Photography 101 « COOLWATERWORKS

Archive for the 'Photography 101' Category

Feb

From Our Workshops

We have already conducted 2 workshops for our photography series, Igo Tapsing Sipyat.

Both workshops had been fun and learning experiences for us “instructors” and our participants. I am sharing some outputs from both workshops under my topic on visual elements and composition. These images contain much potential, and not all them were shot using an SLR camera, further proof for the cliche that it is not the equipment that takes beautiful pictures but the person behind the camera…

From Erwin Almagro…

From Shiela Rodriguez…

From Espie Malicdem…

From Tad Montayre…

From Roux Desquitado…

From Von Behag…

Photography is both an art and a skill. With patience and persistent practice, taking beautiful pictures come with ease. Thank you for participating in the workshops!

*Our logo is the creation of one of blogosphere’s top artists. Bro Eli of BLOGRAPHICS, thank you for sharing your gift with us!

Oct

dreams are woven free

By coolwaterworks 20 Comments

Categories: Personal and Photography 101

I am yet to be convinced of the peculiarity and the importance of the ongoing fad of giving special awards based on strata-clustered votes in most award-giving bodies even in the Philippine blogosphere. For one, its doors are wide open for the lack of or for the limited criteria of making a “more justified” choice rather than a personal one.

While I ruminate on the merits of critical acclaim, popular appeal and the productive union of the two, I find it quite ironic that I, always shunning popular choice categories, am making a choice and I am voting for Joseph “Otep” Zablan’s blog “Libre Lang Mangarap” as my pick for the Blogger’s Choice Award in the Philippine Blog Awards 2009.

Otep’s blog is a far cry from being a literary haven. It is littered with misspelled words, disagreeing tenses and redundant non-words even when it is written in his native tongue. Sometimes, his posts lack coherence and form. But then, his entries are always engaging, with the unseemly pair of pomp in his optimism and the raw honesty of a struggling young man trying to find his own place. He acknowledges his fear of highfaluting words and sticks to his own standard: self-expression. He admits he is not a rocket scientist. He chose to fly rockets instead – in dreams like most dreamers do. This I believe is the endearing quality of his blog – dreams are woven free…

Maybe the inspiration that his struggles and dreams give has appealed to his many readers. Life may serve us with different color-coated chocolates, but not all chocolates are sweet. Along with the joy of having his little dreams fulfilled come failures and heartbreaks. Sometimes, he stubbornly wallows in the sickening taste of bitter chocolate for far too long but in his own time he picks himself up, takes his own sure strides and dreams again.

If this vote would make him dream more, why not? In our current times, perhaps we need more dreamers like Otep. Perhaps, the future will be much brighter and more colorful…

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.
Eleanor Roosevelt (1884 – 1962)

Sep

Pattern: A Visual Element

By coolwaterworks 89 Comments

Categories: Photography 101
Tags: basic photography, composition, elements of design, pattern, visual elements

A pattern is a repetition of form or shape. It is a strong visual element for any work of art especially in photography.

Patterns are common visual elements. However, we simply move past them and failing to take notice. A photographer really has to open his or her eyes and be sensitive to them.

Patterns invoke a sense of stability, consistency and belonging in the viewer. They are already compositions by themselves.

Composition is the arrangement of the visual elements in a photograph, arranged in a way to evoke a sentiment from the viewer. Below are sample pictures of patterns. Most of them were previously published here, but I would bet that you have not noticed that they contain patterns.

Repetitions of garlic.

Repetitions of bricks.

Repetitions of dew drops and blades.

Repetitions of pots.

Repetitions of straws.

Eventhough pure patterns are compositions by themselves, breaking these patterns is also another effective compositional style.

The pattern here is the rectangular framing of the glass window. It is broken by putting the window frame off-center and including the greeneries and one of the airport towers. Shot in the new Bacolod-Silay Airport while waiting for a slightly delayed flight back to Cebu…

The pattern here is made by the square-shaped cage screen. It is broken by making it out of focus (blurring) and making the eye of the myna bird tacked sharp, with the head of the bird placed off-center. Shot in Tubod, Minglanilla, Cebu.

And so, next time, before clicking that shutter, look around for patterns. Take a shot of them and then do a composition that breaks the pattern. And I would really like to take a look. Perhaps it wouldn’t cost much if you inform me that you did the “pattern” shot…

(I haven’t been doing a lot of bloghopping lately. I promise to make up for it and I will visit each of your blogs soon. Rest assured I am updated of your every new post, and I do get to read them. I just always don’t have the luxury of time to visit your actual blog and make a sensible comment. I’ll make up for it soon… Please bear with me… )