R. Doug Wicker — Author

Cadiz — Just One of what turned out to be a Really Great Set of Knockers . . for the Door

Today we continue our look at composing for detail rather than for the broad overview.  The latter gives you a great postcard, but the former is very often the money shot when it comes to reminiscing on past travels and finding shots worthy of framing and hanging on the wall as art.

Santorini Splash

While color can be an important element as to what makes a great shot, it is far from the only consideration.  And sometimes adhering to traditional layout such as The Rule of Thirds is essential in bringing out the most interest through creative use of negative space.  For instance, this following shot would not have had anywhere near the visual impact had the subject been centered:

Malta Shutters

On the other hand, sometimes you’ll find that a particular subject lends itself to centering and then proportion-enhancing cropping later during post processing:

As for roof shots, as sea of red tile can be quite intriguing:

Tiled Roofs of Lisbon

This week’s Fun Photo Friday will present a half-dozen of some of my favorite examples.  Meanwhile, enjoy today’s slideshow (click on any image below):

Azores

Lisbon Glass

Port Grimaud Balcony

Cadiz Color

Barcelona Beauty

Alhambra, Spain

Santorini Store

No, not The Doors of Jim Morrison fame.  Doors such as these:

Sanotorini, Greece

Both this week an next we’ll be discussing some of the most neglected yet interesting photographic subjects around — doors, windows, and rooftops.  Additionally, Fun Photo Friday this week and next will feature some of my favorite photographs of these often ignored architectural details.

The Island of Ibiza

When traveling to colorful, rustic locations with lots of history what better way to tell the story of your travels than through architecture?  I contend that there simply isn’t one.

Lisbon Rooftops

Anybody with a camera can take a picture of a skyline, but it takes the eye of an artist to zero in on the unexpected and to get the most out of some small detail that may be overlooked by most other tourists.

Malta

But you have to be focused on detail rather than taken in by panorama.  By now regular visitors to this blog know that I’m big on thinking outside the box when it comes to photographic compositions.  Anyone can snap a shot of the Eiffel Tower, but it takes mental imaging and imagination to focus on just one particular section of some landmark that presents both a unique perspective while preserving the flavor, essence, and recognition factor of that particular landmark.  Take Santorini, Greece, as an example.  Anyone can take a picture of the blue domes of Santorini, but how many tourists come back with shots such as the following one?

Sanotorini, Greece

Here are a few more examples of focusing on detail rather than trying to take in the clichéd wide view (as always, just click on an image below to bring up a slideshow of the enlarged images):

Azores Doors

Cadiz, Spain

Azores

Lisbon, Portugul

Azores

Port Grimaud, France

Malta