilly grasp.  A pod of pelicans flashing through the frame added light and vitality to an image that otherwise would have been another windy and dreary, early spring day.  

PS:  (For those of you who remain strict adherents to the product side of photography, you have likely noted that there are an even number of pelicans {8} which breaks the ridgid rule of odd numbers specifying the proper amount of birds, racoons, or possums allowed within a photograph.  God, forbid that there would have been five or nine birds within this frame -- that would have just ruined my day.)  "Where you sits is how you see it!"

 Walking Together

This past week has been true to the old saying about March-- "In like a lamb out like a lion",  The winds have been roaring and the temperatures have felt colder due to the damp and rainy conditions.  I remained inside and began sorting through old digital files when I came upon this one, an old favorite.

It is a favorite photo because it shares a very simple story in symbolic way.  This unposed photo was taken within the hallway at a local elementary school nearly twelve years ago.  Ethically, I feel comfortable posting it because the children are not identifiable.  Furthermore, I was invited to take photos within the building that day understanding the guidelines surrounding my task.

What struck me as I was taking the photo was it was so characteristic of younger elementary kids behavior when they placed within an environment that feels a bit too big for them.  When I looked at the digital print, I noted how the various elements within the photo spoke to the message that it's good to travel with others .  I liked the dreamy reflections on the floor behind them, and the light from the opaque glass blocks ahead of them.  The children walked confidently together through hallways surrounded by their own work displayed side by side with the work of their classmates.   

Being around young children for most of my career, I have noticed how natural it is for youngsters to want to hold hands as they walk together.  As we grow older, we either forget how good it is to walk with others or we are influenced to walk alone to assert ourselves as individuals. I find it ironic that American culture, which proudly promotes a me first perspective, is experiencing an "epidemic of loneliness*" as proclaimed by the surgeon general in 2023.   It's not until much later in life that I see older folks, in their golden years, walking together and holding on to one another once more.       

 *What is Causing Our Epidemic of Loneliness and How Can We Fix It?                      Elizabeth M. Ross 

  https://www.gse.harvard.edu/ideas/usable-knowledge/24/10/what-causing-our-epidemic-loneliness-and-how-can-we-fix-it