Beyond Phototips

Well, the rest of this post is not necessary, I’ve said it all in the title.

However, if you happen to be reading this late at night, you’re tired, and don’t mind a bit of baloney, read on…

Why did I say this?

1. When you have to shoot, Shoot! Don’t talk.

Tuco Says it all. Do use a camera though…

2. Some people read too much.

They theorise, record facts, and they research techniques, look at beautiful photographs, read about the photographers that took them, and the amazing equipment that these brilliant photographers took these enchanting photographs with and then they sit back, too confused to act. They deliberate about what equipment to buy so that they can get the best photographs, ai-ya-yai-a-yai!

Like I said… Just shoot… When you have the need for a gazillion pixel camera, you’ll know… and your fans will be willing to buy you one… Till then, just take out your cameraphone, or your rusty film SLR, or your brand new dSLR that’s been sitting on the shelf, and take photographs…

3. Some people worry too much.

They worry that their cameras will get dirty. They worry that their photographs may not be good enough.

C’mon man! Face facts. Nobody was as good as Ansel Adams when they first picked up their camera. They practiced. They got a bucket load of shitty pics, they figured out what was wrong, corrected the mistakes and moved on…

4. Some people don’t get the time.

Good Photography is about how you see the world around you. When you’re seeing photographs that you should be taking all the time, everywhere around you, and you’re not getting any of them in your camera, you know that you’ve got to make the time… or get a smaller camera, one that you can put in your shirt pocket!

If you don’t have inspiring things around you, you know you’ve got to go out a bit more… When you do, take that camera along with you.

5. Some people are just plain lazy.

And maybe, just maybe… that’s why you’re reading this post? Get off your lazy arse and mess around with your camera… Learn a new technique, or just get better acquainted with your gear!

Know of other reasons why people want to, but don’t take photographs? Leave a comment.

James Burger has shared a video taken in timelapse / stop-motion of a photoshoot that he had, with a certain plasticky friend. Watch it below.

Let me close off this batch of posts about symmetry with a few images that I think are really beautiful. Each of these photographs have at least of the four kinds of symmetry to thank, because that is why they work… Even if the symmetry is not blatantly obvious.

I invite you to take a good look at the photographs featured here and try to pick out which form of symmetry, Reflection Symmetry, Rotational Symmetry, Translational Symmetry or Glide Reflection Symmetry are responsible for making these pictures stick out.

They’re in no particular order, because each one is as visually stunning as the other. Here you go:

Photo by =TrixyPixie

Photo by `gilad

Photo by `gnato

Photo by ~kil1k

Photo by *ambrosia3

Photo by `gilad

Photo by `foureyes

Photo by `zemotion

Photo by `bosniak

Photo by `foureyes

Photo by `gilad

Photo by `gilad

Photo by ~SuzyTheButcher

Photo by `Davenit

Photo by ~Kleemass

Photo by ~julkusiowa

Photo by ~drmarten

Photo by `zemotion

Photo by `TheTragicTruth-Of-Me

Photo by `gilad

I hope you take the time to look at them and really ’see’ that though many of them don’t use symmetry as the primary tool for composition, they do play very integral roles in the photographs.

Take for example, the beautiful photographs by `TheTragicTruth-Of-Me and `zemotion, “Don’t speak” and “Gone.”. There no apparent symmetry, in lines or reflections, but it is the beautiful symmetry of the faces that cause a viewer to stop and look at the photograph. There’s lots more that can be said, but I’d rather leave it to your mind to stop, and pick out the reason for the beauty of these photographs.

I’d love to hear what you think in the comments.