| Leading
lines - Not always lines
Once
again, in Figure 3 below, we can see that the foreground almost
acts as a finger pointing to our subject, which is the Tufa and
that glorious alpenglow on the Sierra Nevada. This visual flow
continues in the lean of the right most formation, which replicates
the angle of the foreground rocks.
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An important consideration to remember is that leading lines don’t
necessarily have to be straight – indeed they don’t
even need to be lines as such! Confused? Well, just stick with
me a little longer.
Obviously
no lines are apparent in Figure 4 at right, but the composition
nonetheless leads the viewer into the image. The two rocks
in the fore and middle grounds join the third in the background
to form a nice arc into that wonderful sunset and the sea
stack in the distance, forming an invisible line that we
would see if we could just join up those dots.
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In
all four of the above examples it would be wrong to assume
that these compositions were the only ones available (and
also a mistake to assume that they were the best available!).
These foregrounds became my choice after carefully studying
the terrain in front of me - in all four images the elements
shown are just a small fraction of what was available. Perhaps
that can be best be illustrated by Figure 5 at right:- |
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Taken
at the same focal length and only a few minutes before Figure
4 it shows the wider context of which Figure 4 is just a part.
The light is still good and indeed it is by no means a terrible
image but it lacks the continuity and impact of the first. Why?
Well it’s a lack of those leading lines – there are
too many rocks here to provide the image with any structure. Our
eye is left free to wander around aimlessly. The leading lines
in Figures 1 to 4 aim the viewer’s eye without allowing
it to wander around. This concept brings us nicely to our next
area of discussion – keeping it simple.
One
thing that you may have all noticed about the first 4 examples
is that the foregrounds are all simple and well defined. To a
great extent this is a direct function of finding those lead in
lines that I am so obsessed with – but there is also a broader
point to be made here which applies to general composition as
much as finding those nice foregrounds. It’s a phrase often
used by photographers and often forgotten by us all in the heat
of “The Click”:- ‘Less is more’, which
is also the principle behind #2 of Tom
Boné's composition tips. |
